Wheat population in developed countries. There is evidence that most cases remain undiagnosed and untreated. The only known effective treatment is a strict lifelong gluten-free diet. While coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins, it is not the same as a wheat allergy. Other diseases triggered by eating gluten are non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, (estimated to affect 0.5% to 13% of the general population), gluten ataxia and dermatitis herpetiformis. The following table shows the nutrient content of wheat and other major staple foods in a raw form. Raw forms of these staples, however, are not edible and cannot be
Anti-gliadin antibodies This antibody is a recommended testing protocol in a proposed revision of the Codex Alimentarius. The new standards came about in part because of new sensitive and specific testing procedures. These procedures are capable of detecting wheat or multiple cereals at concentrations as low as 1 part per million (PPM or 1 mg/kg). A new barley-sensitive ELISA called the R5 sandwich assay does not detect gluten in any of 25 pure oat varieties, but it does detect barley, wheat and rye. Anti-gliadin antibodies Anti-gliadin antibodies are produced in response to gliadin, a prolamin found in wheat. In bread wheat it