Skip to main content

Everything That Must Be Known About the Relationship of Gluten to Human Health

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Designing Gluten Free Bakery and Pasta Products

Abstract

Gluten-related disorders (GRD) include celiac disease (CD) and other medical conditions like non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and wheat allergy (WA) triggered by the ingestion of gluten-containing cereals and cured by the elimination of gluten-containing food from the diet. Gluten is the main structural protein complex in wheat with equivalent toxic proteins in rye, barley, spelt, einkorn, khorasan wheat, and triticale. Gluten is a mixture of proteins named prolamins, representing about 80% of the total protein content in grain. At present, the only accepted treatment for GRD is a strict gluten free diet (GFD). The protracted ingestion of gluten traces (10–50 mg/day) is sufficient to cause significant intestinal mucosa damage in CD patients. Following a strict GFD requires critical attention in the selection of gluten-free food, ingredients, and nutritional content. Gluten is a pervasive ingredient and cross-contamination of naturally gluten-free items is common. Data show that there is an unmet need for a strict and universal gluten-free labeling regulation all over the world. Several methods are available to measure traces of gluten in food items. However, no test is fully reliable so far. The GFD is a nutritionally safe intervention without any major risks but a suitable GFD must also be nutritionally adequate to prevent micronutrients and fiber deficiencies. Newly diagnosed CD patients are advised to receive dietary counseling on food labeling, and the most appropriate gluten-free foods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

Anti-tTG:

anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies

ATIs:

Amylase-trypsin inhibitors

CD:

celiac disease

DGP:

anti-deamidated gliadin peptides antibodies

EATL:

enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma

EFSA:

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

ELISA:

enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay

EMA-IgA:

IgA class anti-endomysial antibodies

ESPGHAN:

European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

FODMAPs:

fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols

GFD:

gluten-free diet

GIP:

gluten immunogenic peptides

GRD:

gluten-related disorders

NCGS:

non-celiac gluten sensitivity

RCD:

Refractory celiac disease

T1DM:

type 1 diabetes mellitus

WA:

wheat allergy

WDEIA:

Wheat-dependent exercise induced anaphylaxis

References

  • Atasoy G et al (2020) Gluten contamination in manufactured gluten-free foods in Turkey. Food Addit Contam Part A 37:363–373

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bruins Slot ID et al (2015) Evaluating the performance of gluten ELISA test kits: the numbers do not tell the tale. Cereal Chem J 92:513–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catassi C et al (1994) Coeliac disease in the year 2000: exploring the iceberg. Lancet 343:200–203

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catassi C et al (2007) A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to establish a safe gluten threshold for patients with celiac disease. Am J Clin Nutr 85:160–166

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Catassi C et al (2013) Non-celiac gluten sensitivity: the new frontier of gluten related disorders. Nutrients 5:3839–3853

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Catassi C et al (2015) Diagnosis of non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS): the Salerno experts’ criteria. Nutrients 7:4966–4977

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Catassi C et al (2022) Coeliac Disease. Lancet 399:2413–2426

    Google Scholar 

  • Ciacci C et al (2015) The gluten-free diet and its current application in coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. United European Gastroenterol J 3:121–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Codex Alimentarius Commission (2008) In: Codex Alimentarius Commission. Foods for special dietary use for persons intolerant to gluten Codex STAN 118–1979. Codex Alimentarius Commission, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Amigo C et al (2013) Accuracy of ELISA detection methods for gluten and reference materials: a realistic assessment. J Agric Food Chem 61:5681–5688

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Escarnot E et al (2018) Reactivity of gluten proteins from spelt and bread wheat accessions towards A1 and G12 antibodies in the framework of celiac disease. Food Chem 268:522–532

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • European Union (2011) Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers, Amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004. European Union, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Farage P et al (2017) Gluten contamination in gluten-free bakery products: a risk for coeliac disease patients. Public Health Nutr 20:413–416

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farage P et al (2019) Accidental gluten contamination in traditional lunch meals from food services in Brasilia, Brazil. Nutrients 11:1924

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fasano A et al (2000) Zonulin, a newly discovered modulator of intestinal permeability, and its expression in coeliac disease. Lancet 355:1518–1519

