Gluten discussion

I know a lot of people claim success in going gluten free while others it didn't seem to help at all. I really don't think I have a gluten problem but don't really know for sure. Apparently there isn't a test for it so most people just try going gluten free and if it helps then they assume they have a gluten problem. Most suggesting going gluten free say you have to give it an honest trial of several months before you really start seeing benefits. This made me think recently that maybe there is a better way to determine if you have a gluten problem - eat lots of gluten for a few days and see if it makes you a lot worse. If it doesn't then you don't have a gluten problem and therefore you are just making your life more miserable by going gluten free for months when it isn't going to help anyway. Am I right?

This is the thing about gluten.. atleast for me. I had horrible constipation so really it has taken a long time for me to finally clear out my intestinal track. So even though I wasnt eating gluten it was still there. Megadosing on gluten doesnt give me intestinal results it gives me immune results. I used to eat so much gluten and I could have never told it was my trigger one day, not unlike any other day I ate a huge sub on wheat bread.. that night I had hives and a rash... still I continued eating wheat.. the stomach never got any worse, the rest of me did...but 4 month into true gf AND dairy free compliance i got accidentally glutened and it felt like I had a horrible flu. The immune reaction was fierce. Mixed bag cause it sucked, but Ill take it because atleast I have an immune system again.


Everyone has a gluten problem. I like Fasano's work http://www.tenderfoodie.com/blog/2011/12/19/interview-w-dr-alessio-fasano-part-1-should-anyone-eat-glute.html

the thing is, people with healthy guts can handle the gluten. if you have Inflammatory bowel disease it really stands to reason you should not give it things that will stress it.. I know how hard the diet is and the sicker you are the longer it takes.. and the more extreme.. I saw results from going gf, but was still eating dairy.. Infact, I probably ate more dairy to make up for it cause I was eating SCD...so I was sabotaging myself and making my SIBO and immune reaction worse.. so that made me have to go no dairy, gluten, grain, sugars, fruits, residue...because the flare was bad... I did pull out of it with no meds and was able to add grain and fruits back into my diet.. all in 8 months....

I flirted with unrefined sugar over the holidays and have been dealing with swelling :( but that is a whole nother conversation..


I think if you are chronically ill you owe yourself atleast a 90 day gluten challenge.

Fruitgirl: But, wasn't that my point? If your friend noticed such an immediate response to eating gluten and someone like me, who doesn't seem to have an obvious problem, if I increased my gluten intake, and it did not effect me, wouldn't that be a good indication that I don't have a gluten problem?

I guess I don't buy into the theory that everyone has a gluten problem.

If you read about elimination diets and gluten intolerance, the general sense is to remove all gluten for 2 weeks to a month, and then do a gluten trial, where you spend a whole day eating things like muffins, sandwiches and pasta. Then you evaluate your response.

I did a gluten elimination trial in May 2011 and have never looked back. I found at about day 10 that my concentration was significantly improved. I was not looking for this issue at all. At around day 14 the minor improvements in my bowel function that had been accumulating all the previous days finally appeared to me as a real outcome.

At about the 6 month mark I noticed that some chronic subclinical knee pain I'd lived with for years was significantly improved. My rheumy rolled his eyes at that one, but he isn't the one having to sit with his leg elevated at night, and thankfully, neither am I anymore.

I can tolerate a small amount of gluten. Like the other day I ate a piece of bread that was the size of a postage stamp. No problem. But a few months ago I ate a potato casserole that had been made with all purpose flour (without knowing) and I was sick for about 3 days. It wasn't the same day, but the next day that I started to feel bad (achy joints, crampy belly, soft stool).

I have been tested from here to tomorrow for celiac disease and I don't have it. I do feel that the gut biosphere is affected by IBD and since gut flora are an important component of gluten digestion perhaps I am missing something key there and thus I've become intolerant. Ultimately it doesn't really matter why, I just know that I am gluten free and will stay this way forever. I really enjoy the remission its given me.

Fruitgirl is right. Her friend may have celiac, and this is the most extreme case of gluten intolerance. Even miniscule amounts can set off symptoms for her friend. But this is only the case for those with extreme intolerance or celiac. People like me? The symptoms are there, its just takes a while to appear.

For those with gluten intolerance, there are tests available.

I did a saliva test that measured Gliadin protein levels, and if you're number exceeds the scale, it indicates you are gluten intolerant.

My doctor has said that the standard celiac blood test (only tests for celiac) and only diagnoses 70% of cases of those with any gluten sensitivity.

Others find it helpful to go gluten free for a few days and stand by their results but there are a few things to consider:

-gluten is in the most conspicuous places in our food, its important you don't cut corners to limit your results.
-gluten can trigger symptoms within the hour of consumption for some, and then not for days (like me).

Sometimes it doesn't even show up properly on testing. So trial and error is a very good start.

My doctor also has told me that the amount of gluten being used in foods has increased over the last few decades, to make breads doughier, and to thicken processed foods better so they hold. Realistically, there is research on gluten and its impact on the digestive system. Human beings aren't necessarily able to digest this protein, but symptoms go unnoticed sometimes until your body signals an alarm.

Gary, you could definitely try it for a few weeks, and weigh your benefits. You will find that its very possible to adapt to this lifestyle, without buying the junky GF products in stores. Many restaurants and markets are accommodating for those of us with the intolerance.

