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Are we giving ourselves gluten intolerance?

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Posted 9/21/2013 4:27 AM (GMT 0)
I've been gluten free for a while. I recently ate some gluten two days in a row. I got hives and was scratching all over my body. I also noticed recently in blood work that my iron is normal. I've had a problem with low iron for probably 10 years.

Despite the normal iron, have I given myself an intolerance by avoiding it for so long? If I actually do have an intolerance that would be great! Maybe something I can blame for my UC.

How do other people know they have gluten intolerance besides bleeding?
Posted 9/21/2013 5:01 AM (GMT 0)
near death flaring ! or maybe there actually was some actual death involved - I can't be actually sure - I know it felt like death would feel !

huh ? what was the question ? are we giving it to ourselves ?

Post Edited (soystud) : 9/20/2013 11:04:47 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/21/2013 5:03 AM (GMT 0)
From what I understand, if you go gluten-free for a while, you might feel sick when you start eating it again. If you're really concerned if you're gluten intolerant, you should keep eating some gluten and get tested for it.

I was previously lactose intolerant after having no problem with lactose for years. I don't drink milk plain, so when I buy it, it tends to go sour before I use it up, so I stopped buying it. I was definitely legit lactose intolerant after going without it for a while--Lactaid pills helped. But now, I'm fine. I think that my body figured out that I was eating lactose again and needed to produce the lactase enzyme.

I don't think that's what happened with you--hives are a classic sign of an allergic reaction, so you should talk to your doctor.

I'm not sure how iron levels play into that.
Posted 9/21/2013 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
yes yes, definitely keep eating and scratching - then you'll know -
Posted 9/21/2013 11:22 AM (GMT 0)
Part of the problem with gluten today might be due to the increase protein/gluten in modern wheat
that was not there say 100 years ago,also the switch to yeast bread as opposed to sourdough.
With sourdough there is a lot of protein digestion going on from the bacteria and yeast in the starter.
All the modern yeast is doing is feeding on sugar and making carbon dioxide for the most part.
Old Mike
Posted 9/21/2013 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
If your body is telling you (through bleeding and/or hives) that gluten is not tolerated isn't that enough information?

I have read of children with multiple food intolerances being de-sensitised to certain trigger foods by introducing that food in very tiny amounts over a long period. This is because having so many intolerances makes their lives miserable and perhaps even life threatening when they come into contact with a trigger accidentally, at school or a friends house.

Removing gluten from my diet is worth my better health, although I do miss cake sometimes. I don't get hives or anaphylactic symptoms but my colon just can't handle it due to UC.

You could try the little-bit-at-a-time therapy but I'm not until I am so cured I can't remember why I don't eat gluten.
Posted 9/21/2013 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think we are giving ourselves reactions. What happens is our gut lining is injured causing leaky gut, and these particles that shouldn't get through then cause our immune system to react. If we continue eating them our immune system reacts but it doesn't have the energy to mount a huge attack. When we stop introducing these things your immune system is able to recover, but until the leaky gut is completely fixed, everytime we eat the substance we react, and because we gave our immune system a little breather so it can mount a stronger attack. Give your system some time to heal the leaky gut and you may find yourself able to tolerate things you couldn't before.
Posted 9/22/2013 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
The hives and itching I suspect was from gluten, but no way to tell for sure. I have a ton of environmental allergies as well. The more concrete evidence is the change in iron level (I read anemia can be a sign of gluten intolerance).
Posted 9/22/2013 2:46 PM (GMT 0)
You need to go very slow when introducing antything you have not eaten for a while, even food itself (refeeding syndrome). So go slow and start with something like 1/2 toast slice per day, then if ok continue for a week, then if ok increase the amount.
But from your reaction i would say you are intolerant to gluten.
Posted 9/22/2013 3:47 PM (GMT 0)
There are so many different mechanisms here it is really not a good idea to link things like lactose intolerance to gluten intolerance. Lactose intolerance is so simple - and yes, it can come and go - your body makes lactase enzyme in whatever amount it does. Sometimes it is more, sometimes it is less. An intestinal virus or inflammation in the small bowel can disrupt lactase production for days or weeks or months. Sometimes you will be able to digest lactose if you take it with other food; on an empty stomach it can be a disaster. ALMOST EVERY HUMAN BEING will develop lactose intolerance with age. Some sooner than others. Northern Europeans are the least likely to develop lactose intolerance; Asians are the most likely as far as I recall.

Gluten intolerance is apparently much different and I am certain that we do not fully understand the digestive mechanisms at work here. Clearly some people are genetically unable to digest gluten properly, or they have immune systems that respond to one of the digestive products of gluten in a destructive way. Others of us are probably missing some crucial bacteria in our gut that would otherwise help in the digestion of gluten. Are we "giving it to ourselves?" I have no idea what that even means. I did not choose to become intolerant to gluten. I ate a pretty gluten lite diet but still struggled with soft stool, crampy bowels, painful urgency despite no evidence of active IBD in blood work and imaging studies. Eliminating gluten eliminated those problems.

A recent mistake in a restaurant meal made me eat a serving of what I think was regular pasta. It took three weeks for the consequences of that meal to resolve. I don't know if I'm more sensitive than I was before I went gluten free, but I am certainly more aware of my body's response to gluten.
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