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fasano A et al (2001) Current approaches to diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease: an evolving spectrum. Gastroenterology 120:636–651

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fasano A et al (2012) Clinical practice. Celiac disease. N Engl J Med 367:2419–2426

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibert A et al (2013) Might gluten traces in wheat substitutes pose a risk in patients with celiac disease? A population-based probabilistic approach to risk estimation. Am J Clin Nutr 97:109–116

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guennouni M et al (2021) Gluten contamination in labelled gluten-free, naturally gluten-free and meals in food services in low-, middle- and high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Nutr:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochegger R et al (2015) Comparison of R5 and G12 antibody-based ELISA used for the determination of the gluten content in official food samples. Foods 4:654–664

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Husby S et al (2012) European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition guidelines for the diagnosis of coeliac disease. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 54:136–160

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Inomata N (2009) Wheat allergy. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 9:238–243

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kabbani TA et al (2012) Body mass index and the risk of obesity in coeliac disease treated with the gluten-free diet. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 35:723–729

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagnoff MF (2007) Celiac disease: pathogenesis of a model immunogenetic disease. J Clin Invest 117:41–49

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Khan A et al (2020) Nonceliac gluten and wheat sensitivity. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 18:1913–1922.e1

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Khot LR et al (2012) Applications of nanomaterials in agricultural production and crop protection: a review. Crop Prot 35:64–70

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koerner TB et al (2013) Gluten contamination of naturally gluten-free flours and starches used by Canadians with celiac disease. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 30:2017–2021

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kupper C (2005) Dietary guidelines and implementation for celiac disease. Gastroenterology 128:S121–S127

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee HJ et al (2014) Gluten contamination in foods labeled as “gluten free” in the United States. J Food Prot 77:1830–1833

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lionetti E et al (2011) New clues in celiac disease epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and treatment. Int Rev Immunol 30:219–231

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lionetti E et al (2018) Safety of oats in children with celiac disease: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Pediatr 194:116–122.e2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lionetti E et al (2020) Nutritional status, dietary intake, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet of children with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet: a case-control prospective study. Nutrients 12:E143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludvigsson JF et al (2018) Outcome measures in coeliac disease trials: the Tampere recommendations. Gut 67:1410–1424

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mariani P et al (1998) The gluten-free diet: a nutritional risk factor for adolescents with celiac disease? J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 27:519–523

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Megiorni F et al (2012) HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 in celiac disease predisposition: practical implications of the HLA molecular typing. J Biomed Sci 19:88

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mehtab W et al (2021) Gluten content in labeled and unlabeled gluten-free food products used by patients with celiac disease. Eur J Clin Nutr 75(8):1245–1253

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mejías J et al (2014) Analysis of wheat prolamins, the causative agents of celiac sprue, using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Nutrients 6:1578–1597

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miller K et al (2016) Catering gluten-free when simultaneously using wheat flour. J Food Prot 79:282–287

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Monachesi C et al (2020) Slow decrease of antitissue transglutaminase antibody positivity in children with celiac disease after starting the gluten-free diet. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 71:49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monachesi C et al (2021a) Determination of urinary gluten immunogenic peptides to assess adherence to the gluten-free diet: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study. Clin Transl Gastroenterol 12:e00411

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Monachesi C et al (2021b) Quantification of accidental gluten contamination in the diet of children with treated celiac disease. Nutrients 13:190

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno M de L et al (2017) Detection of gluten immunogenic peptides in the urine of patients with coeliac disease reveals transgressions in the gluten-free diet and incomplete mucosal healing. Gut 66:250–257

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morón B et al (2008a) Toward the assessment of food toxicity for celiac patients: characterization of monoclonal antibodies to a main immunogenic gluten peptide. PLoS One 3:e2294

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morón B et al (2008b) Sensitive detection of cereal fractions that are toxic to celiac disease patients by using monoclonal antibodies to a main immunogenic wheat peptide. Am J Clin Nutr 87:405–414

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Myléus A et al (2020) Rate, risk factors, and outcomes of nonadherence in pediatric patients with celiac disease: a systematic review. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 18:562–573

