Hi,
I was advised by my Nutritional Medicine Practitioner to avoid gluten after my Gut test results came back with very high Zonulin.
I did this as far as possible without being precious. She shared with me an article suggesting Gluten can cause leaky gut which is thought to be responsible for auto-immune conditions.
Have any of you tried this? Have you experienced less pain? I am having trouble remembering but more recently I have been eating bread and my pain has been horrible.
I gave up gluten for 3 months but there was no noticeable change of any sort. One of many experiments with diet
If you cut gluten out of your diet your body will lose some of its ability to digest it and then when you re introduce it your body will struggle. Did you have tests for coeliac disease?
Coeliac disease is a type of autoimmune condition, where the gluten stimulates the immune system to attack the villi in your intestines but life without decent bread is very hard... especially in France.
I didn't test for Coeliac. My Zonulin was through the roof but from what I have read/seen, Coecliacs get very ill even with the tiniest amount of gluten. I don't get sick.
Yes, much less access to gluten free bread in France. I could go to the bio shop but the bread would be long lasting enough.
I have a lot of coeliac friends. One can't even smell gluten and she is vomiting another eats it and doesn't have lots of symptoms. You can't get a proper diagnosis without endoscopy and if you don't follow a strict GF diet you have fewer symptoms but increased risk of bowel issues long term. Personally I'm not convinced diet and RA have very strong links but I will admit the thought of having to restrict my diet along with everything else is just a bit much.
I had the camera down the throat and thank goodness was asleep. I was told it is possible to switch off the response provided diet is strict for about 2 years. I did do that and then tried to reintroduce it in small amounts and it coincided with the prescribing of AZA and to be honest it did seem to work as I've not had the horrid mouth ulcers since. I freely admit that going GF was difficult although Shar do some good products but these days the odd bit of toast is ok and i did try to make GF bread and cakes. TBH I can cook well but it was inedible and tasted weird so it was easier to just go without. My friends grandson has a really awful stomach problems and is only 17 and so thin, but has been prescribed a MAB medication and is doing really well. Planning his first holiday and going to 6th form his world has improved no end. I think the link is both are are auto immune so if you get one you may well get the other but it's not a cause of RA but a co morbidity. And I wonder perhaps if sero negative RA then its less likely. I don't know but bread I can live without but take away the chocolate and it's a different matter!
Totally agree with your nutritional therapist, I cut out gluten with very positive results.
I've had RA for about 20 years and followed a gluten free diet for about 10 years. I didn't see any change in my RA when I switched to the gluten free diet.
I went through the full range of tests, I'm not coeliac but clearly I do have an intolerance to gluten.
The advantage these days is that it is much easier to go gluten free. There is a greater range of free from foods in supermarkets and many restaurants have gluten free options. The Promise range of bread available in Tesco and Sainsbury's is very good.
That's interesting. Thanks for your reply. There is less access to gluten free here in France. I do buy gluten free pasta.
I found after doing an AIP elimination diet that I have an intolerance to gluten/flour products. I had suspected as had had problems with ‘IBS’ type symptoms for years. I now think that was leaky gut and am currently looking to get a leaky gut test to see if I’ve been able to repair it somewhat through AIP diet. I generally now only eat natures carbs and find it makes a difference for me and my symptoms. Diet can be super individual which is why the elimination and slow reintroduction to find out your specific trigger foods can be beneficial
I’ve tried gluten free bread and cakes etc in the past as we have a couple of family members who are coeliacs. I cannot tolerate gluten free of any kind it makes me very poorly. Going gluten free isn’t an option for me it makes me 100 times worse. So try it and see. I am intolerant to anything which contains eggs which is something I have to thank RA for as I find swallowing very difficult and I’m running to the loo constantly for 24 hours. If gluten free is difficult to get in France maybe source some flour and make your own bread if that’s an option ?
I was diagnosed RA 29 years ago. I believe in maintaining a balance in my diet..We have to sacrifice so many things in life ! I tried the tasteless Gluten free bread but disliked it.So I have proper bread and enjoy.I don't think it had an adverse effect by having a toast which enjoy in the morning,But we are all different😀
Other way round for me!
