Will a gluten-free diet help if you have Microscopic Colitis (MC)? https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17227-microscopic-colitis Possibly. About 50% of MC patients also have celiac disease.
Microscopic Colitis is so named because your colon may look normal until tissue is examined under a microscope. This can make it hard to diagnose. And while you’re trying to get a diagnosis, symptoms may be disrupting your life.
MC is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes frequent, watery diarrhea and abdominal pain. Many patients lose weight. Others gain. It’s easy to end up dehydrated. And forget eating meals out, or even leaving your home for an extended period of time until you get it under control.
Once diagnosed, your doctor may recommend changing some medications and adding others, adding supplements, and identifying food intolerances. There’s no standard list of trigger foods although the most common are alcohol, caffeine, gluten, dairy, and sugar.
It’s easy to identify alcohol, caffeine, dairy, and sugar, but eliminating gluten is sometimes confusing. To do so, you’ll need to avoid wheat, rye, barley, and malt and their derivatives. That means look for these problematic items on a label:
Barley Grass
Barley Malt
Beer (there are GF varieties)
Bleached Flour
Bran
Bread Flour
Brewer’s Yeast
Brown Flour
Bulgur Wheat
Cookie Crumbs
Cookie Dough
Couscous
Durum wheat
Edible Coatings
Edible Films
Edible Starch
Enriched Bleached Flour
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
Enriched Flour
Farina
Farina Graham
Farro
Filler
Flour
Fu
Germ
Graham Flour
Groats
Hard Wheat
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch
Kamut
Maida
Malt
Malted Barley Flour
Malted Milk
Malt Extract
Malt Flavoring
Malt Vinegar
Matza
Matzo
Matzo Semolina
Orzo Pasta
Pasta
Pearl Barley
Triticum
Roux
Rusk
Rye
Semolina
Semolina Triticum
Spelt
Sprouted Wheat or Barley
Tabbouleh
Unbleached Flour
Vital Wheat Gluten
Wheat
Wheat Bran Extract
Wheat Germ Extract
Wheat Nuts
Wheat Protein
Whole-Meal Flour
The following items sometimes contain gluten:
Artificial Color
Baking Powder
Boxed Cereals
Broth
Caramel Color
Caramel Flavoring
Clarifying Agents
Coloring
Dextrins
Dextrimaltose
Dry Roasted Nuts
Emulsifiers
Enzymes
Fat Replacer
Flavoring
Food Starch
Food Starch Modified
Glucose Syrup
HPP
HVP
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
Hydroxypropylated Starch
Maltose
Miso
Modified Food Starch
Modified Starch
Natural Flavoring
Salad Dressing
Natural Flavors
Non-dairy Creamer
Oats
Seasonings
Soba noodles
Soy Sauce
Soup
Stabilizers
Starch
Tomato Paste
Vegetable Gum
Vegetable Starch
Vitamins
Wheat Starch
Beyond these common triggers, you may need to keep a food journal over a period of time in order to isolate other foods you cannot tolerate.
With the use of medication and dietary changes, it may be possible to resume most of your usual activities with confidence. For help dealing with lingering problems, MC support groups are available.