Gluten allergies are a farce?

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Replies

  • Kelene616
    Kelene616 Posts: 166 Member
    I don't have celiac disease, but if I eat anything containing gluten I get hives. It's not a farce, and it bothers me when people say they are allergic when they really are just looking for an excuse, for whatever reason. It's very difficult having ths allergy. My hives are one step away from anaphylaxis.
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
    All I know is I'm falling asleep when I eat gluten. Frustrates me that I can't find a definite answer to this.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Kelene616 wrote: »
    I don't have celiac disease, but if I eat anything containing gluten I get hives. It's not a farce, and it bothers me when people say they are allergic when they really are just looking for an excuse, for whatever reason. It's very difficult having ths allergy. My hives are one step away from anaphylaxis.

    Some celiacs get topical reactions to gluten. So clearly the body doesn't just react in one set way to an allergen or food sensitivity!

    But as for myself, I stopped eating gluten 4-5 years ago and I feel much better without it. I first tried going dairy-free and this didn't change my painful bloating or gas. I also was doing these elimination diets more with the hope it'd clear up my acne (which it didn't) and wasn't really banking on some digestive improvements. I didn't even know what the symptoms of gluten allergy or sensitivity were when I did this.

    So eh, YMMV.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    A food allergy is not the same thing as Celiac's Disease.
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    The bulk of the responses here will be a list of reasons why the word 'probably' was used.

    *kicks back and mows down on popcorn*
  • A food allergy is different. I have an allergy to wheat. Hives, etc, and have to carry an epi pen. You can have both (an allergy and celiac) but just being celiac is not the same.
  • Kelene616
    Kelene616 Posts: 166 Member
    ana3067 wrote: »

    Some celiacs get topical reactions to gluten. So clearly the body doesn't just react in one set way to an allergen or food sensitivity!

    But as for myself, I stopped eating gluten 4-5 years ago and I feel much better without it. I first tried going dairy-free and this didn't change my painful bloating or gas. I also was doing these elimination diets more with the hope it'd clear up my acne (which it didn't) and wasn't really banking on some digestive improvements. I didn't even know what the symptoms of gluten allergy or sensitivity were when I did this.

    So eh, YMMV.

    I also believe every body reacts differently. I meant no offense, and Im sorry if what I wrote was taken the wrong way. What I meant about the people looking for an excuse is certain women I've met in Scottsdale that pick and choose. An example is one woman I know, her name is Rachel. She told me yesterday that she had "that disease where bread and gluten make you gain weight," but went ahead and ate her pasta with no worries and said that really it was her sister who told her not to eat gluten and to say she was allergic because she was fat. She weighs 125lbs... That kind of thing bothers me because not only is her sister giving her a body image problem, but the week before it was the hormones and antibiotics in commercial milk and yogurt that were making her fat and sick. IDK, it just bothers me that Heidi, the sister, picks and chooses what's "wrong" with Rachel, who is a beautiful woman with nothing wrong that she's ever told me about, and the fact that Heidi thinks it's the cool new thing to be GF, whereas I find to be trying and quite difficult sometimes, wishing I could reverse it. There are eggs, milk, and gluten in so many things, and when I'm really hungry I can't just reach for something because if I do it could result in painful hives and difficulty breathing. Does that make sense? Again, I meant no offense..

    How have you been since you realized that that was your allergy? I had some broth earlier today, and didn't realize it had whey in it and in 15 hours, I look and feel like I've gained 30lbs from bloating and inflammation. My allergies are newly diagnosed so I'm still reading every label and feeling my way. I guess maybe I'm just wondering if it gets easier..

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Kelene616 wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »

    Some celiacs get topical reactions to gluten. So clearly the body doesn't just react in one set way to an allergen or food sensitivity!

    But as for myself, I stopped eating gluten 4-5 years ago and I feel much better without it. I first tried going dairy-free and this didn't change my painful bloating or gas. I also was doing these elimination diets more with the hope it'd clear up my acne (which it didn't) and wasn't really banking on some digestive improvements. I didn't even know what the symptoms of gluten allergy or sensitivity were when I did this.

