Wheat Intolerance

New research in Sweden has shown that roughly half of all celiac patients in a test group showed the same intestinal reaction to corn as to wheat gluten, though at a much lower intensity.

This extremely preliminary finding suggests that corn may also be damaging to people with celiac disease, though far more study will be needed before any official announcements are made encouraging the avoidance of corn for those on a celiac diet. In the mean time, common sense must prevail. If you know that corn bothers you, don’t eat it. If you are diagnosed with celiac disease and following a strict gluten-free diet has not eliminated all of your symptoms, cut out corn for a couple of months and see if it helps.

One thing about it, cutting out corn, while a major nuisance, may actually lead to a more healthful diet. High fructose corn syrup is a staple in many of the high fat, high salt, highly-processed convenience foods so prevalent in the American diet. Cutting out those foods and replacing them with unprocessed or minimally-processed whole foods will definitely produce positive health effects, regardless of celiac disease status.

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The line between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and wheat intolerance symptoms can seem very blurry. IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning it only applies after other diagnosable conditions have been eliminated. Because the symptoms of IBS can be very similar to celiac disease, celiac disease is one of the diseases which must be investigated before a diagnosis of IBS is given.

People with wheat intolerance symptoms who don’t have celiac disease may want to investigate some of the other tests used to obtain a diagnosis of IBS. These include tests for lactose intolerance, parasitic infections, and fructose malabsorption. The last test, in particular, may be of interest to those who can’t tolerate wheat. Because wheat contains high levels of fructan, it is often a problem for people with fructose malabsorption. However, fructose malabsorption cannot be effectively treated by simply removing wheat from the diet; there are other high-fructose and -fructan foods that also trigger symptoms.

So, if a person knows they can’t tolerate wheat, but also has symptoms after eating a variety of other foods, fructose malabsorption is a possibility that should be checked. If that test comes up negative, further testing may eventually result in a diagnosis of IBS. Unfortunately IBS, like fructose malabsorptin, cannot be cured, only managed. And that management includes avoiding foods which trigger symptoms… like wheat.

With that in mind, are you really any further ahead with a diagnosis than you would have been just cutting out any foods that bother you and cause symptoms? The answer is yes– probably. Because IBS involves eliminating curable and treatable conditions, you will know that there isn’t a simple solution to your digestive issues. How bad would you feel, for instance, finding out years later that all of your problems could have been permanently solved with a round of anti-parasitics?

This must be balanced against the medical costs involved in testing. It may not be practical for someone with poor– or no– medical insurance to pay for all the tests and office visits involved in an IBS diagnosis. In that case, if symptoms can be managed with control of the diet, even with no diagnosis, that’s certainly better than nothing.

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One of the decisions you may wish to make is whether or not the entire family should go wheat and gluten free, this is a decision that is entirely up to each family and it is not necessary – although it might make things a little easier and less prone to mistakes. If you choose to NOT go completely gluten-free then making sure that items in the pantry and refrigerator are properly labeled, and this practice is adhered to, can make life much simpler than guessing all the time.

When it comes to talking about celiac disease and wheat intolerance with your kids, the best results I have seen are when parents start talking to them about their diet right away whether they are three years old or 13 years old. Don’t be afraid to use some of the bigger, or more medical terms and of course don’t make up any words either. The whole point of this is to give your child an understanding of the situation so that they can control their diet themselves instead of their diet controlling them.

Regardless of your child’s age they will obviously have been aware by now after being sick for an extended period of time, and seeing concern with you as their parents, in addition to multiple visits to the doctor that those times are behind them now and soon they are going to start feeling much better.

As your discussions progress with your kids, there’s going to be a steep learning curve for everyone. Most families don’t realize initially the implications of having someone with a dietary restriction and living wheat free. Usually these issues emerge over time and just need someone to take ownership of ongoing communication and reinforcement. The best advice I have ever heard when dealing with someone young in the family recently diagnosed with celiac disease or wheat intolerance is to always have an alternative and better tasting snack on hand.

A Scottsdale, Arizona baker wins Food Network’s Cupcake Wars with gluten-free, dairy-free cupcakes…

Read more!

Red Lobster restaurants in Orlando are unveiling a new menu which not only lists common allergens in each dish, but warns customers which dishes are at risk of cross-contamination during the preparation process. It’s hoped that the new food-allergy-friendly menus will gradually spread nationwide.

While it’s extremely anecdotal and certainly doesn’t apply to all Red Lobster locations, I recently had a lovely eating experience at a Red Lobster in Missouri. After years of not going because of the limited selections available for someone who can’t have dairy or wheat (and, oh, how I miss those cheesy biscuits!), I found myself there with my dairy-allergic mother for an informal family affair. The waitress, whose sister has wheat allergy symptoms, took as good care of us as she would have done for her sister, and we had a delicious, enjoyable, and stress-free meal.

