Wheat intolerance?

[Richard Masters]

I'm hesitant to buy into gluten-free diets and allergy scares posted all over the internet as cures to cancer and other ailments, however, I've been eating salads recently, and yesterday I felt particularly well (just OK, actually, but still an improvement). Then today I went to the store, bought more salad, and on the way home stopped at Burger King to get a spicy chicken sandwich, a double cheeseburger, and some fries. Minutes later, I started to feel mild itching on my feet and hands. I didn't see a rash, but my skin felt more sensitive to any scratching.

I checked the ingredients, and it turns out that there is wheat, egg and soy in what I ordered. Naturally, I will get checked for allergies whenever possible, but does this sound like an allergy to any of you? I'm not experienced with allergies at all, and what I've seen on TV seems a lot more serious than anything I've experienced. Could it be I simply have some food sensitivity? The symptoms I mentioned are distracting and I'd like to know if I should avoid wheat until I see a physician.

 

[Lukraak_Sisser]

I know two people (one is my mother) that are allergic to gluten, and I assure you their diets have nothing to do with it being any type of woo cure, but rather that if they eat wheat products they get to lie in bed in pain for the next two days.

I'm no physician and allergies can range from mild to very severe. If you notice ill effects on eating wheat based products I'd at least have it tested.
Here in europe a whole range of substitutes is available so its not necessary to live on salads if you don't want to.
One problem tends to be eating out, as a lot of restaurants do not realize that sauces, spices and processed meat tend to have wheat in them.
Given how annoying the condition is I hope for you it tests negative.

 

[rjh01]

How to tell if you are allergic to x
1. Eliminate x from your diet. If that does not hake you feel better, inconclusive result. You could be allergic to x and y. Or just y. Or it could be something else. See a doctor.
2. Eat x. If that does not make you sick then it is less likely you are allergic to x. If it makes you sick then you are more likely to be allergic to x.
3. Repeat test several times. With luck you will get consistent data. If not see a doctor. If you conclude you are allergic to x then see a doctor about what to do. If you are not allergic to x then see a doctor about your sickness.

One other thing. Self diagnosis is dangerous. Get a doctor's opinion first.

 

[fls]

How to tell if you are allergic to x
1. Eliminate x from your diet. If that does not hake you feel better, inconclusive result. You could be allergic to x and y. Or just y. Or it could be something else. See a doctor.
2. Eat x. If that does not make you sick then it is less likely you are allergic to x. If it makes you sick then you are more likely to be allergic to x.
3. Repeat test several times. With luck you will get consistent data. If not see a doctor. If you conclude you are allergic to x then see a doctor about what to do. If you are not allergic to x then see a doctor about your sickness.

One other thing. Self diagnosis is dangerous. Get a doctor's opinion first.

I'm sorry, but this is the wrong way to go about it. Expectation alone will account for any changes in something so vague as "feel better". A proper test involves a very specific outcome - preferably more objective than subjective. And it should be done blind to remove the effects of expectation.

However, the symptoms described in the OP are not those of an allergic reaction or a reaction to gluten, so self-testing isn't necessary anyway.

Linda

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I have two relatives with gluten intolerance (coeliac disease) and their symptoms after eating gluten just once involve them being very unwell for about 6 weeks (until the intestinal lining grows back).

If you think a food is causing you some symptoms, the best thing you can do until you can get to see a doctor is to keep a food diary, detailing everything you eat and noting when you get the specific symptoms you are complaining of.

 

[jayh]

Coeliac disease is a firmly identified condition, which can be tested for (though it's a bit tricky, because of diet limitations during the test)

There seems, however, to be some people who fare better on GF diets even they don't show that disease, and they don't show the severe reactions that coeliacs do.

Is this a milder form? Is it placebo? Is it just a food sensitivity (as opposed to a major medical condition)? Can't really say for sure. But large numbers of the world's population live with little or no wheat. Wheat as a food dates back only to the early days of agriculture, so it is not something we evolved with over the long term.

 

[dahduh]

There's nothing imaginary about coeliac disease, but unless you have a history of it in your family somewhere it's unlikely to be the problem. Also, if you are sensitive and have been eating gluten for a long while it could take a few weeks or months to come right; it's unlikely just a few days off gluten would make a huge difference. That said, sensitivities do vary widely.

I suggest first step is to ask around and check if you have any parents / cousins with coeliac disease. If not it's low probability.

If you do think you have some kind of dietary intolerance then the best approach is to start on a very restricted diet and then add things like diary, eggs, nuts & gluten one by one very slowly - but consult a dietitian so you don't end up with a deficiency in something. This can take months.

Good luck!

 

[HansMustermann]

I'm hesitant to buy into gluten-free diets and allergy scares posted all over the internet as cures to cancer and other ailments, however, I've been eating salads recently, and yesterday I felt particularly well (just OK, actually, but still an improvement). Then today I went to the store, bought more salad, and on the way home stopped at Burger King to get a spicy chicken sandwich, a double cheeseburger, and some fries. Minutes later, I started to feel mild itching on my feet and hands. I didn't see a rash, but my skin felt more sensitive to any scratching.

I checked the ingredients, and it turns out that there is wheat, egg and soy in what I ordered. Naturally, I will get checked for allergies whenever possible, but does this sound like an allergy to any of you? I'm not experienced with allergies at all, and what I've seen on TV seems a lot more serious than anything I've experienced. Could it be I simply have some food sensitivity? The symptoms I mentioned are distracting and I'd like to know if I should avoid wheat until I see a physician.

Gluten allergy doesn't manifest like that. It simply causes your immune system to strip off your intestine linin, but I don't think anything will happen on your feet and hands.

It's sort of like the same mechanism as why people get an irritation from poison ivy. The urushiol alone doesn't really do anything. It does however combine with some proteins on the surface of your cells, making your immune system think they're foreign cells. And it then proceeds to destroy them.

(But you don't get any itching in parts not touched by the urushiol.)

Gluten really has the same tendency to combine with proteins on the surface of cells in the intestine lining. Most people don't have a problem with it, but some people do end up having their intestine lining destroyed by their own immune system.

 

[Dancing David]

Sounds more like contact dermatitis to me, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

Did you as your hands or come in contact with something strange?

 

[casebro]

If other food allergies make you break out in hives, why not gluten allergy?

If allergies can make your skin break out, why not your artery linings?

If allergies can cause anaphylactic shock, how about a lesser reaction like angina?

Try googling "allergic angina" ?

Anyhow, I firmly believe that 'wheat allergy' can consist of different reactions than intestinal problems.

Richard, watch out for soy sauce and "modified food starch". Seems the fermenting and modifying make the wheat gluten much make dangerous. See, the gluten itself is not the problem. The problem is the next step, where the gluten is broken down into a protein that resembles morphine, an 'exorphine? Anyhow, the fermetning/modifying makes a greater percentage of the gluten into that chemical.

Also, what Richard is doing to his diet is know as a "double challenge". It is used in vivo to test for reactions to drugs as well as allergies. Try the suspected chemical, then without, then again with, then again without. We all should do it more often. Personally, I will no longer take a medicine to relieve the side effects of another medicine. There in lies a positive feedback system that will land you in la-la land.

ETA: I'm diabetic. I was taking glucophage to lower my blood sugar. It was effectively "weight loss through diarrhea". The diarrhea caused bleeding hemorrhoids. Needed cortisone suppositories. Stopped the glucophage, that pretty much cleared up the hemorrhoids. Going gluten free 'cured' them the rest of the way. Hemorrhoids = hives? I dunno....

 

[fls]

If other food allergies make you break out in hives, why not gluten allergy?

There are different kinds of immune reactions. Food allergies are usually IgE-mediated, while responses to gluten are cell-mediated. IgE-mediated responses are what we typically associate with 'allergic reactions'. Mast cells (the cells which are acted upon by IgE) are also hetergeneous in their distribution and whether or not they react to the kind of stimuli associated with food allergies. These are some of the issues that make any sort of extrapolation unreliable, at the very least, and likely to be wrong.

Linda

 

[casebro]

.... responses to gluten are cell-mediated. ...

Linda

Oh yes, Celiac's is a cell mediated response.

Any reason wheat can NOT also have the mast cell response? Anti histamines and gluten avoidance both help my angina.

Hmmm, aren't skin scratch tests used to ascertain gluten allergy? via a histamine response?

From http://quickcare.org/misc/diagnosing-gluten-allergy.html :

Skin Test for Diagnosing Gluten Allergy

Doctors often perform a skin test for diagnosing gluten allergy as well as other food and environmental allergies. The skin test may be performed on the arm or on the back. The skin is pricked with a needle containing a small amount of the suspect substance, in this case gluten. If the patient is allergic to gluten, he will experience a skin reaction. This may be the most reliable test for gluten allergy.

