Very useful article on 'Why Do So Many People Think They Need Gluten-Free Foods?'

[Milind]

slate.com/articles/health_a...

This is from the recent issue of Slate

[RusticRita]

Hi Milind,

Thanks for posting this link. Aside from the long-term intestinal damage suffered by Coeliacs, I still find the lines between the three conditions very blurred! I saw an immunologist after suffering a wide range of symptoms including an anaphylaxia type attack and hives every time I ate wheat. The initial blood test was positive for wheat allergy, however the skin test was considered negative because the reaction wasn't severe enough. The immunologist believed my reaction was cross-reactivity via my grass allergy which is severe.

I chose not to have the endoscopy for CD as I didn't have the antibody and didn't want to resume eating gluten amongst other reasons. I have two auto-immune diseases already though, yet only the link between Coeliac Disease and Thyroid Disease has been recognised by the NHS.

My symptoms ranged from the aforementioned hives to mind fog, bloating, extreme joint pain, low energy, dizziness and almost continual IBS to name but a few. Most of these have eased considerably since being strictly GF and wheat free. Although I am now medically considered "Gluten Intolerant" so shouldn't suffer any real intestinal damage, my stomach and intestines remain very sensitive several months on and eating things like corn or soya in any significant amount can give me stomach upsets and cramps.

I hope there'll be more information coming out in time as they do further research, especially with the links between gluten and auto-immune issues in general. The research in the USA seems to be miles ahead of the UK.

Rita

[kay1982blru]

Hi, I just wanted to say what a great article. Very interesting read xx

[poing]

I'm also gluten intolerant rather than coeliac. I don't understand what's going on, but do know that I no longer get constipation or gall bladder pain when following a gluten free diet. I've done an elimination and challenge twice now, so I'm pretty sure that I'm doing the right thing for me.

I don't need to understand the mechanism completely in order to get a diagnosis - there are plenty of medical conditions that aren't well understood, it doesn't mean they don't exist.

There's a lot of science that needs to be resolved. When eating gluten, I had very high levels of AGA in my poop, and I think that could be medically significant. Opinion seems to be divided over what AGAs mean, but it seems to me that if my body is generating quite a strong immune response to gluten itself, then that could cause problems.

They say the AGA test is not conclusive because many people without coeliac disease have them too... and it's elevated in quite a few bowel diseases and autoimmune disorders. I think it's quite possible that it *IS* a marker for gluten intolerance, and having inflammatory bowel disease or an autoimmune disorder simply makes a person much more likely to have gluten intolerance as well. The majority of the population has the genes that are associated with gluten problems. It's probaby vastly underdiagnosed.

Makes me wonder how long I had a problem before finding out what it was.

[Milind in reply to poing]

So very true.

[Lexy]

It was an interesting article but I found it tone was odd. It was happy to berate so many other articles/websites concerning gluten intolerance for being 'unscientific' and not based on rigorous scientific methodology yet this article itself was largely not based on that approach!

The throw-away line about "2% of people believe they are affected by magnetic fields" is totally irrelevant in an article purporting to be discussing coeliac, wheat allergy and gluten intolerance.

As for the disapproving tone the article takes toward websited which claim links between gluten problems and depression, arthritis, social phobias etc etc - it seems quite obvious to me that if your body is being 'attacked' (for want of a better word) by something which it cannot tolerate then this will, particularly if it goes on for a long time, lead to emotional/psychological problems.

We all know that in general we all feel happier, more attractive, more able, more intelligent etc etc when we are healthy. So if we spend months, years, decades feeling absolutely physically rubbish, with mind fogs, severe forgetfullness, lack of energy - of course we become prone to depression and social phobias! There is nothing ridiculous about that progression at all!

So although it was an interesting article, it was actually also quite negative and dismissive! But it's always good to read other points of view.

[urbangirl in reply to Lexy]

Lexy I quite agree with you. I have had arguments with people about this very thing ie gluten intolerance it is not scientifically proven and I find it quite upsetting.

[LucyLocket in reply to urbangirl]

I find the part of the article regarding 'gluten intolerance' quite offensive - it is basically suggesting that those of us who experience this must quite frankly be imagining it all!

I too have not tested positive for coeliac although two separate GPs have requested I be tested for this a few years apart - I got a 'false positive' result whatever that might mean! I also have pre-existing autoimmune conditions (Sjogrens/Lupus) and I firmly believe that problems with wheat and/or gluten seem to be prevalent in such situations.

In my own case it does seem to be just wheat that makes me unwell rather than all gluten - I don't think there is a test that GPs will run as standard that will 'diagnose' this problem. I know it's not an allergy - my son had an egg allergy as a child and I almost killed him with scrambled egg giving him full anaphylactic shock so I do know the difference!

I have cut wheat out of my diet now and feel so much better so it's quite simple really but I do not consider this to merely be a faddy diet. I feel lucky that I have not been diagnosed as coeliac as what I have to do is relatively straightforward. It shouldn't be a competition though as to who has a more serious condition than the next person. I hope people will understand what I'm trying to say as I know I'm not always coherent!

[olivedog]

I truley went gluten and dairy free, because my intestines, bowels were and still are screwed up! I personally feel it is the pesticides in the wheat, and the antibiotics and many other things cows are fed. Then they go into your body, your body does not need poison, nor does it need antibiotics and other garbage the cows are fed. Did not do this to be hip, did it because I was sick, and still am...I try to eat everything non gmo, and organic. Have gone down to the weight I was at 18, blood work has never been better...but that glyphosate I do believe has damaged my digestion, my motility, ect. it is proven poison. We were all guinea pigs and never knew for a long period of time. I can not wait to see the results of the Hague Tribunal, I believe coming out April 18th. I hope Monsanto gets charged with war crimes.

They have come up with a new name for the crime...can not recall it, read it for the first time today.