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Article:It’s Hard To Know Where Gluten Sensitivity Stops And The Placebo Effect Begins

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Posted 2/14/2015 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Article: It’s Hard To Know Where Gluten Sensitivity Stops And The Placebo Effect Begins

fivethirtyeight.com/features/its-hard-to-know-where-gluten-sensitivity-stops-and-the-placebo-effect-begins/

Of course, it’s difficult to distinguish between someone who is sensitive to gluten and someone who is sensitive to the placebo effect. Since there is no test for gluten sensitivity, “diagnoses” are based on whether people say they feel better when they avoid gluten. But the mind is a powerful thing. If you think avoiding gluten will make you feel better, there is a reasonable chance that it will — even if gluten is irrelevant.

To really get a sense of whether gluten sensitivity is a thing, researchers need to conduct a double-blind randomized controlled trial in which one group eats gluten, another does not, and no one knows which group they are in.There have been two small studies like this. They were run by the same team. And, unfortunately for our ability to draw conclusions, they find different results.

...the authors conclude that NCGS is slightly more common than celiac disease, putting it at a prevalence of a bit above 1 percent of the population.

For those of you keeping track at home, that means that while 30 percent of Americans are trying to cut gluten from their diet, probably at most only 1 percent of Americans may have NCGS.
Posted 2/14/2015 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
Gluten intolerance is turning out to be a misnomer for wheat intolerance, which is far more common according to the recent studies. Here's a study that kind of disproves the notion about modern wheat not being problematic, negating the article's point about the placebo effect. I think the a vast majority of people would benefit by eliminating it, since there is some connection to IBS and wheat (as noted in the above study). A large percentage of UCers would benefit as well, but the replacement foods have the potential to be just as bad. Then there are some studies showing that it alleviates depression as well - could indicate a strong gut brain connection.

I believe it's the processing methods and hybridization that are causing the inflammatory mechanisms in the population. Ancient (and fermented) wheat seem to be okay for the most part. The best bet would be to get the sprouted variety by foods for life. They make awesome bread.

My gut loves all kinds of wheat, but it screws up my concentration and focus, so I think there's something causing those symptoms. Eliminating it was the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I basically grew up on donuts, pizzas and pop-tarts.
Posted 2/14/2015 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Great post, I grew up in a butchers & bakery so hearing about the inflammatory effects of wheat wasn't good news for me when I found out. I do treat myself to some shortbread and caramel cakes ever once in a while though!

The saddest thing about this is how long it will take mainstream science and food producers to admit to what's happening. Everything from asbestos and DDT to cigarettes took years of people warning about them before anything was done. In the meantime, modern wheat is also damaging the children (and therefore the genome) of those consuming it, paving the way for increased autoimmunity in the future.
Posted 2/14/2015 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
I tend to view most alternative med/health things as being due to the placebo effect. I was heavily involved in those circles and swore by a gluten free diet making me feel "way better" but it wasn't until years later when I reintroduced gluten that I found it actually didn't do anything harmful to me. Many people swore by supplements but as recent studies have shown, lots of supplements don't even contain the active ingredient. Many people still swear by homeopathy even because of placebo.

I've witnessed how strong the placebo effect is on myself being a former total hypochondriac. I swore I was feeling symptoms of diabetes immediately after consuming carbs, my hands and feet would get tingly, and even my vision got slightly blurry. It's crazy, but until I got over this fear, I realized that I felt totally fine after eating carbs, no blurry vision either.

I personally have a bit of disdain for fad diets/fad causes of disease because it left me with problems long after I left these ways of life behind. Developing and eating disorder and recovering from one are not fun, and recovery is not easy. However, I still don't disparage anyone for trying whatever, I just know that the placebo effect is very influential when it comes to these things. Like, super influential.

The mind is really powerful. That's not an abstract statement, if you want to believe something, your mind will do everything it can to support that belief.
Posted 2/14/2015 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
I agree that the placebo effect can be huge. I no longer eat gluten once I developes UC, but plan to test eating gluten again once I feel I have reached a stable place with the disease.
I have eaten sour dough on occasion and had a lot more gas and some mucus the next day, but haven't tried eating it since this summer. I think thise of us with this unpredictable disease are looking for things we can control, myself included in that!
Posted 2/14/2015 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
I also believe at least 80% of this suff is due to the placebo effect. Only about 20% of people have a real problem with this suff. Jumping on the latest fad bandwagon is a part of human nature.
Posted 2/14/2015 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
Any food that injures at least a fifth of the population isn't really food, it's modified rubbish that ought to be outlawed by now.
Posted 2/14/2015 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
I also think a lot of people feel better when they cut out gluten is because they also cut out a lot of crap processed food at the same time.
Posted 2/14/2015 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
I think a lot of people think things help them when it is in fact the placebo-effect. However, I went to a symposium on IBD once where a doctor said a BIG portion of people with IBD react with a placebo-effect, helping them heal. I don't remember the exact percentage, but it was 30-50% at least. That's huge, and makes you question what exactly is going on.

Personally, I tried A TON of alternative treatment things and did not find help but from a small minority of them. However, for whatever reason, being gluten-free I am pretty certain has helped me. I just plain and simple don't have that dull burning pain in my colon when I am not eating gluten. Could it just be coincidence? Yeah, for sure. But having been through the full gamet of alternative things... I feel I'm a bit more justified in declaring it to help.

In my situation I don't really know how the gluten has affected me in the past, or does/would now. Did I flare because of a multitude of factors before, and now that I've eliminated ONE of the factors maybe I'm less prone to flaring now? I just came off of Remicade last fall, so coming off of that my colon was as good as gold. Maybe it's easier for gluten-free to help when starting from a healed up time, than from being in the middle of a flare and trying to stop the cascade by removing just one of the factors...?
Posted 2/14/2015 11:52 PM (GMT 0)
A lot of people have food allergies or intolerances to certain items, many of them healthy, like strawberries just to name one. That doesn't mean that those foods are rubbish or garbage, especially when 80% of the population can eat them with no problems.
Posted 2/14/2015 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Gluten actually makes me feel better.
Posted 2/15/2015 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
I know my intolerance to wheat is not placebo (wish it was) because I have "challenged" my gut at least once a year by eating some bread, usually when out to dinner. My intolerance manifests itself by my gut stopping moving and having constipation the next day, sometimes 2 days and seeing some bleeding..

It could be as simple as just not being able to process grains (other grains also cause issues, not just wheat).

I don't listen to people who say it's all in my mind (placebo) because in my case it's not and I'd LOVE to eat bread, pastries and other similar foods. It's not worth the symptoms so I've have transferred my food desires to other safer foods.

Bottom line: I listen to my gut and no one else.
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