Blood Tests for Gluten Allergies

There are a number of blood tests that can check for antibodies that suggest a patient might have a gluten allergy, including transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) and anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA). These blood tests are often used to test for celiac disease, as well. If a patient has a positive skin test for gluten allergy, there is no need to do blood tests unless it is also suspected that he has celiac disease. If you are going to have one of these blood tests, do not eliminate gluten from your diet in the days immediately prior to the blood tests or the results may not be accurate. [end quote]

So I guess my own extrapolation was wrong, until I googled. But it does seem that "wheat allergy" is not necessarily "Celiac's".

 

[HansMustermann]

Being that the mast cell response is triggered by Immunoglobulin E and this one doesn't involve Immunoglobulin E, I should say explains it very well. Different parts of the immune system do different things, really.

 

[fls]

Oh yes, Celiac's is a cell mediated response.

Any reason wheat can NOT also have the mast cell response?

You're right. I misunderstood. For some reason I thought you were referring to Celiac's (I'm just used to the association, I guess).

Anti histamines and gluten avoidance both help my angina.

Yes, but this is the sort of evaluation that is essentially useless, since it is a subjective evaluation performed without blinding - i.e. expectation alone will account for the 'benefit'.

From http://quickcare.org/misc/diagnosing-gluten-allergy.html

That website has the hallmarks of an unreliable source. It does not follow the Hon Code, no responsibility is attached to the information, a quick scan of some of the topics show that incorrect and misleading information is given, the misinformation corresponds to that typically provided by sources already known to be quackery.

Try using more reliable websites like emedicine.

Linda

 

[casebro]

At least that site does discuss wheat allergy as different from Celiac's. That is something the Celiac's activists deny.

So far as my own health goes, I know I am atypical. I've never said that nobody should eat wheat. But anecdotes do get people thinking. And discussing. And learning. Even me.

 

[Richard Masters]

Gluten allergy doesn't manifest like that. It simply causes your immune system to strip off your intestine linin, but I don't think anything will happen on your feet and hands.

...

Most people don't have a problem with it, but some people do end up having their intestine lining destroyed by their own immune system.

Sounds more like contact dermatitis to me, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

Did you as your hands or come in contact with something strange?

Well, the thing is the itching happens on my feet more often, and when it happens on my hands or the rest of my body, it's usually the back of my hands.

I didn't start eating salads to avoid allergies, so I doubt that the itching after eating at BK is placebo.

 

[Chris Haynes]

Well, the thing is the itching happens on my feet more often, and when it happens on my hands or the rest of my body, it's usually the back of my hands.

I didn't start eating salads to avoid allergies, so I doubt that the itching after eating at BK is placebo.

I have a nickel allergy. Though when the itching starts, there is usually a small rash to go with it (usually small fluid filled bumps).

 

[Richard Masters]

Accidentally ate more wheat (Taco Bell this time). An hour later, the itching and burning sensations began. This itching has been happening for a while and I hadn't connected it to wheat, presumably because I eat it all the time.

I can't be sure it's the wheat, (could be soy, or something unrelated to food...) but I do intend to get it checked out as soon as I have money.

ETA: It would suck if it was wheat, because I love pizza, pasta, spaghetti (whole-wheat spaghetti, specifically), etc...

 

[kmortis]

Accidentally ate more wheat (Taco Bell this time). An hour later, the itching and burning sensations began. This itching has been happening for a while and I hadn't connected it to wheat, presumably because I eat it all the time.

I can't be sure it's the wheat, (could be soy, or something unrelated to food...) but I do intend to get it checked out as soon as I have money.

ETA: It would suck if it was wheat, because I love pizza, pasta, spaghetti (whole-wheat spaghetti, specifically), etc...

If it is wheat, then there are a TON of gluten-free alternatives. They tend to be more expensive than the wheat versions, but they're out there. Generally, you need a mix of flours (rice, tapioca, potato etc) and a binder of some kind (like xantham gum). I wish I could remember the brand name of the best gluten-free pasta we found. It had the same texture as regular pasta, which is good because most GF versions are very grainy. A little research will get you a long way.

 

[Ocelot]

This