For these reasons, I’m going to recommend that readers patronize Red Lobster (with the caveat that any new restaurant should be approached cautiously), because any national chain who is at least trying to help its customers stay safe and healthy deserves all the encouragement we can give it.

Just don’t be tempted into indiscretion by the biscuits!

For many, the prospect of having an intestinal biopsy performed for the diagnosis of suspected celiac disease is a daunting one. Just possibly, it’s daunting enough to dissuade them from getting a proper diagnosis in the first place.

Now, a team in Argentina is working on a methodology which will largely eliminate the need for biopsies in celiac diagnosis. They hope to prove that a simple serology test (using a small blood sample from the patient) is sufficient in the vast majority of cases to provide a definitive diagnosis of celiac disease.

Want to read more about the proposed new testing procedures? Click here…

Loose stools are one of the more unpleasant and embarrassing wheat intolerance symptoms. Many people who suffer from celiac disease also have concurrent pancreatic problems which can make it difficult for them to digest foods properly, leading to persistent diarrhea. Now, a study is underway to determine whether supplementation with lipase (available from many health food stores in pill form) can help to control those unpleasant symptoms… and results look promising so far.

A simple fecal test for an enzyme called fecal elastase can give your doctor a good idea of whether your pancreas is functioning well, and might be a good idea for people with celiac disease or wheat intolerance who also suffer from frequent diarrhea. Lipase supplements are available over the counter and online; just make sure to do your homework and choose a reputable brand, since nutritional supplements are not regulated in the same way as drugs and food.

Many people who suffer from food-related problems such as wheat intolerance and celiac disease have discovered through trial and error that taking probiotics helps to control their symptoms. Now, Dr. Alessio Fasano of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has a theory about why.

In the case of celiac disease, not everyone who has the genetic predisposition to the disease shows symptoms. Some develop the reaction to gluten later than others; some never develop it at all. Dr Fasano wants to know why. He thinks that the expression of symptoms may be tied to changes in the person’s gut bacteria, which can happen naturally throughout their lifetime. Some research has shown that such changes have the power to affect gene expression in the host. While it has yet to be scientifically proven, it follows that treatment with probiotics might prevent the original expression of celiac symptoms in some patients.

Does this mean you should run out and buy some probiotics today? Well, it depends on what results you’re expecting. The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet. You can’t take probiotics and then start eating wheat, expecting everything to be okay. In the case of wheat intolerance, which is not an allergic or autoimmune response, probiotics may increase a person’s tolerance… or it may not.

One thing about probiotics, though– they’re perfectly safe, and fairly inexpensive, so there’s no reason not to give them a try. Many people have reported that they feel generally better after taking probiotics, so it might be an experiment worth trying, even if you don’t intend to change your eating habits and gluten consumption afterwards.

Experts are now chiming in, saying that following a gluten-free diet if you don’t have celiac disease may cause health problems and even (gasp!) weight gain. While they acknowledge that going gluten-free is completely necessary for those who have been properly diagnosed– via blood work and a biopsy– with celiac disease, apparently those of use with wheat intolerance or wheat allergy who choose to avoid foods containing gluten are shooting ourselves in the foot, health-wise. Huh?

Their basis for this claim is the assumption that everyone who goes gluten-free is immediately replacing foods containing gluten with expensive, highly processed gluten-free look-alike products which have no dietary fiber, fewer vitamins and minerals, too much sugar and salt, and chemical preservatives.

Perhaps, in modern western culture, that isn’t too much of a stretch; as a society, our eating habits are appalling. But I’d like to think that those of us who’ve been hit over the head with wheat intolerance and other food allergies and intolerances are, as a group, a little more thoughtful about what we put into our bodies. If you have wheat intolerance and your body weight is a concern, when you cut out foods containing gluten and replace them with fresh vegetables, fruits, and gluten-free whole grains… you WILL lose weight. You WILL feel better than you did when you were stressing your body by running gluten through it almost every day. Why on earth wouldn’t you feel better?

If you don’t have any problems with wheat or gluten, do you need to go gluten free? Well, of course not! (Though you still might want to think about the fruits/vegetables/whole grains thing. Seriously.) Would it hurt you to cut out foods containing gluten? Obviously, it depends on how you replace them. Eat foods that are better for you than the wheat-y stuff you ate before, and you’ll be healthier. Eat stuff that’s worse for you than what you gave up, and you’ll be less healthy.

It’s really not rocket science, folks. Eat healthy; be healthy. If that means gluten-free for you, then go for it, and don’t let the ‘experts’ tell you differently.

Celiac.com has put together a resource list of wheat free recipes, free of foods containing gluten, just in time for Easter and Passover. Need a recipe for gluten-free matzoh? This is your place. Gluten and dairy-free challah? They’ve got it. Delicious desserts safe for people with wheat intolerance? Check.

Read more here…

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