Wheat Intolerance

By Rachel Burge

Around 45% of people in the UK suffer from food intolerance, with wheat being one of the most common. Discover the difference between wheat intolerance, wheat allergy and coeliac disease, and get advice and recipe ideas to help you go wheat or gluten-free.

What Is Wheat Intolerance?

People with wheat intolerance experience a range of symptoms after eating products containing wheat, of which there are many (see below).

Symptoms of wheat intolerance can include tummy ache, wind, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation and can develop several hours or even days after consumption. Sufferers also report general aches, mood swings, headaches, fatigue and eczema.

For this reason, wheat intolerance can be hard to diagnose and is frequently confused with other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome. To complicate matters further, many people are intolerant to several different foods, making it difficult to identify which ones are causing the problem. (Read our guide to lactose intolerance).

Wheat Allergy and Coeliac Disease

People with a genuine food allergy are few and far between (one to 2% of the UK population). If you have a food allergy, eating a tiny amount of the offending food can cause a severe reaction, often within minutes, and can be life-threatening. A standard blood or skin-prick test can tell you if you have a wheat allergy, but cannot show whether you have wheat intolerance or not.

Coeliac disease is caused by an auto-immune reaction (where the body attacks itself) to the protein gluten, which is found in wheat, rye and barley. Classic symptoms include weight loss, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, fatigue, and mouth ulcers.

Eating just a small amount of gluten can damage the lining of the small intestine, greatly reducing the gut's ability to absorb nutrients from food. For this reason, people with coeliac disease must follow a 100% gluten-free diet.

Coeliac disease affects one in 100 people in the UK, with another 500,000 people thought to be sufferers without knowing it. Fortunately, there are blood tests to diagnose the condition. For more information visit the NHS.

Wheat-Free Diet

Avoiding wheat can be easier said than done. Wheat is found in a wide range of foods including pasta, bread, cereals, cakes, and beer. Wheat flour is also added to many products, including ketchup, soy sauce, processed meat and ice cream. Luckily, there are now many wheat- and gluten-free products available (note: products labelled only 'gluten-free' are not necessarily wheat-free).

Most flours used in everyday baking are made from wheat but it is possible to buy alternatives from health food shops and larger supermarkets, such as maize (corn) flour, potato flour, rice flour, Soya flour, millet, buckwheat, and quinoa.

Quinoa is wheat- and gluten-free and makes a delicious and healthy alternative to pasta. It can also be prepared as flakes and eaten as a breakfast cereal. It is high in proteins, vitamins, minerals and amino acids, so including quinoa in your diet is one way to try to get the nutrients you may lose when avoiding foods containing wheat and gluten.

Visit 4Food for some fantastic wheat-free recipes and gluten-free recipes.

Are you wheat-intolerant? Share your favourite wheat and gluten-free recipes or health tips in the comments below.