HSOS #16: Is Gluten the Culprit? How to Test, Try, and Find Out

If you’ve ever wondered whether gluten’s the reason you feel bloated, foggy, or just “off,” this one’s for you. Kim breaks down what gluten actually is, how to know if it’s truly the problem (or just getting blamed), and how to test it without spending hundreds on junk science kits. You’ll also learn what FODMAPs are, why they might be the real culprit, and how to do a gluten trial that’s sane, simple, and totally doable.

Let’s talk.

Welcome to Her Season of Strength—where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices, without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy—registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman when it comes to aging like you mean it.

This show isn’t about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles. It’s about building real strength—physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I’ll share straight-talking nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies, and conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin once again.

Menopause is not an ending, it is only the beginning. This is your season of strength.

💡 What You’ll Hear

• A quick life update (spoiler: Kim’s off to Alabama to snuggle her grandson—and there’s a Black Friday surprise coming!)
• Why gluten gets such a bad rap—and what’s really changed in modern wheat
• The difference between celiac disease, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity
• What FODMAPs actually are (and why onions, apples, and beans might be stirring the pot more than gluten)
• Which tests give you real answers—and which ones belong in the trash
• A 4–6 week elimination and reintroduction plan that doesn’t involve panic or perfection
• The one thing to remember before cutting gluten: your body’s the best data you’ll ever get

Links & resources for this episode:

Fit After 50 Plus Program: 8-Week Nutrition Coaching & Fitness Program for women 50+. Next session starts winter of 2026. Join the interest list today for the best bonuses and discounts offered.

Free cheat sheet: "20 Tips to Crushing Menopause"

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Hi there, and welcome to her season of Strength, where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices, without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy, registered dietician, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman. When it comes to aging like you mean it, this show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles.

[00:00:20] It's about building real strength, physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight talking, nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies. And conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin. Once again, menopause isn't an ending. It's only the beginning. This is your season of strength.

[00:00:39] Hello and welcome back to her season of Strength Podcast. I so appreciate you taking just a few minutes outta your day to listen in, and I really hope that you find our talk today interesting because if you've ever thought that I, I'm sensitive to something, I'm having bloating or fatigue or joint pain or brain [00:01:00] fog or constipation or diarrhea, and I think, it's related to something that I have eaten and.

[00:01:06] I hear it all the time, and what is the first thing that we go to? The first suspect is gluten. But how do you know if that's really the issue? Today I wanna break it down into plain language, what gluten actually is, what it does, what testing can tell you, and how to run your own elimination and rechallenge without falling for all the hype and paying all the money for the tests that are just basically crap.

[00:01:32] So before we dive into gluten, I have a couple little life updates here. In a few days I'm gonna be heading down to Alabama to babysit my beautiful little grandson. So I'm working hard to get all my work done and doing some podcasts in advance. So that I can unplug and enjoy and just absorb every second of being with him.

[00:01:48] So I cannot wait. On November 16th, I've been asked to be on an expert panel called Pause for Menopause through the South Asian Women's Network. The event's gonna be here in [00:02:00] Minnesota and Brooklyn Center, and since this episode is gonna be coming out on November 13th, it's gonna be a little too late to RSVP.

[00:02:05] I'm so sorry about that, but I'm super excited to do a podcast. In the near future where I can discuss everything that we covered. 'cause there's some other really awesome, expert panelists who are doctors and other people working in the field, working with women who are going through menopause.

[00:02:21] So I should say, going through post menopause. So lastly, since Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple weeks, I cannot believe how this year has flown by. We're gonna be to Christmas. Before we know it, I have decided to do a Black Friday offer for a six week strength training program as well as. Six weeks of meal plans to get you through the holidays and into 2026.

[00:02:45] I'm giving it for 50% off, so it's only gonna be 56 bucks. And I just, the reason why I wanna do this is because I feel like. Everyone is going through the holidays and we are just trying to get by. We are not exercising like we normally do. [00:03:00] We're not eating like we normally do. We're going to parties.

[00:03:03] We're probably drinking more alcohol than typical and then we get to New Year's Day and it's like we feel like we have to reset. My goal is to keep you continue, keep you consistent through the holidays. 'cause this is gonna start December one and it goes through mid January and. It's gonna help to keep you on track as you get you through the holidays so you're not feeling like you need that reset on New Year's Day.

[00:03:29] Okay? If that is something that interests you, send me an email to info@strengthennutrition.com with the phrase Black Friday, and I will send you all the details as soon as I have them. Otherwise, stay tuned for details. I'll probably be talking about it more on the podcast that comes out on, the 20th, November 20th. So if you want to just listen in, keep listening to the podcast and I'll talk a little bit more about it then. So let's dive in. I wanna start really simple. What is gluten? Gluten is a [00:04:00] protein. It's made up of two smaller proteins called glyadin and glutenin that naturally occur in the grains, including wheat, barley, and rye.

