I was just reading one of Dr O’s latest blog posts about quinoa – more on that next. But before that, I picked up this point he makes about what is and isn’t safe on a traditional gluten free diet:
Gluten Definition Overhaul is Needed
Current testing for gluten relies on a methodology called ELISA. The testing measures the quantity of traditional glutens present in food. Unfortunately, it does not measure weather other glutens and gluten like proteins cause inflammatory problems in patients. This problem has been pointed out multiple times in research. (Ed’s note: this is what I am always wittering on about. Why do we only look for gliadin and then why only 33-mer gliadin? Makes no sense to me. Just because we happen to have found those in research to date does not mean gliadins will be the only culprits. I prefer a safer, albeit more restrictive, approach thanks until research catches up with me.)
Case in point – rice, corn, soy, and dairy have all been shown to cause inflammatory reactions and or villous atrophy identical to celiac disease in human studies. Yet the generic recommendation by most doctors and nutritionists is to eat this foods without concern. When you also take into consideration that up to 92% of people following a traditional gluten free diet don’t heal, and continue to be stricken with multiple forms of autoimmune disease, it becomes clear that more precise definitions are needed.
I absolutely agree with that. I think we should be going back to the traditional grain free diet that was used before the 1950s. A gluten free diet should mean free of all glutens and, for me, that means all grains since every grain contains a form of it, just not gliadins.
Gluten is not the only food to cause villous atropy. That is astounding, isn’t it? I don’t have the references for that – I shall try to find them as I would like to see more on that subject! Another job I have given myself!!
I think those foods – corn, rice, soy and dairy – are interesting. Are they in themselves a problem or, knowing that they are termed cross-reactive gluten foods, is it because the body is reacting to them as if they were gluten? Rice and corn do have their own type of non-gliadin gluten in them but for soy and dairy, I have no idea but it’s interesting, isn’t it? Either way, taking no chances I took them out for the Barrier Plan diet anyway.
Ok, I promised something on Quinoa being a safe gluten food or not – I’ll do that next..
So nice to have confirmed what my body has been telling me for the last 2 years when i tried eating all the supposedly safe grains! Hoping to see more on spinach that research has shown to contain a gluten like protein – and do leafy veg related to spinach have similar such proteins – where are the scientists when we need them. I react to many leafy veg, beetroot give me a burning sensation in the back of the throat so i avoid them- and they are in the same family as spinach- is there a gluten link- so many questions the scientific world has to answer for us.
Thank you for keeping us up to date Micki, It is so comforting to know that while medics might not believe what we are saying the scientific world would!
Interesting re the spinach connection, isn’t it? Perhaps research will show up that one soon too. I wonder if it is has been GM’d maybe.
I am starting to think the main issue may be GM actually – hence that corn, soya, tomatoes etc can be an issue for people. Frightening when you consider the lack of control over this…
I will try to investigate the GM issue over the next few weeks- The leafy veg I used to eat was mainly home grown – as was the beetroot so I know it wasn’t a reaction to agrochemicals- but GM connection worth pursuing in the hope of eating leafy food once more…..
Good luck, let us know what you find!