> ...gluten is something that seems to be a culprit of IBS symptoms in certain people. That doesn't mean that gluten is bad, just that it causes a poor reaction in some people...
I've watched it first hand with my wife -- who is 1/2 Italian -- giving up pasta and bread in the last few years. It has made a huge difference in her daily quality of life with respect to digestive issues (mainly bloating and gassiness).
Gluten is a protein so it's not hard to imagine that either this protein is not easily digested by some folks or some byproduct of its digestion feeds some specific gut bacteria that produces inflammatory compounds. If Celiac is a full blown immune response to inflammation caused by gluten, then it seems reasonable that some folks would have a spectrum of reactions to barely registering it or somewhere in between (like my wife).
It's possible that it's some other compound that's prevalent in wheat, but avoiding wheat-based products has been life changing for my wife. I would add that this has developed with age similarly to how she has become lactose intolerant as well around the time she turned 40 so if you're in your 20's or 30's and you think this is malarkey, well, give it time (and really enjoy your lactose and gluten!).
Why folks downvoted the original comment, I don't understand; this is based on firsthand experience hacking her diet and observing how she felt. I'm not here on some anti-gluten crusade (my kids eat and enjoy plenty of gluten for the entire household!)
No, it is not. It comes in a bunch of varieties and there is news: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3945755/
"Most gluten intolerance seems to be nothing but hypochondria"
Well, tell this to somebody who nearly died of it. First diagnosis when I walked into the hospital: HIV in the final stage! But I have a super rare form of it. Incidence 1:100000
From the abstract
>Fish exposed to glyphosate develop digestive problems that are reminiscent of celiac disease
The rest seems to be theorizing with no empirical evidence
Gene test?
Trying to avoid gluten?
Don't forget, first you have to suspect to have a gluten problem. There are many forms of celiac. And there are forms that are unlikely to be diagnosed by a doctor. They may even not know what you have if you tell them the name of the disease and have to google it.
It took a while for my wife to zero in on pasta and bread as one source of her bloating and gassiness (lactose being another). She grew up eating plenty of pasta, bread, and lactose. But cutting it out has helped reduce digestive discomfort now in her early 40's.