    So eh, YMMV.

    I also believe every body reacts differently. I meant no offense, and Im sorry if what I wrote was taken the wrong way. What I meant about the people looking for an excuse is certain women I've met in Scottsdale that pick and choose. An example is one woman I know, her name is Rachel. She told me yesterday that she had "that disease where bread and gluten make you gain weight," but went ahead and ate her pasta with no worries and said that really it was her sister who told her not to eat gluten and to say she was allergic because she was fat. She weighs 125lbs... That kind of thing bothers me because not only is her sister giving her a body image problem, but the week before it was the hormones and antibiotics in commercial milk and yogurt that were making her fat and sick. IDK, it just bothers me that Heidi, the sister, picks and chooses what's "wrong" with Rachel, who is a beautiful woman with nothing wrong that she's ever told me about, and the fact that Heidi thinks it's the cool new thing to be GF, whereas I find to be trying and quite difficult sometimes, wishing I could reverse it. There are eggs, milk, and gluten in so many things, and when I'm really hungry I can't just reach for something because if I do it could result in painful hives and difficulty breathing. Does that make sense? Again, I meant no offense..

    How have you been since you realized that that was your allergy? I had some broth earlier today, and didn't realize it had whey in it and in 15 hours, I look and feel like I've gained 30lbs from bloating and inflammation. My allergies are newly diagnosed so I'm still reading every label and feeling my way. I guess maybe I'm just wondering if it gets easier..
    BTW I never got diagnosed or got a positive on allergy testing, I just did it as an elimination diet thing and only cutting out gluten helped (I do eat GF substitutes just fine). But I know the type of people you are talking about. An old coworker said she was celiac and that eating gluten will make her like, violently poop everywhere. And then she goes and eats regular cookies and timbits lol. No reaction at all. So yes, it's stupid to say "omg I'm allergic to this" and then they eat it. Or say they don't eat something because it's trendy and have no idea WHY they aren't supposed to eat it.

    As far as getting easier, it's pretty easy to avoid. but BTW whey is not gluten, it's actually dairy (lactose?). So are you sure that you have issues with gluten? or are you saying you have issues with multiple ingredients including dairy? If so then that sucks. Although I used to be allergic to eggs, didn't eat them for years, and then it cleared up. This was even all verified with allergy testing when I was 13 adn then again 10ish years later! But I have no problems with avoiding gluten now, when I did eat gluten again for 2 months I was seriously having the worst poops, constant bloating and gas, and it was really painful. And it was very stinky, oy. I now can pretty easily notice when the ingredient list contains gluten without having to spend too much time looking over ingredients.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
    There's no allergy test for "gluten". At least not one used by Immunologists. There's allergy tests for specific food proteins; wheat, rye, barley etc.
  • WhoWasGivenToFly
    WhoWasGivenToFly Posts: 64 Member
    Same a many folks here, I just feel better when I keep gluten out of my diet. I do fine with gluten free bread but avoid most other gluten free products. I can tell within a day of eating something containing gluten (soy sauce), I will be tired and bloated.
    I've never had the need to be officially diagnosed with anything, l just know what works for my body.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member

    http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/9/23/

    I am a celiac but gluten sensitivity is a "thing" at least according to these medical research bodies listed on just this peer reviewed paper. So there is no farce involved.

    The research paper behind the article you linked discusses misdiagnosis by the subjects themselves and the possibility that for some their symptoms may be caused by FODMAPS or other components of wheat besides gluten.

    Also here is another article quoting the same researcher whose study is quoted in your article responding to people who misinterpreted his study as meaning that gluten sensitivity does not exist.

    http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/a-grain-of-truth-to-gluten-intolerance-20140527-zrpb3.html

  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
    Thanks Jade. I'd read those but lost the links.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
    edited December 2014
    corgicake wrote: »
    The bulk of the responses here will be a list of reasons why the word 'probably' was used.