[00:04:11] It gives us, basically it's giving us that, that lovely texture. Of bread that's soft and stretchy and delicious to eat. Okay? And it's created when we need the bread, not need it, as in we need to eat as much as possible, but kneading it as in putting it on the counter and pushing it and stretching it and you know how we make bread, right?

[00:04:34] If you've ever made homemade bread. So gluten itself is not bad. It's just that structure, building protein in it. So in some people the body treats that kind of it's it's an invader, which can trigger anything from mild discomfort to full autoimmune reactions. So most of us eat wheat in some form every single day.

[00:04:58] We might have, bread, have [00:05:00] toast at breakfast. We might have a sand sandwich at lunch. We might have pasta at dinner time. That constant exposure can make it hard to know if it's helping or hurting. 'Cause gluten has become this buzzword and it's not always for the right reasons.

[00:05:15] Part of that's awareness because celiac disease used to go undiagnosed for decades and now we actually test for it. Part of it's marketing. Everything from cereal to bottled water now brags gluten-free. And I always find it so funny because it'll say gluten-free and it's maybe something that never had gluten in it in the first place.

[00:05:36] Never even had those grains in it. And then there's the fact that modern wheat is processed differently than it used to be. We eat more refined flour, less variety, and more additives. When someone cuts back on bread and they start eating more whole foods, they often feel better, and it's easy to give all the credit to gluten.

[00:05:57] I don't know if you've ever talked to anybody who's maybe [00:06:00] traveled overseas to like Europe and they say, I can't eat any of the bread in the United States because I react to the gluten. I have all these side effects or issues with it, and I go to, Europe or Italy or France or whatever, and I eat the bread there and I have absolutely no problem.

[00:06:16] Sometimes it can be related to, maybe in, in that sense, maybe it is. The grain. Maybe it is the preservatives, maybe it is the other things that we're adding to it or using in those breads here in the United States. Who knows? So some symptoms of gluten related issues, they're all over the place.

[00:06:33] They can be bloating, gas, diarrhea, or constipation. They can be extreme fatigue or brain fog, headaches, joint pain, or even skin rashes, and they don't always hit right after you eat it. Sometimes it's the next day. And that makes it easy to blame gluten when the real trigger might be something else. It could be stress, it could be lack of sleep, it could be other foods that are messing with your digestion.[00:07:00] 

[00:07:00] And that's why testing in a structured approach matter more than just guesswork. Okay, so let's clear up some of the terms, because this is where people get mixed up. So first of all, celiac disease, it's an actual autoimmune condition. Your immune system physically attacks your small intestine whenever you're eating glutenin.

[00:07:20] Over time, that can lead to nutrient deficiencies, it can lead to bone loss and then extreme fatigue. The way we diagnose celiac disease is with blood work, specifically a test called T TTG dash iga, and total IGA tests, and sometimes they'll do a biopsy. And yes, you need to be eating gluten for those tests to actually work.

[00:07:47] So I know that seems a little weird, right? Wheat allergy is different. It's an actual allergic reaction that usually happens very quickly. You get maybe itching, hives, swelling, and sometimes it can be even trouble breathing. [00:08:00] It's confirmed through allergy testing. Now non-celiac gluten sensitivity. It sits right in the between.

[00:08:08] You don't have celiac or you don't have an allergy, but you still feel crummy after eating gluten. There's no official blood test yet. So diagnosis is based on your symptoms improving when you remove gluten and returning when you add it back. And here's the twist, some people who think they're reacting to gluten are actually reacting to something else called FODMAPs.

[00:08:31] Which brings me to the next piece. So what does FODMAP or F-O-D-M-A-P stand for? It stands for Fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. Basically, certain types of carbs that can be tough for some guts to break down. And where do we find FODMAPs? They're found in things like wheat, rye, barley, which also have gluten onions, garlic, cauliflower.[00:09:00] 

[00:09:00] Apples, pears, peaches, beans and lentils and sweeteners like sorbitol or xylitol. And these foods ferment in our guts, which can cause things like gas, bloating, cramps, especially if your gut bacteria are out of balance. Your digestive track is sensitive and you can read more about that or you can listen to more about that in my episode 10, which came out on October 2nd, it's called, what's Your Gut telling you If that's something like that, if you wanna know a little bit more about that.

