There are many different causes of bad breath, as most of us know by now. Another cause is gluten intolerance (also known as celiac disease), which can cause halitosis, white tongue (a coating of white on the tongue that will not go away), and mucus in the throat.
Since the body’s own immune system causes damage with celiac disease, it is said to be an autoimmune disorder. This disease exists in one’s digestive and damages the small intestine, not allowing the correct absorption of nutrients. What happens is the small intestine is damaged as gluten is consumed, and the villi on the lining of the small intestine are lost. These villi are supposed to be what is absorbing the nutrients into the bloodstream. Without villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much he or she eats. Those who have this disease cannot tolerate gluten, which is often found in rye, wheat, barley, oats, and so on.
This disease runs in families, and can be triggered by pregnancy, childbirth, viral infections, surgery, or severe emotional trauma. Different people have different symptoms.
One way to know that you might have a problem with gluten is if you begin a diet that is gluten-free and the symptoms (like bad breath, bloating and gas) go away. Some people with mild cases of this disease may never be diagnosed, so their sensitivity to gluten remains unexplained. However, other health issues can cause similar symptoms, so do not jump to conclusions until you have a solid diagnosis.
In order to get diagnosed with celiac disease, one usually needs to run blood tests that check for the antibodies antigliadin, anti-endomysium and antireticulin.
For those who have a genetic predisposition to celiac disease, there might not be a cure, and the only way to deal with this problem is to simply avoid gluten. If you do have a gluten intolerance and continue eating gluten, you are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.
It is thought that some people may never be diagnosed with celiac disease because the case may be mild, but they might still have a gluten sensitivity.