The easiest way to go GF (in my opinion)

is to read the back of nutritional labels and look for allergy warnings, for example:

Contains: wheat, shellfish, egg, milk, etc.

Also look for Malt, barley, and rye.

Gluten can be found in processed deli meats, soy sauce (always, unless otherwise indicated), and Oats/oatmeal.

If there is no label present or you are in a restaurant or cafe, don't be afraid to ask! :)

if you have a gluten problem - eat lots of gluten for a few days and see if it makes you a lot worse. If it doesn't then you don't have a gluten problem and therefore you are just making your life more miserable by going gluten free for months when it isn't going to help anyway. Am I right?

No I don't agree with this plan at all.

I agree with kazbern's assessment of gluten.

I am not celiac (been tested) therefore I did not remove gluten from my diet and continued with horrible symptoms with no relief from Rx meds. I finally removed gluten as a last ditch effort due to my husband's reading an article online that gluten tests did not alert people who were gluten-intolerant. When I removed gluten my bleeding stopped in days, which it had never done before.

I would have sworn to you I was not at all gluten-intolerant before this elimination because eating bread and similar products seemed to make my stomach quiet. Yeah it did that, actually was freezing it into immobility and resulting in alternating constipation and bloody diarrhea. I could not trace any of my symptoms to gluten and only could tell that gluten was a problem after it was removed.

If you don't want to remove it from your diet that is your decision. Just don't tell other people it's a waste of time. Wouldn't you try it for 30 days if it would mean significant improvement in your health? I think a person should notice improvement in 30 days not several months. If they had no improvement why continue? Except that like kazbern I think a lot of people would find several other benefits to removing gluten.

I just don't understand the OP's negativity about it. No one is telling you what to do.

I just don't want to go gluten free unless I know, guaranteed, that it will "CURE" my UC. If it does not cure me, then I will stay where I am now, which is better than most. I know others have gone gluten free and it has not helped. When I was first diagnosed with UC my GI put me on a lactose free diet which I did for 3 weeks, religiously, before finding out in the end that I don't even have a lactose intolerance problem. To me, that was stupid. I don't want to do that again. I refuse to eliminate dietary things for no reason.

I really don't buy into the belief that gluten is bad for everyone. That does not make common sense to me. I see more merit to the arguement that people should not eat meat than I do in going gluten free, although I still eat meat too. I was hoping that people would agree with my theory that it would be easier to see if you have a gluten problem by eating more of it, rather than going on a severly restrictive diet for months before finding out that it did not help at all. I realized that was a long shot and everyone made good points. I do appreciate the "discussion". I asked for it.

To clarify, my friend does not have celiac's disease. She was tested for it and it came back negative and her symptoms aren't quite right, either.

Gary, I have to admit that I don't understand your "I don't want to try ______ unless I know it'll 'CURE' my UC" line. You've also used it for mesalamine enemas. The reason I don't understand is that eliminating gluten or trying mesalamine enemas are neither one going to hurt you (as opposed to trying something like Remi, which has some pretty serious known side effects). I guess we can't know for sure that the enemas won't, but since you're not intolerant to oral mesalamine, the chance that they will are very low. IMO, trying either just isn't a big deal, but I suppose to you, it is.

I'm with you Gary!

We have to unite against these Gluten free cultists!

You go ahead, I'll watch your 6 !



:)

I went on a gluten-free diet for six weeks. Did not help in the slightest.

Only folks with Coeliac Disease actually need to go gluten-free for the sake of their health. (It is, of course, possible for IBD and CD to co-exist.) But a gluten-free diet is not automatically healthier for anybody else: in fact, it appears to lead to a reduction in beneficial gut microbiota. Study below:

journals.cambridge.org/production/action/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=7879375

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 1/30/2013 5:50:21 PM (GMT-7)

Eh.. that study nearly indicates a possible change in the gut microbiota when indigestible fibers like inulin and oligofructose in wheat are subtracted from a daily diet. But you can obtain these fibers from natural plant sources:


Chicory root: 41.6 g inulin, 22.9 g oligofructose
Jerusalem artichoke: 18.0 g inulin, 13.5 g oligofructose
Dandelion greens: 13.5 g inulin, 10.8 g oligofructose
Garlic: 12.5 g inulin, 5.0 g oligofructose
Leek: 6.5 g inulin, 5.2 g oligofructose
Asparagus: 2.5 g inulin, 2.5 g oligofructose
Wheat bran: 2.5 g inulin, 2.5 g oligofructose
Wheat flour, baked: 2.4 g inulin, 2.4 g oligofructose
Banana: 0.5 g inulin, 0.5 oligofructose

inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2009/10/prebiotics-synbiotics-and-immune-system.html

The perfect study to raise a false alarm for going GF. lol :)

I too have toyed around with the idea of going gluten free, but just can't sell myself on it yet. Also, if I do try, I'd like to wait till I've been on Remicade longer and am closer to out of this flare so I know for sure if the Remicade is helping me. I don't want to try a bunch of things at once and not know what is making me better.

That said, if I DO decide to try GF for a while, for those of you who have done it gone so extreme as to getting all new kitchen gear and stuff like that? I've read in many places that unless you eliminate all the things in your kitchen that could be harboring crumbs of gluten, you could be sabotaging yourself and getting gluten in small amounts anyway. I could not justify doing all of that just for an experiment.

And, if it IS that our gut microbes and what not are just too out of whack to properly handle gluten, dairy, whatever.....could the right probiotics essentially fix this??