Dr. Nenninger answers our questions....and shares his knowledge about gluten sensitivity.

Q: My doctor says that I am not positive for “celiac” and do not need to avoid gluten, yet I felt better on the diet, is it all in my head?

A:

The condition has been so poorly treated for so many years it is no surprise that there is so much misinformation. The test for celiac disease is a blood test looking for antibodies to gluten in the blood. In the blood! There is never a reason for a food antigen (gluten or one of its parts called gliadin). The digestive process of the body is designed to completely break down all foods that we consume.  

"Completely break down" means that the foods are digested to the point where they do not stimulate an immune response when they are absorbed. An immune response to any food or part of a food like a protein means two things. First it means that food was not digested properly and it also means that this substance was then absorbed into the blood.

To simply look in the blood for gluten antibodies to diagnose a gluten sensitivity is going to miss the vast majority of gluten sensitivity cases. One way to think of this is to imagine that we only diagnosed strep throat by checking for bacteria in the blood. We don't do that, we check the throat for bacteria with a swab. If we find bacteria in the blood, that is a life threatening emergency requiring emergency measures.

Gluten antibodies should never be in the blood and if they are then that is an emergency situation requiring a gluten detox. Where we should look for antibodies to gluten is in the stool. The immune system of the gut is the first line of defense and that is where we should look for our first signs of gluten sensitivity. If there are not antibodies in the blood it does not mean that there is not a gluten sensitivity is just means that there is not gluten in the blood.

The answer here is very simple. For reasons that I have explained elsewhere it is important to know that gluten sensitivity is the number one cause of digestive disturbances. It is certainly the main cause of inflammatory bowel disease. For this reason, if there is inflammation in the digestive system you must eliminate gluten regardless of what blood tests say.

There are tests now used by naturopathic doctors that can test the stool for gluten antibodies. Ask you naturopathic doctor about that.

Email “gluten-free” questions you may have for Dr. Nenninger

Email “gluten-free” questions you may have for Dr. Nenninger