I suffered badly in my 30s with gut symptoms - tried a rice only diet for a week (a very long week) - no improvement.
Finally - after 10 years of suffering - had a biopsy & was diagnosed with coeliac disease. BUT it took 3 months of a totally gluten free diet before one day the symptoms just disappeared.
It was like being reborn!
Not until I was in my 60s did I get joint problems & I was diagnosed with RA this January.
So is it chicken or egg? I developed RA on a gluten free diet - but was I predisposed to getting it?
Good luck with your journey.
This is from a scientific article: "With great interest we read the work by Talley et al 1 reporting the inadequacy of zonulin as a biomarker due to its failure to identify the irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia and non-coeliac wheat sensitivity. Zonulin as a biomarker is highly disputed." doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2020...
I would be careful about basing decisions about diet on tests which are not thought to be reliable. Unless you test it out on yourself carefully (I spent around 18 months doing exclusion food testing on myself) I wouldn't rely on it.
I find this of interest. I was diagnosed with seronegative inflammatory arthritis after covid vaccine triggered symptoms. I’ve had non diagnosed IBS for many years finally suggested by medics as a condition to be treated with low Fodmap diet. Through a lengthy process of elimination I have come to the conclusion that it’s not so much gluten but wheat that upsets me. I can manage to eat long fermented sourdough bread but not standard supermarket bread. I’m better with spelt flour. Other grains also have gluten but I’m fine with oats and rye. My biggest trigger seems to be ‘processed’ food so I try to keep it as natural and organic as possible. If I want cake I use gluten free flours and bake my own.
I went totally gluten free back in 2014 when I was diagnosed with sero negative inflammatory arthritis. I had eaten French stick, croisants and pains au raisin all the way from Calais to Provence and ended up looking like a blimp. I have a photo taken of myself in which I am almost unrecognisable. I had already had Graves’ disease another autoimmune condition and decided enough was enough and I’ve been GF ever since.
I already cooked quite a lot of GF foods for friends so it wasn’t a problem. I used a home test for coeliac but it was negative and was never properly tested by my GP but I would now advise people to do but as ive got no intention of eating gluten again I don’t suppose it matters. I think I am probably gluten intolerant Being gluten free has made a huge difference to my IBS.
I don’t like a lot of shop bought GF foods, I find a lot of the bread kind of sweet, I eat Schar bread but it is tiny slices for a big price. If I buy a loaf I freeze the slices. I don’t eat many cakes or biscuits as they can be a bit sickly. The rest is just good old home cooking without the wheat.
I can recommend joining coeliac.org.uk/home/ at least until you get used to the change. They have so much useful information.
I ve been gluten free for 4 years and switched my diet to whole foods only. It took about 6 months before I experienced a difference. Recently I learnt that it's not necessarily gluten itself, its how its processed. Bread used to be made over several days, this process makes it easier for the body to digest. I tried one slice per day over a week of sour dough made over 3 days and had no adverse reaction. Processed bread from the supermarket is often made over several hours with nutrient depleted white flour. I've found that by eliminating ultra processed food, poor quality oils and refined carbs/sugar, dairy and coffee - pain is significantly reduced/mostly gone, but it has taken a long time to see a change. It took over a year before I could tolerate oats for example. It's been my experience that its the quality of the food i.e good quality whole grain flour - chewy bread which requires an effort to eat, made in a more traditional way has been a win for me. Dunking it in soups again after over 3 years of no bread tasted amazing!!
We rarely eat UPF. I gave up making sourdough 6 months ago as we'd both gone off it.
If I do make anything with flour it's always Buckwheat. For sauces I use Rice Flour.
Thanks for your reply.
Yes. I gave up gluten and all grains. Made a huge difference to both gut issues and swelling and pain in joints. Seems to help some people and not others. As soon as I fall off the wagon and eat bread my gut is in a terrible state. Seat belt on the loo springs to mind!
Gluten intolerance & RA
Gluten Sensitivity in a rheumatoid arthritis population study - University of Edinburgh student online survey
For those interested in the Gut Microbiome--NYT research article 
Daily Telegraph article re Gluten Free Diets
