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The Mayo Clinic Diet: What is your weight-loss goal? A gluten-free diet is an eating plan that excludes foods containing gluten. A gluten-free diet is essential for managing signs and symptoms of celiac disease and other medical conditions associated with gluten. A gluten-free diet is also popular among people who haven’t been diagnosed with a gluten-related medical condition. The claimed benefits of the diet are improved health, weight loss and increased energy, but more research is needed. Celiac disease is a condition in which gluten triggers immune system activity that damages the lining of the small intestine.

Over time this damage prevents the absorption of nutrients from food. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity causes some signs and symptoms associated with celiac disease — including abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, “foggy brain,” rash or headache — even though there is no damage to the tissues of the small intestine. Studies show that the immune system plays a role, but the process isn’t well understood. Gluten ataxia, an autoimmune disorder, affects certain nerve tissues and causes problems with muscle control and voluntary muscle movement. Wheat allergy, like other food allergies, is the result of the immune system mistaking gluten or some other protein found in wheat as a disease-causing agent, such as a virus or bacterium. The immune system creates an antibody to the protein, prompting an immune system response that may result in congestion, breathing difficulties and other symptoms.

Following a gluten-free diet requires paying careful attention to food selections, the ingredients found in foods, and their nutritional content. While oats are naturally gluten-free, they may be contaminated during production with wheat, barley or rye. Oats and oat products labeled gluten-free have not been cross-contaminated. Some people with celiac disease, however, cannot tolerate the gluten-free-labeled oats. Wheat flours have different names based on how the wheat is milled or the flour is processed.

Gluten-free food labels When you are buying processed foods, you need to read labels to determine if they contain gluten. Foods that contain wheat, barley, rye or triticale — or an ingredient derived from them — must be labeled with the name of the grain in the label’s content list. Foods that are labeled gluten-free, according to the U. Food and Drug Administration rules, must have fewer than 20 parts per million of gluten. Alcoholic beverages made from naturally gluten-free ingredients, such as grapes or juniper berries, can be labeled gluten-free.