There's no reliable blood or tissue test, partly because gluten sensitivity isn't a single disease,
现今没有可靠的血液测试或组织测试来确诊,部分原因是麸质敏感不是单一疾病,
and has a number of different possible causes.
而可能由一系列不同原因引起。
For example, it may be the case that gluten can activate the immune system in the small intestine,
譬如,起因可能是麸质可以启动小肠内的免疫系统,
or cause it to become leaky.
或者让小肠变得泻漏。
But sometimes, people claiming gluten sensitivity are actually sensitive not to wheat proteins,
但偶而一些人说自己麸质过敏,其实并非对小麦蛋白过敏,
but sugars found in wheat and other foods, called fructans.
而是对小麦和其他食物内的糖分过敏,这种糖叫果聚醣。
The human intestine can't break down or absorb fructans, so they make their way to the large intestine or colon,
人体肠道无法消化或吸收果聚醣,因此果聚醣会到大肠或结肠,
where they're fermented by bacteria, producing short-chain fatty acids and gases.
然后与那里的细菌发酵,产生短链脂肪酸和气体。
This leads to unpleasant symptoms in some people with bowel problems.
这给一些人带来不快的肠道症状问题。
Another possible explanation behind gluten sensitivity is the nocebo effect.
另一种说法是以为有害的反安慰剂效应引起敏感。
This occurs when a person believes something will cause problems, and because of that belief, it does.
即一个人相信自己对某些东西敏感时,会出现敏感症状,正是这种想法让敏感症状出现。
It's the opposite of the more well-known and much more fortuitous placebo effect.
上述效应和更广为人知、更偶发,以为有利的安慰剂反应刚好相反。
Given how much bad press gluten is getting in the media,
由于麸质的媒体形象日益低下,这种情况下,
the nocebo response may play a role for some people who think they're sensitive to gluten.
反安慰剂反应也许影响到那些觉得自己对麸质敏感的人。
For all these reasons,
上述种种原因,
it's clear that the problems people develop when they eat wheat and other grains aren't exclusively due to gluten.
清楚显示人们食用小麦等谷物时遇到的种种问题,不能完全归咎于麸质。
So a better name than non-celiac gluten sensitivity might be wheat intolerance.
给非乳糜泻麸质敏感更恰当的名字,可能是小麦不耐症。