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osman AA et al (2001) A monoclonal antibody that recognizes a potential coeliac-toxic repetitive pentapeptide epitope in gliadins. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 13:1189–1193

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osorio et al (2019) Gluten detection methods and their critical role in assuring safe diets for celiac patients. Nutrients 11:2920

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Panda R et al (2019) Detection and quantitation of gluten in fermented-hydrolyzed foods by antibody-based methods: challenges, progress, and a potential path forward. Front Nutr 6:97

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Penagini F et al (2013) Gluten-free diet in children: an approach to a nutritionally adequate and balanced diet. Nutrients 5:4553–4565

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Raju N et al (2020) Gluten contamination in labelled and naturally gluten-free grain products in Southern India. Food Addit Contam Part A 37:531–538

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rostom A et al (2005) The diagnostic accuracy of serologic tests for celiac disease: a systematic review. Gastroenterology 128:S38–S46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubio-Tapia A et al (2016) Increased mortality among men aged 50 years old or above with elevated IgA anti-transglutaminase antibodies: NHANES III. BMC Gastroenterol 16:136

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sansotta N et al (2020) Trend of antitissue transglutaminase antibody normalization in children with celiac disease started on gluten-free diet: a comparative study between chemiluminescence and ELISA serum assays. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 70:37–41

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sapone A et al (2012) Spectrum of gluten-related disorders: consensus on new nomenclature and classification. BMC Med 10:13

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Scherf KA et al (2016) Recent developments in analytical methods for tracing gluten. J Cereal Sci 67:112–122

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scherf KA et al (2021) Statement of the prolamin working group on the determination of gluten in fermented foods containing partially hydrolyzed gluten. Front Nutr 7:626712

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • See JA et al (2015) Practical insights into gluten-free diets. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 12:580–591

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma GM et al (2013) Development of an incurred cornbread model for gluten detection by immunoassays. J Agric Food Chem 61:12146–12154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silano M et al (2009) Toxic, immunostimulatory and antagonist gluten peptides in celiac disease. CMC 16:1489–1498

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silvester JA et al (2018) Cross-contamination with gluten by using kitchen utensils: fact or fiction? J Food Prot 81:1679–1684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh P et al (2018) Global prevalence of celiac disease: systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 16:823–836

    Google Scholar 

  • Syage JA et al (2018) Determination of gluten consumption in celiac disease patients on a gluten-free diet. Am J Clin Nutr 107:201–207

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson TL et al (2021) Gluten-free foods cooked in shared fryers with wheat: a pilot study assessing gluten cross contact. Front Nutr 8:652039

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2013) Food labeling; gluten-free labeling of foods, final rule. Fed Regist 78:47154–47179. Available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/08/05/2013-18813/food-labeling-gluten-free-labeling-of-foods

    Google Scholar 

  • USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. Chapter 3. USA dry pea, lentil & chickpea production. https://agresearch.montana.edu/wtarc/producerinfo/agronomy-nutrient-management/Pulses/USADryPeaCouncil%20FactSheet.pdf. Accessed 24 Mar 2022

  • Valletta E et al (2010) Celiac disease and obesity: need for nutritional follow-up after diagnosis. Eur J Clin Nutr 64:1371–1372

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verma A et al (2017) Gluten contamination in naturally or labeled gluten-free products marketed in Italy. Nutrients 9:115

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vinci G et al (2019) Noble metal nanoparticles applications: recent trends in food control. Bioengineering 6:10

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Weisbrod VM et al (2020) Preparation of gluten-free foods alongside gluten-containing food may not always be as risky for celiac patients as diet guides suggest. Gastroenterology 158:273–275

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yu JM et al (2021) Analyzing gluten content in various food products using different types of ELISA test kits. Foods 10:108

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlo Catassi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Di Sario, F., Monachesi, C., Verma, A.K., Catassi, C. (2023). Everything That Must Be Known About the Relationship of Gluten to Human Health. In: de Escalada Pla, M.F., Genevois, C.E. (eds) Designing Gluten Free Bakery and Pasta Products . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28344-4_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics