Heritage wheat could let gluten-sensitive people eat bread again

[marmar]

http://grist.org/list/heritage-wheat-could-let-gluten-sensitive-people-eat-bread-again/


Heritage wheat could let gluten-sensitive people eat bread again
By Sarah Laskow


One of my greatest fears in life is that I’ll find out I’m gluten-intolerant, because there is almost nothing I love to eat more than really good bread. (I know that there is bread made with non-wheat flour, but … it’s just not the same.) But it turns out, according to Pacific Standard, that there’s a strain of heritage wheat that even gluten-sensitive people might be able to digest. It’s nutty-tasting, and it has an excellent name: “einkorn,” which I’m going to roughly translate as The One True Grain.

Einkorn was apparently the first cultivated wheat, and it has an different gluten structure — one that’s easier to digest — than most of the wheat we eat today. One theory about gluten intolerance is that humanity brought this curse down upon itself by adding species like “goat grass” into the wheat strain. (And I mean, come on! Did we really think that our digestive systems could handle a grass associated with an animal that can eat basically anything it encounters? We humans are delicate flowers compared to goats.) By going back to the original wheat, we can erase all the fiddling we’ve done and maybe give a break to the digestive systems of people who do not have as much in common with goats as the rest of us do.

[hlthe2b]

1. This is great for those who are truly gluten sensitive---but damn if the media doesn't make it seem

as though gluten is inherently bad for everyone. Even to the point, I had a guy at a health food store trying to sell me gluten-FREE flour, when what I was looking for was actually GLUTEN flour.. He told me he thought it had been taken off the market for safety reasons! LOL

Most people are not sensitive to gluten and in fact it is a good protein source.

But, for those who are, this is a good development.

[pnwmom]

4. According to research, many more people ARE gluten sensitive than are diagnosed --

only a small fraction of people with Celiac have been diagnosed, and even fewer with other gluten-related problems.

So I applaud the media's efforts to get the word out. Also, the attention has resulted in better labeling and more products for those who need them.

[hlthe2b]

5. Still far less than that would suggest...even the most liberal projections suggest 6%

The three leading researchers, taking into account a broad range of non-celiac related gluten sensitivity, do not project above 7%-- even taking the most liberal interpretation of possible related symptoms/syndromes and noting that there is no test.

MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT. The media really does not make that clear.

[pnwmom]

7. I've never read an article in the MSM suggesting that MOST people are.

However, the numbers ARE increasing and no one knows why. This is not just because doctors are more aware of the disease -- there has been an actual increase in cases.

There was a study done using blood samples collected decades ago, compared to blood samples from the same individuals now -- and a surprising number of people had developed gluten sensitivity during the interim.

And the disease is still under-diagnosed; it can use all the media attention it can get.

[hlthe2b]

8. Given there is NO accepted diagnostic test, that is a little bit of a stretch...

I don't argue it is a serious problem for those who are sensitive, but this is ripe to "marketing" abuse and exploitation if the media does not address it in a less sensationalistic manner.

[pnwmom]

15. What are you talking about? There are blood tests for gluten sensitivity, and for

anti-gliadin antibodies, and these tests are used by all G.I.'s.

And for those who have negative or ambiguous blood tests but have symptoms, a standard elimination diet can determine the cause of the symptoms.

Can you give me an example of this sensationalistic coverage in the MSM?

[hlthe2b]

17. They are not considered to be confirmatory.. simply suggestive. there is no gold standard

diagnostic test. It is a diagnosis of elimination.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Are you saying the blood test for antibodies and the biopsy test

are not confirmatory?
My doctor will be surprised as I am.

[pnwmom]

20. There is a very high correlation (over 95%) between positive blood tests and a positive result

on the endoscopy biopsy, which is considered the "gold standard" for Celiac disease, although there are other forms of gluten-sensitivity not picked up on the biopsy.

[Odin2005]

11. LOL, Gluten Intolerance is the new diagnosis of choice for hypochrondriac woo-woos.

It's the latest health fad, and will disappear in a few years, and folks like you will move on to some other shiny thing.

The woo-woos have somehow connected Celiac with Autism, which proves they are FOS.

[pnwmom]

14. It makes me bleed. Is that real enough for you? Or is blood kind of woo-woo?

There is a higher incidence of biopsy-confirmed Celiac in people with autism than in the general population. Why is it so hard for you to believe that autism, which has genetic and environmental roots, might be connected with illnesses caused by genetic differences in other systems of the body?

