Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

by anarkandi Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:29 am

http://www.businessinsider.com/gluten-sensitivity-and-study-replication-2014-5

Since gluten is a protein found in any normal diet, Gibson was unsatisfied with his finding. He wanted to find out why the gluten seemed to be causing this reaction and if there could be something else going on. He therefore went to a scientifically rigorous extreme for his next experiment, a level not usually expected in nutrition studies.

For a follow-up paper, 37 self-identified gluten-sensitive patients were tested. According to Real Clear Science's Newton Blog, here's how the experiment went:

Subjects would be provided with every single meal for the duration of the trial. Any and all potential dietary triggers for gastrointestinal symptoms would be removed, including lactose (from milk products), certain preservatives like benzoates, propionate, sulfites, and nitrites, and fermentable, poorly absorbed short-chain carbohydrates, also known as FODMAPs. And last, but not least, nine days worth of urine and fecal matter would be collected. With this new study, Gibson wasn't messing around.

The subjects cycled through high-gluten, low-gluten, and no-gluten (placebo) diets, without knowing which diet plan they were on at any given time. In the end, all of the treatment diets — even the placebo diet — caused pain, bloating, nausea, and gas to a similar degree. It didn't matter if the diet contained gluten. (Read more about the study.)

"In contrast to our first study … we could find absolutely no specific response to gluten," Gibson wrote in the paper. A third, larger study published this month has confirmed the findings.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/gluten-sensitivity-and-study-replication-2014-5#ixzz3Aoi3Jfop

by melodiccolor Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:46 pm

There has been so much written on the evils of gluten lately and intuitively it didn't make sense to me, listening to my body so I wondered about this. This confirms what my intuition has been saying.

by melodiccolor Sat Dec 13, 2014 5:06 pm

Another clue to the mystery of apparent gluten sensitivity rise in the US-it may not be gluten that's causing it but roundup uptake.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1138966-are-you-sensitive-to-gluten-or-just-roundup-american-wheat-often-doused-with-toxic-herbicide-before-harvest/

It's just a strong correlation but it makes sense.

by Grasshopper Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:08 pm

Unless you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, gluten allergy, or irritable bowel syndrome you may not know or care much about gluten [1].

However, in recent years there has been much marketing hype about ‘gluten free’ products as well as highlighted in restaurant menus, especially in California (that the rest of the nation probably still thinks of us as ‘health nuts’). There have been similar campaigns in the last few decades regarding Candida, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates and sugar as commercial zeal gathered steam.

This Wikipedia article [2] has similar comments that gluten per se may not be the real culprit for your symptoms. For most of us, FODMAPs [3] may be the issue.

Speaking for myself, I’ve always had problems with beans, onions, wheat, barley, rye, artificial sweeteners, causing some degree of bloating and gas. Limiting or avoiding these has been very helpful. I've also always had a sensitivity to sugar, a while later feeing light-headed and uneasy after ingesting much of it; but this is not a digestive issue, it has more to do with resultant hypoglycemia.

Regarding the use of Roundup to douse wheat fields, there is much push-back in the comments section of the aforementioned article that this claim is unsubstantiated. Urban Legends Reference Pages [4 ] has also largely debunked this claim as undocumented along with confusing interpretations and conclusions.

If you want to learn more about gluten and related issues these articles are a good place to start:

[1] What is gluten?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten
[2] Gluten sensitivity:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten_sensitivity
[3] FODMAPs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FODMAP
[4] http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/roundupwheat.asp

by RBM Tue Dec 16, 2014 7:36 pm

From what is posted in the OP, the study is fatally flawed and the clue is the use of a placebo diet.

Here's a 2 year old TED video, titled, Is there scientific proof we can heal ourselves? Lissa Rankin, MD at TEDxAmericanRiviera that is just one data point.

From this one can see the reverse is also true; it is also possible for one to make oneself sick.

For example, it seems the placebo is a major thorn in Big Pharma's side as it requires triple-blind controls, as double-blind is insufficient.

by melodiccolor Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:21 pm

The initial study or the followup RBM? There is so much misinformation being widely spread by everyone who wants to publish a book and picked up by major news sources, it's becoming impossible to tell valid news from invalid.

by RBM Wed Dec 17, 2014 6:51 pm

melodiccolor wrote:The initial study or the followup RBM? There is so much misinformation being widely spread by everyone who wants to publish a book and picked up by major news sources, it's becoming impossible to tell valid news from invalid.

Either or both - was the placebo effect controlled for, specifically, in the original or follow-up ?

by melodiccolor Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:53 pm

RBM wrote:
melodiccolor wrote:The initial study or the followup RBM? There is so much misinformation being widely spread by everyone who wants to publish a book and picked up by major news sources, it's becoming impossible to tell valid news from invalid.

Either or both - was the placebo effect controlled for, specifically, in the original or follow-up ?

Not sure, but from the way the article was written, it looks like it likely was.

by Sponsored content

Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity

Re: Gluten insensitivity doesn't exist, says man behind previous study on gluten sensitivity