How Long Does Gluten Stay in Your System?
If you want to know how long does gluten stay in your system, time it takes gluten to leave your system depends on several factors, including its amount eaten, length of time in your system prior to consumption and your body’s transit time.
People living with celiac disease typically see their digestive symptoms resolve within days after eating gluten; for those with non-celiac gluten sensitivity however, symptoms may take longer.
Transit Time
Transit Time of Gluten in Your System When it comes to gluten in your system, transit time refers to how long it takes for it to leave your body once consumed. In general this process typically takes around 40 hours but could take longer in those with slower digestive tracts or constipation issues.
Food travels from their mouth, through their stomach and small intestine, into their large intestine, and is ultimately eliminated in a bowel movement. For healthy people this process typically takes between 40-47 hours before it ends in elimination through stool.
Gluten can damage or irritate small intestines, increasing transit time by up to two and a half days and potentially due to malabsorption or compromised small bowel motility. This leads to different transit times for those living with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or allergy.
Symptoms
Accidentally consuming gluten can result in both short-term discomfort and long-term intestinal damage caused by their immune response to it.
Chronic inflammation in the small intestine may result in various other symptoms, including bloating, diarrhea and headaches.
Celiac disease sufferers are especially prone to this issue, although anyone can become affected.
Symptoms vary between individuals, depending on age, gender, health status, exercise intensity, stress level and hydration needs.
When someone stops eating food that contains gluten, they typically experience withdrawal symptoms that range in severity depending on how much gluten has been eliminated and their body’s ability to adapt. These withdrawal symptoms will depend on how quickly your body adjusts to a new diet plan.
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that damagees the small intestine. The immune system attacks gluten, an ingredient found in wheat, rye and barley products.
Damage to the digestive tract leads to leaky gut syndrome and is responsible for improper absorption of nutrients from food, leading to malnutrition and other serious health conditions.
If you suspect celiac disease, your physician will perform a blood test that checks for antibodies produced by your immune system as a response to gluten exposure.
Drs also look for other factors that could cause an autoimmune reaction in you and take samples from your small intestine to examine under an endoscope, a flexible tube used for viewing inside of the digestive system through mouth opening.
Once diagnosed, your doctor will instruct you in how to eat a gluten-free diet to aid your body’s healing and begin absorbing essential nutrients.
Treatment
Once food has entered your digestive tract, its journey takes some time before reaching its final destination – this period is known as transit time and may differ between individuals depending on factors like gender, activity level, sleep patterns and hydration levels.
As gluten remains in your system for longer, its symptoms become increasingly likely to surface – these could include bloating, gas, diarrhea, abdominal pain headaches nausea fatigue joint pain and brain fog.
Gluten can trigger an immune reaction in people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity that causes damage and inflammation to their small intestine. As a result, their intestinal lining becomes damaged, rendering nutrients unavailable for absorption resulting in weight loss, nutritional deficiencies and bone and joint complications.
Treatment options available to people experiencing symptoms of gluten in their system may include adopting a gluten-free diet, probiotics and taking an enzyme formula such as Gluten Shield to assist the body in breaking down complex carbohydrates such as gluten. Furthermore, taking sufficient water will also help flush it from your system more quickly.