gluten sensitivity

[Titan]

I just wanted to discuss this here. I live in VT and keep hearing all about how gluten is a food allergen for a lot of people and it causes major problems for some, such as Celiac disease. I have a good, rational friend who is a veteran employee at a natural food store and he points out it's the new fad thing to jump on gluten. Like his wife went to a naturopath and said she was gluten sensitive without testing. So I'm simultaneously being open-minded and skeptical.

I've largely been avoiding gluten in my daily diet, even from whole wheat bread and I feel great. I still get some carbs form veggies, 2 apples or oranges a day, yogurt, and some bits of BBQ sauce for meat. I think gluten makes me a bit bloated or slows down my digestion. Without it I have been pooping at a health rate, 2-3 times a day, in sync with meals I had the day before. I used to usually go just once a day when eating wheat and drinking the same amount of water.

So anyways, I was wondering how and where I can get a gluten sensitivity test and found this youtube video. The guy is a pediatrician so he is a bit wacky. He does say that 1 in 3 people have some sensitivity to gluten.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtxfV49YYZM

Sounds like it's a simple blood test to check for antibodies in high amounts in your blood. I wonder what other food allergies can be tested this way, if it's just a simple blood test.

My question is if I wanted to get a good test, would now be a good time to find out, when I haven't had gluten in 2+ weeks, or should I eat a sandwich and then get the test in a couple days?

 

[alpha88]

Your doctor can order a blood test for antibodies against tissue trans-glutaminase (often called anti-tTG).

This is a very sensitive test (meaning if it's negative, you definitely don't have it), and fairly specific (meaning if it's positive, there is a good chance you do have it).

You don't need to eat any gluten prior to the test, because those antibodies will be hanging around already.



In my opinion (4th year medical student), intestinal problems generally don't have a single cause - you may have sensitive intestines to start with, as opposed to a specific gluten 'allergy'. Gluten free diets are often healthier, and those changes can really make your intestines happy. In addition, there is a huge spectrum of gluten sensitivity, you may just need to reduce processed grains and foods with gluten added.

 

[angminas]

I'm planning to write something about gluten sensitivity here soon. I don't have the money to get any tests, but I feel MUCH better when I avoid gluten and casein. The list of things that dramatically improve is long. My advice is, if you're feeling better, be sure to stay off the gluten so you can notice whether you continue to improve over the next few weeks or months. If not eating glutenous foods makes you feel better, you're very probably sensitive to gluten. The symptoms can vary- not everyone gets GI trouble.

 

[KingGheedora]

Originally posted by: angminas
I'm planning to write something about gluten sensitivity here soon. I don't have the money to get any tests, but I feel MUCH better when I avoid gluten and casein. The list of things that dramatically improve is long. My advice is, if you're feeling better, be sure to stay off the gluten so you can notice whether you continue to improve over the next few weeks or months. If not eating glutenous foods makes you feel better, you're very probably sensitive to gluten. The symptoms can vary- not everyone gets GI trouble.

How long were you on a gluten free diet before you started noticing positive improvements? What are you waiting for before writing a post about gluten? I'm interested to hear what you have to say about it.

 

[Titan]

Originally posted by: KingGheedora

Originally posted by: angminas
I'm planning to write something about gluten sensitivity here soon. I don't have the money to get any tests, but I feel MUCH better when I avoid gluten and casein. The list of things that dramatically improve is long. My advice is, if you're feeling better, be sure to stay off the gluten so you can notice whether you continue to improve over the next few weeks or months. If not eating glutenous foods makes you feel better, you're very probably sensitive to gluten. The symptoms can vary- not everyone gets GI trouble.

How long were you on a gluten free diet before you started noticing positive improvements? What are you waiting for before writing a post about gluten? I'm interested to hear what you have to say about it.

I'd like to hear as well.

I'm bumping the thread for a report on how I've cheated my diet lately.

Saturday an old college friend came out and ordered a TON of pizza for me and 2 other friends, who were mostly set on food. So I had a good amt of pizza for dinner and breakfast the next day. I still kept the rest of my diet in order, getting fiber and water. I've mainly been avoiding wheat and milk/cheese. I like to call it the reverse-pizza diet so this is a big cheat. On monday I woke up and had actually dropped a noticeable amount of weight. I feel my body has adjusted to eating one way for 5 weeks and a change-up is good for it, and this one cheat is probably keeping my body guessing and was good for me.

The pizza did sit in my stomach like a rock though. Also, after eating the pizza, the back of my throat started to swell just a bit and it hurt to swallow, but not bad, I still ate more pizza and this was gone by morning. It started after I ate the pizza, but a few hours earlier I had a PBJ sandwich with whole wheat bread that was moldy the next day so my bread may have had trace mold which I was reacting too. I have reacted to mold before by getting swollen throats, a couple years ago. But eventually I was fine.

Last night (monday), I think about it and decide the cheating helped me because I feel better so I decide one more night might keep it up and I head down to my local favorite italian restaurant and get a chicken parm pasta meal. I ran out of stuff for my 2 protein shakes a day (and am re-stocking soon) so I figure one big dinner can't kill me. They hand-make their pasta here and use very good ingredients. I eat all the chicken and then eat about 4-6 bites of the pasta, and I am instantly done. I drink a bit of water which I know dilutes digestion, only to cool my hot food. The pasta fills me up so I don't feel like eating and I stop and don't finish it.

Later that night my stomach is cramped still 2 hours after I have eaten the pasta. I know semolina flour is very dense and hard to digest but this is ridiculous. I feel bloated and a bit cramped and go to bed at 10:30, get up this morning feeling groggy and muddle-headed. On 4 bites of pasta. Could have been the white flour that had such an impact on me. I drink plenty of water.

So no more pasta cheats, and maybe no more pizza either, though the pizza was still more preferable. Brown rice with butter sounds like a good alternative cheat.

I think I have a gluten sensitivity. Possibly also a Casein sensitivity. Not a major one, but a significant factor nonetheless. I will get tested and post the results here.

For the record, Casein is in Milk and Cheese, but not yogurt, butter, cream, or whey. So I've been avoiding milk and cheese and my belly feels much better.

 

[AUMM]

I have celiacs disease, the only way to know 100% is by doing a endoscopy where they would have to take a biopsy from your intestine. The blood tests have been known to give false positives/negatives and are not 100% yet from what I have been told.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Sorry to bump a slightly old thread, but I'm going through and doing searches for Celiac's, etc, and this one popped up.

Titan: When being tested for gluten allergies, they normally want you to maintain a normal (including gluten) diet for a while (~1 week) before test.

KingGheedora: The time for noticing improvements after beginning a GF (gluten free) diet depends on the person, but it is usually rather quick. The problem that some people have is that the villi in their intestine has taken extensive damage from the gluten over a long period, and required a longer period to rejuvenate back to normal. Some people notice results in as soon as a week though. For me, I have Celiac's Disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. I take Dapsone for the later, and I noticed results in two days after starting the medication. Symptoms were gone in 3-4 days. (And after dealing with it for 7 years, it was quite an amazing and exciting time).

If anyone has any other questions, I have some good VA doctors helping me with a lot of this (although the nutritionist wasn't much help at all). I'd be glad to pass along questions, etc.