Gluten Allergy and Wheat Lectins

By Jonathan Pitts

Often, people make the mistake of lumping gluten allergy, wheat lectins and grass allergy together. They assume that all three allergies are the same and that the treatment for these ailments is also the same. But in reality, these three allergies are different from each other. A gluten allergy is the body’s intolerance towards to the proteins in gluten. It is often the case that gluten is harmless to the body. However, for some individuals, their bodies react adversely to the presence of proteins in the gluten they ingest, and the body reacts unfavorably to the substance. The body triggers an immune response to the proteins in the gluten and this causes a reaction that mutates into an allergy.

On the other hand, intolerance towards wheat lectins is different. This is a common disorder with people who have type O of blood group who cannot tolerate wheat lectins. This leads to the blood getting clumped and then the immune system attacks the clump with the purpose of getting rid of it. This kind of body response is similar to that of the gluten allergy. Wherever there is wheat, there is gluten, and you should watch out for eating too much wheat if your blood type is O and you are susceptible to a gluten allergy. There is a possibility of confusing this with lectins as that is also caused by wheat. However, this condition is peculiar for those with blood type O and who are celiac as well. Hence, if you have blood type O and are celiac, you should avoid wheat and gluten altogether.

In fact, wheat is not the only type of food that people with blood group O must avoid. There are other instances of allergies that are caused by gluten and in people of blood groups A, B and A/B as well. By following proper diet is a good way to reduce the incidence of these allergies among these categories of people. As with all allergies and medical symptoms, gluten allergy can be contained if not cured by following a proper diet that is less on wheat and high on fiber. Intake of fibrous food is always recommended for people with these allergies and in many cases, it has been found to reduce the incidence of these allergies. In case the condition persists, you should seek expert medical help as these allergies can result in complications if they are left untreated. In many cases, the doctor would advise you to take anti allergic medications like anti histamines that control the allergy and there are variations of these compounds that are effective as well.

Prevention is always better than cure and in the case of gluten allergy and wheat lectins, it is better to prevent the allergy from manifesting and recurring instead of treating the same. Hence, consult your dietician or your doctor depending on how severe your allergy is and they would be in a position to advise you about the course of action.

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