For those of us who are not on a GF diet, or who are "part-time" dieters, have you ever tried any of the low-gluten wheat starches that are available in Europe? There may be some brands available here, but I don't recall ever running across any. Presumably, they would give the taste and texture of wheat, without the hazardous gluten levels.
As you may be aware, some celiac groups in Europe claim that some of their members can tolerate a certain level of gluten in their diet, as long as they don't overdo it. I came across a website with a professional level discussion about this topic, and naturally, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue, but based on what I have read from other pro sites, many European doctors believe that for most celiacs, 10 mg per day of gluten is safe, while 100 mg is not. Many other doctors insist that this is all beside the point, since most celiacs probably get this much gluten in their diet accidentally, due to cross-contamination. For reference, consider that about 1/100th of a slice of regular bread made from normal wheat flour, contains about 40 mg of gluten.
Anyway, the claim is, that for celiacs who are generally careful about their diet otherwise, they can eat products made with the low-gluten wheat, and remain asymptomatic, (i. e., no longterm risk of damage to the villi in their small intestine).
Also, I found a discussion of alcoholic beverages where it was noted that many such beverages contain relatively low levels of gluten, which might qualify under a "low-gluten" type standard. Readings went from near zero to 200, and occasionally higher, but many were in the 10 mg catagory. Those products that were made from wheat grain, generally had the highest readings. This means that even some beers would qualify as "low-gluten". Unfortunately, they didn't mention specific brands.
Now I'm not suggesting that we all rush out and start drinking beer and eating "low-octane" wheat bread, but there may be some possibilities here, that bear looking into, especially for someone who's having trouble giving up the taste of wheat, (or the taste of beer).
Here's the link:
http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/mxgluten.html
Love,
Wayne
P S Incidentally, Polly, the professional discussion group that I am referring to is called "Cel-Pro", and you would qualify for membership, if you are interested. You can find the details for joining here: http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/ (Scroll down toward the bottom of the page, to where it says "Medical Professionals").
What About the Low-Gluten Wheat Starches That are Available?
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
What About the Low-Gluten Wheat Starches That are Available?
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Wayne
Very interesting. I used to spend a lot of time looking for alternative grains but do so well without them that I gave up. I have never seen low gluten grains anywhere that I have looked. that doesn’t mean they might be available
If I remember correctly Polly still tested positive on Dr. Fines test for antibodies a year after being on a gluten free diet. My experience with improving by leaps and bounds between nine and twelve months on the GF diet makes me think that I was still producing antibodies and they only began to lessen at that point. I was not tested at that point so my evidence is very anecdotal. At best it is conjecture that my improvement in the next year had to do as much with staying GF and grain free as much as it did with finding other triggers and.... that my antibody level was finally going down.
So on to the point. My experience along with reading between the lines of the experience of others here is that even very small amounts of gluten affect me even at this point and I would not dare try even low gluten grains. Because of that experience I would have to assume that those who ate the low gluten grains must have spent a period of complete abstinence thus stopping the antibody reaction. When they ate the very small amounts their bodies did not recognize it as an invader.
It just seems to me that eventually they would still get some reaction since the gluten is still their. I would certainly want to wait for more long term test results.
Well, I hope this makes sense and I still find it very interesting.
Matthew
PS. I am adding on here some time later. I wonder how they were tested and if even with small amonuts of gluten they would still test positive with Dr. Fines tests.
Very interesting. I used to spend a lot of time looking for alternative grains but do so well without them that I gave up. I have never seen low gluten grains anywhere that I have looked. that doesn’t mean they might be available
If I remember correctly Polly still tested positive on Dr. Fines test for antibodies a year after being on a gluten free diet. My experience with improving by leaps and bounds between nine and twelve months on the GF diet makes me think that I was still producing antibodies and they only began to lessen at that point. I was not tested at that point so my evidence is very anecdotal. At best it is conjecture that my improvement in the next year had to do as much with staying GF and grain free as much as it did with finding other triggers and.... that my antibody level was finally going down.
So on to the point. My experience along with reading between the lines of the experience of others here is that even very small amounts of gluten affect me even at this point and I would not dare try even low gluten grains. Because of that experience I would have to assume that those who ate the low gluten grains must have spent a period of complete abstinence thus stopping the antibody reaction. When they ate the very small amounts their bodies did not recognize it as an invader.
It just seems to me that eventually they would still get some reaction since the gluten is still their. I would certainly want to wait for more long term test results.
Well, I hope this makes sense and I still find it very interesting.
Matthew
PS. I am adding on here some time later. I wonder how they were tested and if even with small amonuts of gluten they would still test positive with Dr. Fines tests.
Jean,
Hahahahahaha. I guess I'm just a coward at heart.
Matthew,
The comments from some of the doctors in the link that I posted, reflect some of the same concerns that you raised--namely that finding damage may depend on how thoroughly the patient is tested, and where they look to find damage. IOW, many celiacs don't present symptoms, and yet are still accruing damage.
My point was, if you have MC, and you are not avoiding gluten, it might be advantageous to try the low-gluten wheat flour, to minimize the risk of future problems, without having to cut wheat out of your diet.
Wayne
Hahahahahaha. I guess I'm just a coward at heart.
Matthew,
The comments from some of the doctors in the link that I posted, reflect some of the same concerns that you raised--namely that finding damage may depend on how thoroughly the patient is tested, and where they look to find damage. IOW, many celiacs don't present symptoms, and yet are still accruing damage.
My point was, if you have MC, and you are not avoiding gluten, it might be advantageous to try the low-gluten wheat flour, to minimize the risk of future problems, without having to cut wheat out of your diet.
Wayne
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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kate_ce1995
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Wayne,
I find this idea very intriguing. But I guess it's another example of trying to fool mother nature. LOL! In all of my readings and travels, I have never heard of any low gluten wheat products for sale.
But it makes sense. Remember, I read something several years ago about the fact that wheat has been continually modified over the last few generations to increase the gluten (gliadin) fraction. I think I read that the gluten fraction used to be less than 3 % and now it is over 50%. It is done because gluten is what gives bread its light and airy feature.
Probably if we could find the breads/wheat flour that our grandparents/great-grandparents ate, they would be low-gluten.
And maybe this is one reason for the increase in gluten intolerance - overexposure to gluten?
Love,
Polly
I find this idea very intriguing. But I guess it's another example of trying to fool mother nature. LOL! In all of my readings and travels, I have never heard of any low gluten wheat products for sale.
But it makes sense. Remember, I read something several years ago about the fact that wheat has been continually modified over the last few generations to increase the gluten (gliadin) fraction. I think I read that the gluten fraction used to be less than 3 % and now it is over 50%. It is done because gluten is what gives bread its light and airy feature.
Probably if we could find the breads/wheat flour that our grandparents/great-grandparents ate, they would be low-gluten.
And maybe this is one reason for the increase in gluten intolerance - overexposure to gluten?
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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kate_ce1995
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- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 5:53 pm
- Location: Vermont
When I shared this fact with my mother, Polly, she got depressed because she just thought she'd finally learned how to make light and airy whole wheat bread! I remember the stuff we ate growing up to be very crumbly...hence adding a nice layer of butter and cinnamon sugar or jelly to moisten it up 
Katy
Katy