



A grain of truth to gluten intolerance


Photo: Thomas Vogel

Few know what gluten is, only that it will make you fat, bloated, and that eating it is akin to 'satanism'.

But a pesky question keeps coming up, challenging these assumptions: For those who don't have coeliac disease, which is about 98 per cent of us, is gluten really a problem and does gluten-intolerance actually exist?

''This is a significant finding, but to claim it proves that non-coeliac gluten sensitivity doesn’t exist is both inaccurate and irresponsible. It’s a great way to get clicks and generate attention, but it’s an extreme distortion of what the study actually found.'' 

As a recent, hilarious piece from the US TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live highlighted, the public is largely puzzled by gluten and why exactly they need to avoid it.  

''Some people can't eat gluten for medical reasons, which that I get. It annoys me but I get it,'' Kimmel mused. ''But a lot of people don't eat gluten because somebody in their yoga class told them not to.''

Indeed. A new study found more than a quarter of respondents with self-reported non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), don't fulfil criteria for its diagnosis.

The Australian market for gluten-free is set to hit more than $100 million in the next year. Products pitched as ''gluten-free'' are often more than twice as expensive, even compared with their gluten-free counterparts that have not cashed in by marketing themselves as such.

A spate of contradictory studies about how pernicious gluten actually is only adds to consumer confusion.

Last week, author and health guru Chris Kresser wrote a rebuttal to the glut of recent articles slating gluten sensitivity as 'bullshit'.

The articles have come on the back of an Australian study published last year which found that it may not be gluten causing gut problems in people with sensitivities.

Instead of gluten, a protein found in wheat and some other grains including barley and rye, the study suggested that short-chain carbohydrates called FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligo-saccharides, Disaccharides, Mono-saccharides andPolyols) might be leading to symptoms such as bloating and gut distress.

The study's author, Peter Gibson, of Melbourne's Monash University, originally published a paper providing evidence that gluten-sensitivity exists. 

That was in 2011. Last year he decided to do a follow-up study using tighter controls. 

Over the course of five weeks, all meals were provided for the 37 subjects with self-diagnosed NCGS and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). While keeping a daily diary and undergoing tests, the participants were rotated through gluten-free, low-gluten and high-gluten diets. The common factor across all three diets was that they were all low in FODMAPs, which are found naturally in wheat as well as other foods as varied as apples, onions, milk and mangoes. 

In contrast to his 2011 study, Gibson said, ''we could find absolutely no specific response to gluten''.

''In all participants, gastrointestinal symptoms consistently and significantly improved during reduced FODMAP intake, but significantly worsened to a similar degree when their diets included gluten or whey protein,'' Gibson wrote. ''Gluten-specific effects were observed in only 8 per cent of participants.''

The worsening symptoms, even while on the placebo diet, could be explained by a nocebo effect, Gibson said, where we feel worse when we expect to feel worse. 

As for people mistakenly believing they are gluten-sensitive, Gibson suggested that the reason participants felt better for avoiding wheat was because of its high percentage of FODMAPs.

In his response to the study and the articles that ensued, Kresser wrote: ''This is a significant finding, but to claim it proves that non-coeliac gluten sensitivity doesn’t exist is both inaccurate and irresponsible. It’s a great way to get clicks and generate attention, but it’s an extreme distortion of what the study actually found.''

Among other things, to determine whether gluten or FODMAPs are causing you gut troubles, Kresser suggests removing all gluten for 60 days and then having a bowl of barley, which he says is low in FODMAPs, followed several days later by a piece of wheat bread.

Gibson argues that Kresser's response is ''well written but so wrong in several key facts'' and is just ''another misinterpretation of what was a straightforward message''.

He points out, for instance, that using barley to determine gluten sensitivity is inaccurate as barley is very high in FODMAPs.

''What our study has shown is that, in people with gut symptoms who have had some relief with the gluten-free diet, it is not the gluten that is the culprit, but it is more likely to be FODMAPs,'' Gibson says now. 

''It does not say that there is no such thing as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. It is just we could not see any evidence of it in the 37 patients we studied, all of whom fulfilled the current definition of NCGS.

''Why gluten has been blamed is that people do often improve with a gluten-free diet because wheat, rye and barley, the three cereals that contain gluten, all have high amounts of FODMAPs in them. 

''Unfortunately, wheat has been recognised as containing gluten and, with the media hype and film stars etc pushing gluten-free, it is quite understandable that people think it is the gluten that was the villain. Wheat contains more than just gluten.''

That said, Gibson is not letting gluten off the hook. In April, he and his team published another study exploring the link between gluten and depression. 

He believes people may report improvements on a gluten-free diet because it makes them quite literally ''feel better''.

''These findings are only preliminary and the proper study is now being performed on the basis of the suggestions from the pilot,'' Gibson says. ''It may be that people with gut symptoms feel better on the gluten-free diet because they are less depressed. We must await the detailed study to see if this is true.''


