Insights from Your Hands: What They Reveal About Your Food

How to Determine if You Have Gluten Sensitivity

One thing you can do is look at your hands for Braly’s Sign…

Braly’s Sign was first noticed in 1953 by a British stomach doctor named Dr. James Braly. Many people with Celiac disease have a short pinkie finger, which is what Braly’s Sign is about. This observation was noted in medical journals like the J Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition in 2000 and the NEJM in August 1999.

In simple terms, if the tip of your pinkie finger is shorter than the crease of the last joint of your ring finger, that's Braly’s Sign.

Remember, this test is just an observation and doesn’t diagnose gluten intolerance. Even if you have this sign, it doesn’t mean you definitely have gluten intolerance. Similarly, not having Braly’s sign doesn’t rule out gluten intolerance. It’s just an interesting connection!

The best way to check for gluten intolerance is to cut out gluten completely for 30 days and see how you feel, look, and perform.

Other symptoms of gluten intolerance

The signs of gluten intolerance can differ for each person. Generally, these symptoms show up after eating gluten. If someone has gluten intolerance, they might experience these symptoms when they eat foods containing gluten regularly.

• Diarrhea and constipation

People who claim to have gluten intolerance often experience symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), such as diarrhea and constipation.

It's normal to have occasional digestive issues, but if these problems happen most days, it could mean there's an underlying health issue.

• Bloating

Another common issue people notice with gluten intolerance is bloating. This means feeling uncomfortably full and swollen in your stomach. You might also feel gassy.

Bloating can happen when you eat certain foods like veggies or drink fizzy drinks, but it can also occur for other reasons.

For those with gluten intolerance, bloating can happen often and isn't always tied to how much they eat.

People with celiac disease can also have diarrhea and constipation. They might notice that their stool smells especially bad because this condition leads to poor absorption of nutrients.

• Pains in the abdomen

Abdominal pain can happen for various reasons like stomach flu, gas, or acid reflux. But if someone has gluten intolerance, they might often feel abdominal pain even when there isn't an obvious cause like these other issues.

• Fatigue

Feeling tired can be tricky to figure out because it can come from various reasons, not just health issues. For example, if someone has trouble with gluten, they might feel tired all the time, which can make it tough to do everyday things.

• Nausea

If you have trouble with gluten, you might feel sick to your stomach, especially after eating gluten-containing foods. Feeling nauseous can happen for different reasons, but if it happens a lot after eating gluten, it could mean you have a problem with gluten.

• Headaches

Having frequent headaches is another sign that can happen in people who are sensitive to gluten.

Could Gluten Intolerance Be Incorrectly Diagnosed?

Gluten intolerance symptoms can stem from various reasons. Many confuse gluten intolerance with celiac disease, but they're different. Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disorder harming the digestive system.

People sometimes mix up gluten intolerance with wheat allergies. Wheat allergies can be life-threatening, causing breathing issues or loss of consciousness, unlike celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

If someone has trouble breathing or staying conscious, they need urgent medical help.

Gluten intolerance symptoms are milder than celiac disease or wheat allergies, and it's less understood.

Foods to avoid

Healthcare professionals might advise people with gluten intolerance to stay away from foods that contain gluten. This means avoiding anything made from:

• wheat or wheat-related grains like spelt
• barley, including malt
• rye
• brewer’s yeast

This recommendation means cutting out a lot of foods and drinks. Common gluten-containing items to avoid are:

• pasta
• bread, pastries, and baked goods
• noodles
• crackers
• cereals
• pancakes, waffles, and crepes
• biscuits
• beers and malt beverages

Is Gluten Elimination Right for Me?

A 2023 review found that gluten intolerance affects somewhere between 0.49% to 14.9% of adults.

The symptoms of gluten intolerance are broad and can be caused by many different things, which makes it tricky to diagnose.

For some folks with gluten intolerance, cutting out gluten entirely from their diet can help. But for others, even after doing this, symptoms might still linger.

It's best to consult with a healthcare provider to figure out the right diet and level of gluten avoidance that could help ease symptoms.

How to Reduce Your Intake

When someone is diagnosed with celiac disease, they need to immediately stop eating gluten. But for those with gluten intolerance, they often choose to gradually eat less gluten instead of stopping all at once.

For instance, someone might begin by having one gluten-free meal a day and then increase the number of gluten-free meals over time.

Not everyone with gluten intolerance needs to completely remove gluten from their diet because symptoms can vary in how serious they are.

Certain individuals can handle small amounts of gluten without feeling any symptoms.

Disclaimer: 

Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Corrections to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or products you obtain through this article or others.