Gluten Sensitivity: All or Nothing?

I just read another great post from the HealthNOW Doctors on gluten sensitivity called Can You Be a “Little” Gluten Sensitive?.

In Dr. Vikki Petersen’s opinion, gluten sensitivity appears to be “an all or nothing proposition.” Moreover, she points out that just because you don’t have an immediate reaction to gluten does not mean you’re not sensitive to it. While symptoms of gluten intolerance may occur right after consuming gluten, they can also take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to develop. And because gluten intolerance can cause such a wide variety of symptoms, from the more obvious digestive disturbances to more subtle aftereffects such as brain fog, achiness, irritability or depression, people often don’t connect the two.

Petersen recommends that if you know you are gluten intolerant, either from lab tests or personal observation, you should stop eating gluten altogether. Just because you’re not experiencing immediate, obvious symptoms from gluten consumption does not mean you’re not harming yourself.

You can read the post in its entirety on The Gluten Doctors blog. Dr. Petersen is also co-author of the book The Gluten Effect.