Living with Gluten and Other Food Intolerances: Self-Reported Diagnoses and Management

Abstract

People suffering from a food intolerance (FI) tend to initiate restrictive diets such as a gluten-free diet (GFD), to alleviate their symptoms. To learn about how people live with these problems in daily life (independent of their medical diagnoses), 1203 participants answered a previously validated questionnaire and were divided into: G1 (those self-reporting symptoms after gluten consumption) and G2 (those informing no discomfort after gluten consumption). Self-reported clinical characteristics, diagnoses and diets followed were registered. Twenty nine percent referred some FI (8.5% in G1). In G1, self-reported diagnoses were more frequent (p p < 0.0001). A GFD is followed by ~11% of those declaring no symptoms after gluten ingestion. This diet is perceived as a healthy eating option.

Keywords

• food intolerance
• celiac disease
• gluten sensitivity
• gluten-free diet