Gluten intolerance, sometimes called non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, is a genuine but often misunderstood reaction to gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It's frequently confused with coeliac disease, but the two are medically very different, and telling them apart matters for how you approach testing and treatment.
Gluten intolerance vs coeliac disease
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition where eating gluten damages the lining of the small intestine. It requires a specific medical diagnosis (usually a blood test followed by a biopsy) and strict, lifelong avoidance of gluten. Gluten intolerance, by contrast, doesn't involve this autoimmune damage, it's a sensitivity that causes uncomfortable symptoms without the same long-term intestinal harm.
Important: if coeliac disease is a possibility, see a GP before cutting out gluten. Coeliac testing relies on your body still having gluten in your system, so removing it first can make an accurate diagnosis much harder.
Common symptoms of gluten intolerance
- Bloating and stomach cramps after eating bread, pasta or other wheat-based foods
- Fatigue or brain fog following gluten-containing meals
- Headaches
- Joint or muscle aches some people report
- Irregular bowel habits without a clear cause
How gluten intolerance testing works
Check My Body Health's food intolerance test includes gluten and wheat within its wider panel, alongside a broad range of other common foods. Rather than testing gluten in isolation, this approach helps you see whether gluten is genuinely a standout trigger for you, or whether other foods are contributing to your symptoms as well, which is common, since intolerances rarely occur in isolation.
1. Order your test kit
2. Take a small finger-prick blood sample at home
3. Return your sample using the prepaid packaging
4. View your full results online, food by food
What to do if gluten shows as a reactive food
Try a structured elimination of gluten-containing foods for a set period, then reintroduce gradually while tracking your symptoms. Many people find a combination of gluten and one or two other foods (commonly dairy) are behind their symptoms, which is why testing the wider panel is usually more informative than eliminating gluten alone.
