Many people remove gluten from their diet hoping their gut symptoms will improve. For some, this may not change anything at all and can lead to a more restricted, less happy diet. But for others, this can make a meaningful difference.
How do you know whether gluten is affecting you? This article explores some of the situations where gluten may be worth investigating.
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains including kamut, semolina, spelt, and farro. The name comes from the Latin for glue – and that is precisely what it does. Gluten is what gives bread its chew and pastry its structure. I was once shown gluten separated from starch, and it was exactly that: a dense, grey, elastic mass. Its job it to hold everything together.
This binding quality is why it is a common additive far beyond the bakery – it appears in soups, sauces, marinades, and even some mustards.
Coeliac disease
The clearest situation where gluten must be avoided completely is coeliac disease.
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition in which gluten damages the villi, the tiny finger-like structures lining the small intestine that absorb nutrients.
However, one of the biggest misconceptions about coeliac disease is that it is purely a digestive disorder.
Coeliac is really a systemic autoimmune condition, meaning it can affect multiple systems in the body. Many people I’ve seen with coeliac disease do not experience significant digestive symptoms. Instead they may present with:
- Brain fog
- Depression
- Migraines
- Chronic fatigue
- Joint pain
- Irregular periods or fertility challenges
- Early onset of menopause coupled with more severe symptoms like hot flushes
Because symptoms can vary widely, coeliac disease can remain undiagnosed for many years. For those with coeliac disease, strict lifelong avoidance of gluten is essential, as even small exposures can trigger immune damage to the intestinal lining.
Other autoimmune conditions including Hashimoto’s
For those with autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s, the relationship with gluten deserves careful attention.
Dr Datis Kharrazian, a leading expert in autoimmunity with whom I have had the privilege of training, has written extensively on how gluten can drive immune reactivity in thyroid disease. Gliadin, one of the proteins in gluten, is structurally similar to thyroid tissue – in some people, eating gluten can trigger an immune response through a process called molecular mimicry.
It is one of the clearest examples of how diet can quietly influence a condition that appears to have nothing to do with food.
Autoimmunity and leaky gut
Many studies show that gluten triggers intestinal permeability (commonly known as leaky gut) in everyone – and not just those with coeliac disease. And this matters enormously if you have any autoimmune condition.
Dr Alessio Fasano, one of the world’s leading experts on gluten-related disorders, has identified that every autoimmune condition requires three things to develop and persist: a genetic predisposition, an environmental trigger, and intestinal permeability. Remove any one of the three and the condition can go into remission.
We cannot change our genes but we do not always control our triggers. Intestinal permeability is something we can directly address – removing gluten is one of the most effective ways to do it. This is why going gluten-free has the potential to be genuinely disease-modifying for people with autoimmune conditions, not simply symptom-managing.
In my practice, when working with clients with an autoimmune condition, I always explore a gluten-free approach. At the same time, as autoimmune specialist Robyn Puglia once told me, not everyone with autoimmunity will react to gluten. This is why testing and personalisation is so essential.
Reproductive health
The gut and reproductive system are in close communication. When the gut is inflamed, it can affect ovulation, egg quality, implantation, and the immune environment needed for early pregnancy.
I see this particularly in complex fertility cases – women who have been told that IVF is their only option. Food sensitivity tests in these women frequently show gluten reactivity that is completely off the charts, even without a coeliac diagnosis. Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity is far more common in this group than is generally recognised.
Also, Dr Gowri Motha, a holistic obstetrician, has observed that women with coeliac disease who strictly avoid gluten often experience easier births. While birth is many things and cannot be explained by diet alone, one possible explanation is the reduction in systemic inflammation once gluten is removed. While also this doesn’t mean gluten is problematic for every woman, it highlights how, for those who are sensitive or have coeliac, reducing this gluten may support a healthier pregnancy and overall reproductive wellbeing.
Period health
Naturopathic doctor Lara Briden has documented links between gluten sensitivity and conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis, amenorrhoea, and hormonal migraines.
If your period has disappeared or become erratic and no one can explain why, coeliac screening is now formally recommended as part of the investigation.
For women with endometriosis specifically, I recommend a strict elimination of gluten alongside other identified trigger foods. In my experience, this approach can make a real difference to symptom severity. This is supported by research: one study found that 75% of endometriosis sufferers reported significant improvement in pain after twelve months on a gluten-free diet.