[00:09:36] So sometimes when people cut out gluten and feel better, it's not the gluten at all. It's the drop in fodmap. So that's why I like to help women test things methodically instead of cutting out everything at once. So if you think gluten might be an issue, start with actual testing. If you are still eating gluten, ask your provider for a TTG dash iga a and a total [00:10:00] IGA test.

[00:10:01] And if they're positive, you might need a biopsy to confirm if you have celiac disease, but if they're negative, but you're still having symptoms. You can do a couple tests called HLA DQ two or DQ eight, genetic testing, and if both of those are negative, you know that Celiac is basically ruled out. So if you're already gluten-free, the test.

[00:10:26] Won't be accurate. You need to add gluten back, and you can do that by adding in one slice of bread a day for six to 12 weeks before testing. It's not fun if you're having symptoms related to it, but it is worth it if you really, if you wanna clear answer, if you suspect that you have an allergy, ask for wheat specific IgE or skin prick testing.

[00:10:52] And please, skip the mail-in food sensitivity kits that test the IgG antibodies. Those don't diagnose intolerance. They just [00:11:00] show what foods that you've eaten recently. Save your money. Okay? If celiac and weed allergy are ruled out, you can try a short term elimination diet. So here's how we can do that safely and without going crazy.

[00:11:15] Number one, you need to commit to it for four to six weeks. You're only gonna do it for a few days or a week, it's you're, it's not gonna be beneficial. Okay. In those four to six weeks, you're gonna remove all obvious and hidden gluten. Wheat, barley, rye, malt, brewer's, yeast. Yep. You're not gonna be able to drink beer, sorry, soy sauce, unless it's labeled gluten-free and non-certified oats.

[00:11:43] Two, you're going to eat real food. So you're gonna focus on food like rice, potatoes, quinoa, corn, beans, fruits, veggies, eggs, meat, fish, yogurt, simple nourishing foods. Okay? Then we don't have to worry about, if something's got this ingredient label that [00:12:00] there's a million things in it. You don't have to worry about breaking them apart and figuring out if any of them include gluten.

[00:12:06] Okay? Three, read every label. If you truly wanna be good about this, you need to read, because gluten hides in many things. It hides in things like soups, sauces, spice mixes, even supplements. Number four, you're gonna keep a daily log, so you're gonna rate your digestion, your energy, your mood, your skin, if you're having any breakouts or if you're having any kind of joint issues, joint discomfort.

[00:12:35] Then five, after four to six weeks, you're gonna reintroduce gluten, one serving a day, like one slice of bread for about two weeks. If you see that those symptoms return, like obviously gluten might be part of the issue, and if not, it's probably something else. And don't stay a hundred percent gluten-free forever unless you have to.

[00:12:57] The diet can get restrictive and it can [00:13:00] really make social eating stressful. The goal here is information, not lifelong restriction for no reason. Okay? And if you find that genuinely do better, gluten-free, the good news is there's tons of way to eat, tons of ways to eat well. You can do, things like rice bowls, tacos, stir fry, chili, omelets, yogurt bowls.

[00:13:21] None of that requires gluten. So stick with naturally gluten-free foods instead of relying on the gluten-free cookies and the breads and all of those great gluten-free options that are just as processed as their wheat versions. And if you're eating out, don't be afraid to ask questions about cross contact, right?

[00:13:41] Because restaurants deal with this all the time now, and it's not weird to ask, you wanna make sure they're not, cutting on a cutting board that they've been cutting, regular bread that contains gluten or something like that. I've worked with, plenty of women who were sure that gluten was the problem and sometimes it was, [00:14:00] but other times it turned out to be stress or poor sleep or skipping meals.

[00:14:04] And then overeating later once we cleaned up their, their eating rhythm and managed stress, their gluten problem disappears. And then there's those who do have celiac finally diagnosed after years of not feeling right. And when they go gluten-free, their energy and digestion change completely.

[00:14:20] And the point is that your body has its own language, right? The more patient you are learning it, the clearer it becomes. So here's what I want you to take away from this. Gluten isn't automatically the bad guy. If you suspect a problem test before eliminating. If you do go gluten free, do it fully and temporarily, and then rein, reintroduce, and just observe symptoms.

[00:14:47] Don't rely, on the internet fear or the trendy diets, use data from your own body. Just because it works for, your neighbor next door doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna, work for you. [00:15:00] If this episode helped you to understand gluten just a little better, share it with a friend who's been struggling with similar GI symptoms, and if you haven't yet.

[00:15:08] I would love it if you'd leave a quick rating or review. It helps other women to find the show and start making sense of their own nutrition journey journeys, because you know what this is about progress over perfection. We're in this for the long haul, and this is your season of strength. Have a fantastic day.