Posted by mtom on August 23, 2019, at 10:05:43
In reply to How long Gluten free for results?, posted by Lamdage22 on April 24, 2019, at 8:44:17
> I ate spelt twice and each time my tummy didnt like it at all. How long do i have to live gluten free before i can tell if gluten is a problem for me?
I found a 2016 study in BMJ that measured symptoms and some specific serological markers in a group with non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. The protocol was gluten-free for 6 months, and all markers and symptoms showed improvement at that time. https://gut.bmj.com/content/gutjnl/65/12/1930.full.pdf
Interestingly, the authors noted that small intestine biopsies of those with Gluten Sensitivity do "not" show damage which does show in biopsies of Celiacs, despite the subjects in their study showing markers of inflammation. They hypothesize this could be because the damage is happening further down into the small intestine beyond the area biopsied to diagnose Celiac. Or that the damage produced by Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity may be more subtle than that seen in Celiacs.
For those with diagnosed Celiac I have read it can take up to a year for the intestine to fully heal, and even then a subset still have symptoms. They don't know if this is because of cross-contamination (i.e. they're still consuming some gluten), or if the damage done just isn't healing.
Have you done the standard Celiac blood tests eg TTG? However if you're not eating gluten regularly for a significant period of time before the test, it often shows a false negative. If you have not been eating a lot of Gluten regularly, you have to do a Gluten Challenge - eating lots of Gluten daily for at least 6 weeks, and some say up to 12 weeks before the TTG test. This is difficult if Gluten triggers symptoms. And if you are Gluten-Sensitive as opposed to Celiac, the test will still be negative. Celiac tests do "not" measure Gluten Sensitivity, which is a separate entity.
Contrary to what some say, I have researched thoroughly and there is currently no test that measures Gluten-Sensitivity (as opposed to Celiac). The tests done in the study above are not standard tests, I don't know if a lab could even measure them and even if they could, there wouldn't be a reference range to compare them to.
I may post separately about this study.
Gluten free is difficult to do, Celiacs have to have separate food preparation areas and equipment to avoid contamination.
You may also want to google Dr. Alessio Fasano, a researcher out of Harvard who is renowned for his research on Celiac and non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. He discovered part of the mechanism by which Celiac triggers an autoimmune reaction. He is researching why Gluten problems can occur at any age, even in those who previously ate gluten for decades with no problems, and is looking for a 3rd factor in addition to having the Genes and eating Gluten which trigger these. About 30% of the population have genes predisposing them to Celiac, yet only about 1% develop it, although the incidence has been increasing. One of the things he's focussing on is changes to the "normal" gut Microbiome which might be the additional trigger by inducing "leaky gut" and allowing peptides from Gluten to permeate the gut barrier. He also is investigating other environmental factors such as diet, antibiotics, infections, toxins, etc. There are lots of Podcast Interviews with him which are interesting listening. Unlike many doctors, he does believe that Gluten-Sensitivity exists separately from Celiac, although he also believes the incidence is not as high as proponents of Gluten-free Diets believe, he thinks there is a bit of a "fad" element to this.
Here's a couple of podcast links (there are more including Ted Talks, and he's authored some books):
https://player.fm/series/love-guts/dr-alessio-fasano-is-gluten-or-gluten-free-the-enemy
poster:mtom
thread:1104129
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20180212/msgs/1105877.html