The charity Coeliac UK says there’s widespread misdiagnosis of the condition. It carried out a survey of more than 1,600 of its members and found that nearly 60% of them had previously been incorrectly diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) instead of being tested and diagnosed with coeliac disease.
The charity says one in 100 people in the UK have coeliac disease, an auto-immune condition caused by gluten intolerance. Left untreated by the diet it can lead to osteoporosis, infertility and bowel cancer.