Can you develop a wheat intolerance later in life?

[DatingDinosaur]

Just that really.

White bread has always bloated me but I've never been "poorly" with it and I was alright eating wholemeal bread, biscuits, pasta, pizza and other wheat based products so I put it down to white bread being more processed and having a lot of preservatives in. Now I get horrendous stomach cramps, wind, constipation and feel generally rubbish if I eat anything wheat based.

I've done an elimination diet and wheat is definitely a trigger. My B12 levels are normal (recent blood test for a well woman of a certain age health MOT thing).

Yes, dh was about 45 when he developed symptoms. His bloods were fine but he began to feel almost instantly bloated and needing the toilet shortly after.
He is fine with other cereals, it's just wheat.
He will know within a couple of minutes if he's made a mistake and something isn't wheat-free.

Yes, definitely.

Yes, my DS is diagnosed coeliac - I've always struggled a bit if I've had too much bread etc then 3 years ago I went over the edge and have to avoid it totally now. In agony within 2 hours of eating anything with it in.

Oh that's interesting @trulyunruly01 - I was wondering if it was just another thing peri/meno was throwing at me but that's clearly not something your DH is going to be going through 😄

@notapizzaeater - yes, I'm the same. Had a mince pie last night and was awake half the night with cramps and wind (used to be able to eat just one small mince pie without much issue but not anymore it seems).

Yes. Had to avoid heavily processed bread for years but then menopause hit and even pasta and home made bread made me ill. Now gluten free (and shop bought GF mince pies turn out to be nicer than muggle ones as the pastry is so short and not greasy!)

Yes, I appear to have developed non-coeliac gluten intolerance in my 60s, with explosive diarrhoea and vomiting if I eat wheat. I have auto immune related T1 diabetes (diagnosed mid 40s) and also auto immune hypothyroidism so would be unsurprised if it were coeliac but blood tests have been negative

Finding the alternatives pretty awful to be honest. I like "good" food and would never have eaten eg sliced white bread, but even M&S no wheat GF sourdough is so horrible and all the pasta substitutes are terrible too.

Wheat has changed a great deal over the decades.

Yes to your original question.

If you think preservatives might have been a trigger (you mention this in your first post) be aware that lot of g-f bread and cakes have preservatives in.

Most Warburton’s does, as do Tesco and Sainsbury’s own brand products. Most M&S and Genius don’t, but you have to keep checking the labels as the ingredients change.

Coeliac disease can lay dormant for years and be activated by an environmental trigger such as a virus or even stress.

You can develop an intolerance or allergy to anything later in life.

it’s more common for women in their late 30s/40s.

Thank you all for your replies. It looks like it's not unheard of to develop an intolerance or aggravate a sleeping one(!!) later in life

I'm going to have a go at making my own bread and pasta as a last ditch attempt to see if it is specifically gluten that sets me off or the chemicals, additives and preservatives that are added (unnecessarily, imho) to shop bought wheat based products.

But don't get me started on UPF - that's a whole other topic

You can develop an intolerance to anything anytime.

Elimination diets help but when it comes to wheat it’s best to avoid it completely.

I think I may have a mild intolerance to it and I have also become lactose intolerant in my 50s.

Abel & Cole is a good source for wheat (and dairy) alternatives. I particularly like their rice noodles and pasta.

I was diagnosed with coeliacs in November, I'm nearly 40, so yes!

Yes. Myself and 3 family members all became gluten intolerant as adults.

It's very boring but yes, I've just had an ibs-type flare up for the very first time, and I imagine wheat was the culprit as I had been overdoing some nice (but clearly not very nice) bread immediately before it all kicked off...

How old are you? An increase in, or new allergies is one of the many symptoms of peri-menopause. The last couple of years my hayfever that has barely bothered me since my teens has hit me with full force and one of colleagues has developed food allergies to the point where she now carries an epipen!

I developed it straight after covid at 60 . If I have it I don't get so much stomache issues as pins and needles and migraines in back of head - occasionally though a bit of diarrhoea -

Yes a friend of mine has recently been diagnosed as coeliac at age 50+ having previously just thought bread was just a trigger for bloating but it got so much worse and she is now really healthy with no gluten at all.

I was wondering the same or even thinking I react badly to wheat if I overindulge but I’m ok if I just have the odd slice of bread.

One day last week, I had toast, bread and butter, biscuits and cereal and I was up all night with a bad stomach. Did I just have too much wheat that day?

My MIL was diagnosed coeliac in her 70s

I'm peri and have developed wheat and dairy intolerances.

@BlueberryVelvet - I was only doing an elimination diet to work out what was causing the spikes in dicky tum episodes. I've narrowed it down to (most likely) wheat/gluten with a pending lactose intolerance (I hope not because I have fruit and yoghurt for breakfast to avoid toast or cereals).

@thatbigbear - yes, I spotted a trend around "stodgy carbs" (which to me is bread and pizza) and "dodgy tums" too.

@NotFastButFurious - Oh I'm definitely in peri-meno. Actually, you raise a good point - I had hayfever for the first time since my teens last year too.

@Tistheseason23 - that's how I started to wonder - I was alright with a couple of slices of bread, or a couple of biscuits, or a slice of cake, etc. But I had an epic hormonal carb fest and gorged on pizza, biscuits and cake (after a massive ham salad sandwich for lunch) one evening and really suffered - it took a good couple of days to get back to normal again.

I'm about to tuck into a pork dinner with not a dot of gluten in sight. I anticipate feeling full but not bloated.

@DatingDinosaur I find roast dinners were actually one of my triggers until I realised bisto gravy granules have gluten- so started using marigold

I work in the nutrition industry and to understand intolerances and allergies you need to look into leaky gut syndrome. My daughter had a SEVERE milk allergy and following the leaky gut ‘protocol’ she’s fine now.