MELBOURNE, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- An Australian-led study has revealed that gluten sensitivity, which affects about 10 percent of the global population, is not actually about gluten but part of the way the gut and brain interact.
The finding was expected to set a new benchmark for how gluten sensitivity is defined, diagnosed and treated, overturning long-held assumptions about gluten sensitivity, said a statement released Thursday by Australia's University of Melbourne.
Published in The Lancet, the research review found that symptoms attributed to non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) are often triggered by fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs), other wheat components, or people's expectations and prior experience with food, rather than gluten.
People with NCGS experience symptoms after consuming gluten but do not have coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten. Common symptoms include bloating, gut pain and fatigue, the statement said.
"Contrary to popular belief, most people with NCGS aren't reacting to gluten," said study lead researcher, University of Melbourne Associate Professor Jessica Biesiekierski.
Across recent studies, people with irritable bowel syndrome who believed they were gluten-sensitive react similarly to gluten, wheat, and placebo, indicating "how people anticipate and interpret gut sensations can strongly influence their symptoms," Biesiekierski said.
The study redefined NCGS as part of the gut-brain interaction spectrum, closer to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, rather than a distinct gluten disorder, she added.
The finding has major implications for people self-managing gut symptoms, for clinicians prescribing restrictive diets, and for policymakers shifting public perception away from gluten as inherently harmful, the researchers said. ■