Gluten is not in all grains: Assuming they haven't been contaminated, rice, corn, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, sorghum and oats are all naturally gluten-free.

Gluten-free does not mean more natural: As well as often being more expensive, gluten-free foods are often as highly processed as products containing gluten.

Gluten is not just in wheat: As well as bread, pasta, barley and rye, it is also often found in salad dressings, vitamins and seasonings.

Coeliac disease: Is an autoimmune enteropathy triggered by the ingestion of gluten. Gluten-sensitive individuals cannot tolerate gluten and may develop gastrointestinal symptoms similar to those in CD, but the overall clinical picture is typically less severe.

Gluten sensitivity: Refers to an adverse reaction to eating gluten that usually does not lead to damage of the small intestine.

Wheat allergy: Is not specifically related to the gut. Reactions to wheat can vary significantly and like other classic food allergies can affect the skin, gastrointenstinal tract or respiratory tract.

Coeliac: Denotes a response to gluten that causes the immune system to attack its own body tissue.

* Oats contain a type of gluten, different to that found in wheat. To be on the safe side, Coeliac Australia recommends those with coeliac disease avoid oats until research is more conclusive.


  • we would not be scammed would we ?

    Date and time
    May 27, 2014, 7:00PM
    • just trust your gut?

      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 8:43AM
    • Noted Dave. Shrewd people or organisations with vested interests are highly adept at defending them. (I wonder who some of Jimmy Kimmel's friends are and why he raised this issue!) I'm 100% sure of one thing. Whenever I eat bread or related products with a high gluten content, I get nasty indigestion. My wife is the same. We'll continue to avoid gluten no matter what pitch any salesperson comes up with.

      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 11:08AM
    • Chrjo there was no pitch have another read - it may not be gluten that is giving you the issue it could be the FODMAPS - by knowing which it is then you can make an informed decision not assume you're part of the gluten bandwagon because of a slice of bread

      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 2:51PM
    • This whole gluten intolerance thing is complete crap. I have at least five people I know that claimed they were suffering from bloating, stomach upsets AND it was the main reason they were obese. Nothing to do with the lifestyles or the fact they don't do any exercise. Ten years on after subjecting everyone to the serious inconvenience of this entire sham they are all still obese but WORSE. In fact their collective health is much worse and we all have to eat food that tastes like bloody cardboard.

      Gluten shootin all BS
      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 8:14PM
  • I was diagnosed as wheat intolerant 50 years ago by our local GP in Sydney. Long before the "fad" began. I am just so appreciative of the gluten free fad as it means I have a much wider choice in food stuffs now !
    The GP was Dr Thornton W. Crouch (hope I have the spelling correct) a South African, and he was way ahead of his time.

    Date and time
    May 28, 2014, 8:33AM
    • @Healthy,

      See that is the thing that most GP's stuff up, i am sure your "positive" results was based on a bloody test. Unfortunately, this test is useless from memory i think it gives almost a 70% false positive. The only way to be diagnosed correctly is via a colonoscopy /endoscopy where the look for structural damage-inflammation of the duodenum the 2nd part of the small intestine from memory, they take tissue and assay for lymphocyte recruitment to the effected area, which fits in with the autoimmune disease. Or other tests are fairy dusty.

      PS, just another fact about coeliac disease and gluten free diets, Colon cancer is the biggest problem for coeliac patients because they dont get enough fibre, so just think about it before switching to a GF diet.

      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 1:56PM
    • +1. With a FODMAP issue, you can't really explain it adequately but having lots of GF options now is great. If you can eat and enjoy wheat based food, it is hard to imagine what it is like (and how hungry you can get!) going into a cafe and seeing a fantastic array of delicious looking food - but all have one thing in common - made from wheat flour, therefore inedible to some. (Same goes for ceoliacs with the actual gluten issue).
      Since wheat eaters are able to eat non-wheat or gluten containing food without any issues, but not vice versa, hopefully the range will continue to expand. BTW, in case you are skeptical or wondering, it is just as enjoyable and creative, even more so if you don't get sick every time you eat.

      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 2:40PM
    • @Mark

      Supposing you are having severe abdominal cramping and you get a blood test done which finds you are most likely suffering from Coeliac disease (with an accuracy of more likely 95%). You then go off gluten and find the symptons clear up.

      Would you not say that is fairly convincing? Or do you think you should eat a loaf of white bread to bring back the discomfort and then get a doctor to shove his hand up your rear to make certain?

      Gordon Rouse
      Yinnar South
      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 2:53PM
    • @ Mark

      This is either a super naive comment or you have not done your proper reading. Fibre is found in so many more foods than wheat based products. For instance, having rice or potato instead of pasta in a meal, having a few servings of fresh fruit and veg and a small container of nuts and will more than compensate for the average 2 slices of white bread and a bowl of pasta. Funnily enough, this also promotes a much healthier and more balanced diet.

      Date and time
      May 28, 2014, 3:27PM

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