Body Shop: Avoidance best treatment for gluten, dairy sensitivities - Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Navy Times

Body Shop: Avoidance best treatment for gluten, dairy sensitivities

Toilet humor is funny until your bunkmate makes your sweet dreams smell like a sewer or you’re in the close confines of a plane, sub or tank with a stomach ready to explode.

Wheat and dairy allergies cause histamine responses involving the immune system — rashes, asthma, anaphylaxis, nasal congestion and more. But you can still have reactions to wheat and dairy, even if you’re not allergic.

If unexplained symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, headaches and dermatitis becoming daily demons, it might be time to consider a dietary break from wheat, gluten or dairy.

Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease

Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains, such as barley and rye. The Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland suggests that about 7 percent of the U.S. population — as many as 20 million people — may be suffering from nonceliac gluten sensitivity or inability to digest gluten.

Symptoms may include gastro-intestinal issues, as well as depression, mood swings and mental fogginess.

Celiac disease is a permanent intolerance to gluten that results in damage to the intestine, according to Dr. Joseph Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Symptoms may include malnutrition, weight loss, weight gain, hair loss and a host of others, many caused by poor nutrient absorption and constant stress on the body. Intestinal damage is reversible in most patients with the avoidance of dietary gluten. As many as one in 133 Americans may suffer from the disease.

Retired Marine Maj. Don Barnett says he has endured symptoms of celiac disease all his life, and “following a gluten-free diet is the only thing that’s given me relief.”

He says it’s important to read every food label, be on constant lookout for cross-contamination — the salad bar pasta spoon being used in the tomato bin — and educating yourself on hidden sources of gluten.

Dairy sensitivity and lactose intolerance

Dairy can cause many of the same problems associated with wheat and gluten allergies and sensitivities. Common symptoms of a dairy sensitivity are stomach cramps, bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea and headaches.

Lactose intolerance means your body lacks enough of the enzyme lactase to properly digest lactose, the sugar found in milk. Lactase production decreases with age, meaning lactose intolerance will worsen.

Besides avoiding obvious dairy products, it’s important to know that casein, whey and lactose are used as additives in processed foods such as cereal, protein bars, processed meats, baby formula, salad dressing and nondairy coffee creamers. To be dairy-free, you must read labels carefully.

Process of elimination

It’s best to perform an elimination diet under the guidance of your primary care physician and possibly a dietitian. Be prepared to avoid the foods in question for two to four weeks. After a time period specified by your doctor, you’ll begin to reintroduce foods to your diet, one at a time.

Barnett has found that dining-hall menus laden with breaded foods, gravies and sauces complicated the matter of eliminating gluten.

“Most gravies and sauce are supposed to be served on the side, so there is a choice, but this wasn’t always my experience,” Barnett says.

“The dining facilities have a great variety of selections and are generally able to accommodate special dietary requests,” says Renita Frazier, dietitian at the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence, Quality Assurance Division, at Fort Lee, Va.

Avoiding trigger foods is the only treatment option. Read labels carefully and focus on eating the foods that make you feel healthy.