Symptoms of glutening are often digestive (abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation). However, gluten exposure can also cause headaches, anxiety, brain fog, skin rashes, or problems with a variety of body systems. These symptoms can last for days or weeks.
As many people have busy lives, families and jobs, experiencing this fatigue can make every day tasks become challenging and frustrating. With the most common symptoms including lack of energy, difficulty concentrating and bodily aches, gluten-induced fatigue can heavily reduce an individual's quality of life.
Gluten stays in your system for one to two days. After that, any undigested gluten that remains in your body is excreted along with other waste products. That doesn't necessarily mean that you will feel 100% better once that happens, though.
While symptoms of accidental gluten exposure may resolve within a few days, it could take anywhere from three to six months for the intestines to heal. If you're an older adult, the timeline could be extended to as long as two years.
There's no cure for gluten intolerance. But most people find relief from symptoms by following a gluten-free diet. You should work with your healthcare provider and a dietitian to plan your diet. You can also ask your healthcare provider about adding probiotics to your diet.
Why eating gluten can make you tired. If you have untreated or undiagnosed coeliac disease, eating gluten can damage the villi in your intestines. This affects your ability to digest food properly, leading to various vitamin and mineral deficiencies which in turn can make you feel run down and tired.
Take a probiotic
A probiotic will boost the beneficial bacteria in your gut and support digestion. Consider doubling up for the first few days after exposure while your body is healing. Fermented vegetables can also be beneficial, but steer clear of yogurts and kefirs, as dairy can exacerbate symptoms.
Dr. Amy Meyers suggests, “Be sure to take an enzyme that includes dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP-IV), which helps break down gluten specifically.” Taking activated charcoal binds toxins, reduces gas and bloating. Drinking herbal Infusions (peppermint, chamomile or ginger tea) helps reduce nausea and maintains hydration.
A typical gluten face will present with red, puffy cheeks, with spots of hyperpigmentation around the chin. Some people will also have pimples spread out over the chin. Your face can also become bloated or swollen.
It may take as little as 1 hour to several hours, or even days, to feel unwell after eating gluten. Also, the degree of the reaction's severity and the time frame of its occurrence will depend on the level of gluten exposure and on whether you're a celiac disease sufferer or a nonceliac gluten-intolerant person.
Fatigue after eating could just be a sign that your body is working extra hard to digest your food. But it could also signal that something's off with your glucose (sugar) and insulin response or that there's an underlying condition that's the cause.
Common Symptoms
It can take two to three days after eating gluten before symptoms appear. 1 Some people with celiac accidentally eat gluten without any apparent symptoms. However, gluten can still damage the intestines without causing any symptoms. When you do experience symptoms, gastrointestinal problems are typical.
The immune system may see the undigested gluten particles are a microbial invader and attack them. Our environment has become much cleaner over the past 50 years. This means, to some scientists, that our clean and sterile environment has made our antibodies not able to fend off so many bugs and infections.
This means that when someone with NCGS eats gluten, it will not cause damage to the small intestine but will still produce symptoms. Common symptoms of NCGS are mental fatigue ("brain fog"), lack of energy or lethargy, gas, bloating, abdominal pain or cramps, diarrhea and even constipation.
This happens due to the consumption of gluten-loaded foods, which reduces the body's ability to absorb important nutrients, which include iron. Iron deficiency is largely related to anemia and fatigue. A gluten-free diet will improve your body's ability to absorb these nutrients and thus restore your energy levels.
No OTC products are proven to help with gluten intolerance. The best way to treat celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or NCGS is with a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free diets can be challenging, especially because gluten is in many of the foods we eat on a regular basis (like bread, pasta, and cereal).
If you have celiac disease or a non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and your symptoms haven't improved with a gluten-free diet, you may benefit from taking probiotics. Probiotics have been shown to significantly improve the effectiveness of a gluten-free diet and reduce stubborn digestive symptoms of celiac disease.
After you stop eating foods with gluten, your symptoms will likely get better in a few days. Your small intestine should heal completely in 3 to 6 months. Your villi will be back and working again. If you are older, it may take up to 2 years for your body to heal.
Amy Meyers recommends taking an increased dose of probiotics for a week after exposure to restore the good bacteria. Since our bodies are unable to produce glutamine when our systems have been compromised, take L-glutamine, a powerhouse amino acid, to heal the gut lining and reduce inflammation.
The gluten-free diet is the only treatment for both celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. But gluten sensitivity may be a transient condition. Consequently, the diet should be followed by gluten-sensitive patients for one to two years, followed by testing for gluten tolerance.