Should I avoid foods that contain gluten if I don't have celiac disease?

Only a small percentage of people have celiac disease, but there is a wide range of gluten sensitivities that can cause symptoms. Watch as functional medicine specialist Susan Blum, MD, explains why removing or reducing gluten can still be helpful.

Transcript

00:00

Then you have that whole gray zone in the middle where gluten is sort of doing something. It's triggering some symptoms.

00:06

It's triggering some inflammation, but you don't have celiac disease. And that's what gluten sensitivity is. [UPBEAT MUSIC]

00:24

Only about 1% of the population-- there's probably more than that, but that's the current statistics-- have true celiac disease.

00:31

However, up to 10% of people-- it's estimated-- and I think a lot more people than that believe that they're gluten sensitive are gluten sensitive.

00:40

Gluten sensitivity means you feel better when you don't eat gluten and you feel worse when you do. It is not celiac.

00:47

If you look at the spectrum, you can see black. And the black and white of it is either you're fine or you have celiac disease.

00:54

Celiac disease is when gluten damages your small intestines and gives you very bad digestive symptoms, difficulty absorbing

01:02

food. I mean, it really is an autoimmune disease that damages your small intestines. Then you have that whole gray zone

01:08

in the middle, where gluten is sort of doing something. It's triggering some symptoms. It's triggering some inflammation, but you don't have celiac disease.

01:15

And that's what gluten sensitivity is. For people who are gluten sensitive, they need to be on a gluten-free diet

01:21

to help them lower those symptoms. And they feel a lot better because they're sensitive to it. [AUDIO LOGO]