Wheat fields

[morgs99]

I just wanted to share something quite random about my husband and his celiac journey. He was diagnosed 10 years ago. It took about 6 months for the symptoms to subside and for him to feel normal. Anyway in lock down for no reason his symptoms returned. He hasn’t eaten any gluten or oats. We then realised that we’d been doing our daily walk through wheat fields near us! We had no idea you could inhale the gluten but we changed our walking route and now everything has calmed down again!! Weird!

[Whydothis]

That is really interesting. I have been wondering about it, because since the age of 7 I have had very bad hay fever, but only from grass and wheat pollen.

I have only knowingly been coeliac for 18 months, but possibly for 4 or 5 years I think.

I know that pollen is high protein (because bees feed pollen to their young for the protein) and of course wheat protein is called gluten!

I googled it in May when the wheat was flowering round here and making me suffer, but couldn't find any study about whether there is a link, but I can't help thinking there must be. I have been fine once the wheat had finished flowering and was just growing its grains, as the gluten inside them cannot escape into the air.

[Penel in reply to Whydothis]

Pollen is not the same protein as gluten.

[Hidden]

This is really interesting. So, had the wheat already sprouted its seeds, or did this apply when it was still just wheat grass? I think there is just so much more to this coeliac melarkey than simply ingesting it, and ingesting an amount more than 0ppm. Is your husband quite sensitive to gluten generally (can he tolerate the codex level 20ppm)? Could he be allergic to wheat and coeliac (e.g. you can have wheat allergy but not actually have coeliac, so maybe he has both).

[Whydothis in reply to Hidden]

It has to be the flowering stage. This is when you can just see where the grains will be, and you can see little pale yellow pollen grains on the end of each potential grain. These pollen grains are wind distributed from one plant to another, and so when blown or knocked they fly into the air and give me very bad hay fever. Before this stage (wheatgrass) there is nothing that can get into the air, and ditto once the flowering has finished and the grains start to swell.

[Hidden in reply to Whydothis]

I wonder if that is the case for the original poster? Lockdown has been in place since March, and flowering stage of wheat would not be until probably May-time, depending which part of UK you live in (will be later further north you go).

[Penel]

There are some discussions on American sites about the problems of living near wheat fields. Gluten isn’t contained in pollen, it’s found in the grains on the wheat stalks, so the main problems seem to occur at harvest time when there is grain in the air.

Coeliacs can eat honey which is made from pollen.

Any problems occurring at the moment could possibly be related to an allergic type reaction. Apart from the usual hay fever type reaction, the dust from wheat fields can cause dermatitis.

Also have a look at conditions like Baker’s Lung or Farmer’s Lung.

[Whydothis in reply to Penel]

I agree that the dust at harvest is likely to be a problem, as it will partly come from broken grains - and it is very bad to breathe it in irrespective of coeliac disease, as the dust is a carcinogen.

I have still been unable to find out how closely the protein in pollen is related to gluten, and I would love to know.

The pollen in honey is not from wheat, it is from flowering broad-leaved plants. The honey is made from nectar from flowers, and varying amounts of flower pollen do get included, but it won't be wheat pollen because cereals are wind pollinated, not by insects.

I write this one as a honey loving, coeliac, ex-beekeeper!

[Penel in reply to Whydothis]

Thank you for the bee information

Looking for information on pollen has been fascinating!

[Penel]

Should have added, irrespective of gluten, it’s not a good idea to walk around wheat fields because of the sprays that are used on wheat. They won’t do your husband or dog any good. If you’re new to the countryside it’s a good idea to find out when fields are sprayed near you, so you can stay well away.

[Hidden in reply to Penel]

I would also add that nothing drives farmers up the wall more than people flattening their crops, so you should not be walking through a wheat field full stop, unless it's your own. I'm pretty sure if there is not 'right of way' footpath, then it counts as private property and any walk through the wheat field will be trespassing.

[Whydothis in reply to Hidden]

I think the original poster meant walking between wheat fields rather than through them - but you are right, walking through a field is trespassing unless there is a public footpath

[morgs99 in reply to Whydothis]

Yes it’s a public footpath through the fields. All farmers happy don’t worry! 😊

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

In some places you have a "right to roam" wherever you like, although there is obviously awareness that you don't go through someone's back garden or damaging crops/property.

[Whydothis in reply to Cooper27]

This does apply in places in Scotland, but mainly on open uncultivated land, I think.

In England there is no general "right to roam" - we have to keep to public footpaths unless land is specifically designated as "open access"