Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Organic Ghee from Grass-Fed CowsGluten Intolerance Testing: 6 Problems with Standard Tests and 2 Solutions
Despite the growing awareness about gluten intolerance, most doctors won’t diagnose a person with ‘gluten intolerance’.
Instead, they will look for evidence of Celiac disease.
To learn more about Celiac disease and how it’s diagnosed, please see What is Celiac Disease?
6 Problems with Standard Tests for Gluten Intolerance
1. Full blown Celiac disease, with autoantibodies leaking into the blood and damage to the intestinal villi, is not always present in people who have gluten intolerance even if their symptoms are severe. Also, a biopsy does not look at the entire intestine, only a small sample, so damage may be present in other portions of the intestines than the one tested.
2. Issues with gluten don’t always show up as digestive symptoms including weight loss, yet most doctors do not realise this
3. If a person has been on a strict gluten free diet for a while, blood tests will come back negative
4. Some people don’t produce the autoantibodies at all, no matter what is actually going on inside the body
5. Doctors will sometimes claim that adults don’t ‘get’ Celiac disease, that it has to be present in childhood to be real
6. Some people are afraid to be tested by their doctor because if they have Celiac disease they have a higher risk for certain disease and may have problems with their insurance company
The truth is that the seeds of Celiac disease can start in childhood and not manifest until much later on.
There will be times when a person seems to recover – they will feel fine for a long time, even YEARS, then suddenly react again.
Gluten issues can be sneaky, triggered after other illnesses, pregnancy and for reasons yet unknown.
As horrible as Celiac Disease is, in some ways a person is lucky if they test positive for Celiac in the traditional way.
Why?
That will be taken seriously by doctors.
But when you consider that 1 in 250 people have Celiac disease, or as high as 1 in 133 in the US, yet most of them do not know it (again, please see What is Celiac Disease? ), you can understand why doctors have a LOT to learn in order to properly diagnose and treat gluten issues overall.
2 Solutions
1. Test Yourself for Gluten Intolerance for Free
Yes, you can do a self test without getting blood work or other lab tests.
How?
Go on a strict gluten free diet (no cheating) for at least a month.
For a list of gluten free foods that are safe to eat on a gluten free diet, please read Gluten Free Foods List
For a diet that is naturally gluten free, see Hunter Gatherer Diet
If your body is sensitive to gluten or has been damaged by gluten, it will take longer than a month for it to fully heal.
But chances are good that you’ll notice a marked improvement of some kind within a couple of weeks after going fully gluten free.
You might be surprised by how gluten has been affecting you after you’ve been off it for a while. It might simply be digestive, but it also may be contributing to pain in your body, skin problems or even neurological symptoms.
You can, of course, have your doctor test your blood (as long as you haven’t been gluten free for a while) in case you DO have full blown Celiac disease.
But, as I described above, that may not tell you anything – it might not show up in your blood even if gluten is a problem for you.
Remember: if the antibodies DO show up in your blood and the doctor feels that gluten isn’t a problem for you because your biopsy was fine, beware – you may be on your way to developing Celiac Disease or other disorders.
If you are gluten intolerant, only a gluten free diet can protect you from developing gluten related diseases.
Also, please keep in mind that casein (a protein in milk) intolerance can go hand in hand with gluten intolerance.
You can avoid dairy products in addition to gluten foods after a month if you haven’t noticed an improvement in your health and well being.
See Gluten Free Casein Free Diet
2. Order What May Become the New “Gold Standard” Test for Gluten Intolerance
If you want to get what may become the new gold standard test for gluten intolerance, not just Celiac Disease, consider doing what I did (thanks to the recommendation of several people I know who are Celiac or gluten intolerant):
Get Tested by EnteroLab in the U.S
Dr. Kenneth Fine, M.D, of Enterolab is one of the leading experts on Celiac disease and gluten intolerance.
You can do the test even if you have eaten a gluten free diet for up to 2 years. Or, if you have been on a gluten free diet for several years, you can use this test to make sure that your diet truly is gluten free (because cross contamination with gluten is common, particularly if you dine in restaurants and buy food that is processed alongside gluten foods).
Why? Dr. Fine discovered that if you are sensitive to gluten, your body will produce autoantibodies in your intestines for a LONG time after going gluten free. His research shows that this is a much more accurate way to diagnose gluten intolerance than standard blood tests.
The test is done via stool sample, which you freeze and then ship via courier (prepaid).
The test isn’t cheap, but it’s very comprehensive.
You can also order a genetics test for the gluten sensitive and Celiac genes via Enterolab (done via saliva), and tests for casein, egg, yeast and soy intolerance (stool sample). To save money, order a package of tests at a time.
Although I knew that gluten was a problem for me, seeing the paper ‘proof’ helped. Perhaps it will help you too.
Please write to Enterolab with your questions. They are very friendly and professional.
Note: If you live in Canada, you can order the Biocard home testing kit to test your blood for evidence of Celiac, but as mentioned above, this may not tell you anything. Also, if you want an official diagnosis for full blown Celiac disease, you’ll need to get tested by a doctor.
PS When some people stop eating gluten foods, they have withdrawal symptoms for a short time – perhaps 3-6 days. The symptoms may feel like a minor flu. I didn’t experience that when I dropped gluten, but did when I dropped dairy from my diet (I tested positive for casein intolerance). Some foods, notably gluten and dairy, seem to be addictive for some people. Fortunately the withdrawal period is not long.