    *kicks back and mows down on popcorn*

    I was responding more to the title -

    Gluten allergies are a farce?

  • thump418
    thump418 Posts: 251 Member
    I have celiac and there are many different warning signs. migraines, stomach bloating and extreme pain to name a few. Since being diagnosed and removing gluten from my diet i have not had a migraine since and feel better for it.
  • PearlAng
    PearlAng Posts: 681 Member
    While I feel that celiac's disease is, in fact, a real problem that people suffer from, I will say that many people claim to have it, though they do not really (in my experience anyway).
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,157 Member
    It's a money maker, that's for sure.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    You can have a sensitivity to food, where it gives you some type of distress, like gas or bloating. This is NOT an allergy, which can be life threatening. I hate it when people call their sensitivity an "allergy." It makes it harder for those with real food allergies to be taken seriously.
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
    My mom jumped on the "gluten bandwagon" at the advice of Dr Oz, which caused a huge eye roll from me. However, we did notice that the sinus issues she had for decades (frequent infections every 2-3 months) completely disappeared along with this annoying throat clearing/reflux thing she had done in the two and a half decades I have known her. So, clearly some people are affected by gluten, and some aren't.
  • sheepotato
    sheepotato Posts: 600 Member
    edited December 2014
    I had digestive issues my whole life but didn't know why. A few years ago I went on an elimination diet for a few months, I slowly reintroduced foods and carefully monitored how I felt and reacted to them.

    When I eat foods that contain traces of wheat, I get a painful itchy rash on my elbows. It takes months for it to fade after it flares up. If I eat something that contains more than a trace I get painful diarrhea for 4-7 hours straight and I feel really tired and generally bad for the next two days. When I have dairy, I get diarrhea within 15 minutes but that usually only lasts an hour or two and can be halted by taking pepto. Nothing helps when it's wheat, I don't know if it's specifically the wheat or some subpart of the wheat and I don't care.

    I honestly don't care what name someone has for what happens to me or even the specifics of why it happens. I would just prefer that it not happen so I avoid foods that contain wheat and have done so for years now. I call it an allergy so I don't have to go into specifics, I also call my lactose intolerance an allergy when it's not but I don't care that I'm using the wrong term. I don't really like to talk about it, it's painful and embarrassing and using euphemisms makes me feel less embarrassed.

    As far as that article, it's been linked around the internet, there were some mean yahoo comments a while back. Or at least something similar where a study of 37 people who had IBS but no problem digesting wheat did not react when they ate wheat so the conclusion was it wasn't a real thing. I don't know what the goal of threads like this is, people have different reasons for eating or avoiding foods. I take no pleasure in mocking people for their choices even if I don't always understand them myself. For me, it's not in my head, I wish it was so I could go back to a normal life and not have to eat nearly every meal at home, avoid food at parties and get mocked when I order one of the few dishes that is safe for me to eat when dining out.

    When I order a wheat free bun or pizza crust at the chains that offer it in my city, I get asked 'allergy or preference' those are my choices. I say allergy because if I don't they won't use their cross contamination training and it's nearly pointless to eat because I know it will bare minimum make my rash flare up.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    evileen99 wrote: »
    You can have a sensitivity to food, where it gives you some type of distress, like gas or bloating. This is NOT an allergy, which can be life threatening. I hate it when people call their sensitivity an "allergy." It makes it harder for those with real food allergies to be taken seriously.

    When I was 13 I got allergy testing done, was said that I was allergic to a few things including eggs. But eggs never caused life-threatening issues for me, at most just some stomach discomfort. Which is how I react to gluten, but I've never gotten allergy testing for it. So I'm sure there are different degrees of severity for allergies (e.g. I am allergic to mold but it doesn't kill me). Of course, yes, it is pointless for someone to claim an allergy if they've never been tested. This is why I only say I'm sensitive to gluten or that it gives me IBS-like symptoms.