Gluten intolerance and hashimoto thyroiditis: an integrated review

Abstract

The advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago enabled the massive and widespread use of grains containing gluten in food. Thus, it represented an evolutionary challenge that has not yet been overcome and created the conditions for the development of diseases related to exposure to gluten in humans. The so-called hypersensitivity involves any abnormal reaction resulting from eating a particular food. We are now looking at another interesting phenomenon that is causing great confusion among healthcare professionals. The number of individuals embracing a gluten-free diet appears far greater than the predicted number of celiac patients, fueling a global gluten-free product market approaching $2.5 billion (US) in global sales in 2010. This trend is supported by the notion that, along with celiac disease, other conditions related to gluten intake have emerged as health concerns. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease and the most common cause of hypothyroidism in our environment. It occurs with high familial aggregation and there seems to be a clear genetic predisposition, with an apparent autosomal dominant inheritance of autoantibodies in affected individuals. Food intolerance and allergies and intestinal permeability can accompany hypothyroidism. Food (food intolerance and allergies), bacteria, viruses, chemicals, excess bacterial growth in the intestine, intestinal permeability, and contaminants are the main culprits for the autoimmune thyroid disease – Hashimoto's thyroiditis.