photo © 2006 Ben Cumming | more info (via: Wylio)When I was diagnosed as having Celiac Disease (and DH), I was told that a strict gluten free diet was the only course of action. I am currently living the gluten free lifestyle. In theory, as long as I avoid gluten, I should expect to see a complete remission of the negative side effects, right? RIGHT?! Well, now I'm reading about a sticky little concept called gluten cross-reactivity.
"Cross-reactivity is a condition where your body’s autoimmune antibodies mistake other food proteins for ones you can’t tolerate. Cross-reaction to other foods creates the same effect as though you consumed gluten" (Paul Smith).
AWW, COME ON!! So, you're telling me that there are other food proteins that my body is mistaking for gluten? Sweet fancy Moses, that is depressing. So what are these other foods? Having read the list, I started to wonder if some of the IBS-type symptoms I have are related to these foods. It really seems possible.
The other food proteins include: dairy (big suprise), nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines), carrageenan, and potentially other foods including coffee. NOOOOOOO!!!!! See the list of foods under Array 4 in this information. At least this lab thinks that coffee is worth testing for. Has anybody had a test done by Cyrex labs?
From my experience, I think I am sensitive to the highly acidic items on the list, particularly tomatoes and coffee. I will sometimes notice that a home made gluten free pizza with home made tomato sauce will cause distress. Also, if I have coffee in the afternoon--forget it, I'm sick. It seems like I can get away with coffee in limited quantities. I am going to have to do some more testing on the tomato front.
It seems to me that there is not a lot of information on gluten cross-reactivity. If you have links to studies or other resources, please pass them along. Thx.
UPDATE: Here's a five minute video overview of cross-reactivity by Dr. Vikki Petersen.