And if a person has autism and a co-existing illness that causes pain and other symptoms, doesn't that person deserve to be diagnosed and treated for that illness?

[FreeState]

16. Intolerance and Ciliac are not the same thing

The media pushes the "intolerant" part not the Ciliac part. (By media I mean companies and unqualified nutritionist selling gluten free as a cure all for peole that may or may not be intolerant). I have friends that are Ciliac and I would not wish that on anyone.

[Odin2005]

18. You read my mind, thanks.

[pnwmom]

22. But you are incorrect. I don't have standard Celiac.

I have a form of gluten "intolerance" or "sensitivity" that causes symptoms of ulcerative colitis, not Celiac, which affects a different part of the G.I. system.

[pnwmom]

21. I am officially considered "intolerant" or "sensitive" because the bleeding,

and other symptoms of ulcerative colitis, weren't standard Celiac symptoms. However, it disappeared when the G.I. doc told me to eliminate gluten from my diet. (And it reappears if I accidentally ingest gluten; for example, when a generic prescription turned out to include gluten.)

Gluten can also cause elevated liver enzymes in susceptible people, and even neurological symptoms.

So Celiac disease isn't the only serious form of gluten "intolerance" or "sensitivity."

I am glad the media "pushes" the fact that there are a wide range of problems people can have with gluten, because there are many people still suffering needlessly.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Yup, tell that to my constant diarrhea

that went away once I went on a Gluten free diet.

Is that woo enough for you?

In fact, we actually UNDER DIAGNOSE this in the US.

[Odin2005]

24. I was refering to the Glutin Intolerance fad, not people with actual celiac like you, Nadine.

I think a lot of people are blaming the psychosomatic symptoms of constant stress caused by our shitty economy on gluten intolerance, among other things.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Actually we way under diagnose this

and there are layers of it...

And the symptoms are very clear, sometimes... sometimes not so much.

And you know what? This also means I get my gluten free bread, the bagels are ok, at the local store, NOT the health store.

Now Comicon this year, food wise, will be all kinds of fun. (NOT)

[pnwmom]

27. It's so much easier to find these products now,

with all the interest in the MSM.

[pnwmom]

26. Non-Celiac gluten intolerance or sensitivity is a real and under-diagnosed condition.

Decades ago, only people with Celiac disease, those with a certain type of damage to the upper intestine, were considered to be truly gluten-intolerant. Then they expanded the definition to include another group of gluten-intolerant people, those with a skin disease called Dermatitis Herpetiformis. (sp?) Since then, researchers have proven many other non-psychosomatic and non-Celiac forms of gluten sensitivity, including elevated liver enzymes and neurological symptoms, such as (for some gluten sensitive people) seizures.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. If I may add

Gluten sensitivity, just on the celiacs side, comes in levels.

We got full blown

Gluten intolerance

Gluten sensitivity

A few other things with it...inability to bear kids, dry skin, dry mouth, loss of hair...all of these are rarely identified as gluten related...unless you get a doc who orders the tests as a last recourse.

[pnwmom]

29. You're right, of course -- and I also forgot all the auto-immune diseases,

Last edited Sun Jun 24, 2012, 11:30 PM - Edit history (1)

the incidence of which rises with untreated gluten sensitivity, plus intestinal lymphoma.

It's nothing to minimize.

[MADem]

2. Ever try Ezekiel Bread? It's fantastic! You find it in your grocer's freezer these days, too.

We usually have a loaf of it hanging around, even though we have other stuff, too. It used to cost five bucks a loaf and you could only get it in health food stores, now it's widely available....

[pnwmom]

3. This might work for some people on the spectrum of gluten sensitivity.

I'm not getting my hopes up, though.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I can live with other sources now

would not touch this with a ten foot pole... yes, I AM that sensitive.

[RufusTFirefly]

9. Gluten fan here

Sorry for those who can't eat it.

[BlueToTheBone]

10. almost all commercial wheat is now hard red wheat

but I found a soft white wheat that is really good. Tumbulu here on DU grows it in CA. But you can find it at King Arthur's and also specialty millers around the US. Hodgson's is a hard white wheat, but still pretty good.

[demtenjeep]

12. my hubby is allergic to Wheat. Not just insensitive but deathly allergic

He likes Uddi's brand

Che' Be' also makes a mix you can do up for any number of things as well as frozen bread. It is not the same, but it is very close

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. This is good news.

I make a lot of stuff with almond flour, but it isn't the same. I'm not celiac, but pulled wheat out of my diet some time ago and felt like a teenager again.

Thanks - bookmarking.