Recurring UTIs (urinary tract infections)
Another connection I see frequently is between bladder health, diet, and gut health. When food sensitivities – including gluten – compromise the intestinal barrier, the resulting inflammation doesn’t stay purely in the gut.
For some women, the bladder becomes more reactive and more prone to repeated infection as a result.
Research confirms that women with unresolved coeliac disease have a measurably higher risk of UTIs.
Treating each infection without asking why they keep returning is like mopping the floor with the tap still running. The pattern doesn’t break until the underlying picture is properly investigated.
Is it more about the chemicals in our environment?
Another important piece of the puzzle is how our modern wheat is grown.
Conventional wheat is heavily treated with herbicides like glyphosate, including as a pre-harvest desiccant.
I have been told that even organic crops are also sprayed post-harvest to 70% of the usual amount.
These environmental chemicals were designed to stop insects from eating the crops by injuring their digestive and immune systems – one local farmer told me it literally “blows up insects’ intestines” – and there is growing evidence it does the same in the human body: compromising good bacteria in our guts, increasing intestinal permeability, and creating a toxic burden that can cause digestive and even neurological symptoms.
This means that many people who believe they are reacting to gluten may actually be reacting to pesticide residues or other environmental toxins first.
If this is your experience, you may benefit from choosing less processed, organic sources of wheat to see how you feel.
Gluten-free does not always mean “healthy”
Many people who eliminate gluten replace it with processed gluten-free products which are flooding our shops. These are often made from refined starches, emulsifiers, and additives which are even harder on the gut than traditional foods. Gluten-free does not automatically mean healthy.
Testing can help avoid unnecessary restriction while identifying genuine sensitivities and immune reactions.
In the UK, the NHS standard blood test for coeliac disease is a helpful starting point. It measures anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies. However, this test mainly detects immune reaction to one gluten-related target. Gluten has many different proteins, so someone could have a reaction to other components of wheat that are not tested and their coeliac disease would be missed entirely.
In my practice I use the Cyrex WheatBurden™ panel – a comprehensive blood test designed to detect immune reactivity (IgA and IgG antibodies) to the full spectrum of wheat and gluten proteins. Unlike standard tests that often only measure reactivity to alpha-gliadin, this panel covers various wheat proteins, peptides, and enzymes, including those altered by high heat or processing. The test is designed to detect both autoimmune reactivity and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.
In summary
Gluten is not a problem for everyone. But for women with Hashimoto’s or other autoimmune conditions, hormonal symptoms, complex fertility challenges, severe menopausal symptoms, or those with recurring UTIs, it is absolutely worth investigating whether gluten – or what’s been sprayed on the crops – is contributing to your symptoms.
The key is not to guess, but to understand how your immune system and gut are responding. With the right testing and a personalised approach, it is possible to determine whether gluten is affecting your health and create a nutrition plan that supports your gut health, hormones, and long-term wellbeing.
If you would like to explore whether gluten may be affecting your health, do get in touch to discuss testing options and a personalised nutrition strategy.
References
- Bold, J. & Rostami, K. (2015) ‘Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity and reproductive disorders’, Gastroenterology and Hepatology from Bed to Bench. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26468350 (Accessed: 10 March 2026).
- Briden, L. (2022) ‘How Wheat or Gluten Affects Periods’. Available at: https://www.larabriden.com/how-wheat-or-gluten-affects-periods (Accessed: 10 March 2026).
- Kharrazian, D. (2010) Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal. Morgan James Publishing.
- Marziali, M., Venza, M., Lazzaro, V., Micossi, C. & Stigliano, V. (2012) ‘Gluten-free diet: a new strategy for management of painful endometriosis related symptoms?’, Minerva Chirurgica, 67(6), pp. 499–504.
- Motha, G. (2004) The Gentle Birth Method: The Month-by-Month Jeyarani Way Programme for a Calmer, Easier and Happier Pregnancy and Birth. London: Dorling Kindersley.
- Rostami, K., Steegers, E.A.P., Wong, W.Y., Braat, D.D.M. & Steegers-Theunissen, R.P.M. (2001) ‘Coeliac disease and reproductive disorders: a neglected association’, European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
- Saalman, R. & Fällström, S.P. (1996) ‘High incidence of urinary tract infection in patients with coeliac disease’, Archives of Disease in Childhood, 74(2), pp. 170–171.
