If you get a stomachache after eating cereal, bread, or pasta, you may have a wheat allergy. A wheat allergy, like every allergy, is when your immune system identifies wheat proteins as harmful. Therefore, when you eat wheat, your immune system responds and releases histamine and other chemicals, which then causes your allergic symptoms.

Wheat allergy is most commonly seen in children and is usually outgrown by school-age. It can rarely cause severe reactions like anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction that can impair breathing and send the body into shock.

Intake of wheat in combination with exercise can on rare occasions lead to what some call "Runners Shock" or what is also known as Wheat Dependent Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis (WDEIA). The combination of wheat intake and exercise elicits a severe reaction and possible anaphylaxis.  One special allergenic part in wheat is often responsible for runner’s shock and requires specialist consultation.