(This is part 2 of a 4 part series – TO BE a Gluten-Eater OR NOT TO BE a Gluten-Eater – That is the question).

Jimmy Kimmel, a late night television show host, also noticed the trending gluten-free craze. Curious about people’s understanding, he did a street poll by randomly stopping strangers to ask them about gluten. The vast majority did not know what it was, or what specifically it was in. A select few could place it in “breads and cereals”.

For being such a buzz word – what is gluten? Celiac.org defines it as, “a general name for the proteins found in wheat… rye, barley and triticale. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting as a glue that holds food together” (Celiac.org). The name gluten comes from the base word “glu”, simply meaning a glue-like substance that creates and maintains form. So what about this glue-like protein causes so much pain for those with celiac disease?

Gluten is made up of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin (livescience.com). Gliadin is the main culprit for the adverse reaction in individuals with celiac’s. The damaged villi in the small intestines are unable to absorb crucial nutrients, but “symptoms may vary among different people:” One person might have diarrhea and abdominal pain, while another person has irritability or depression. Some patients develop celiac symptoms early in life, while others feel healthy far into adulthood” (celiaccentral.org).

Thus, a diagnosis of gluten intolerance can happen at any time of life. If a person is consistently feeling sick from eating food containing gluten (and does not mistake it for the bellyache after a half-pound, double bacon cheeseburger), he or she should be tested for Celiacs’s.

Emilee, a young girl, tells her true story of being diagnosed with Celiac’s: “I am 13 and I was diagnosed 2 years ago (2012). I am currently living a gluten-free life….Two years ago I got a stomach virus. All the symptoms went away except my stomach pains. I was on the couch almost every night curled up in a ball clenching my stomach. It was to the point I could put nothing in my stomach. Not even water. After more trips to the hospital, I went to a different one. They took my gluten count and the numbers were through the roof. So I went through more testing and a biopsy. After my biopsy results came back it was confirmed. I had celiac disease. We suspect my stomach virus kick started my dormant gene. I was put on a gluten-free diet right away.” (celiaccentral.org).

The number of reported gluten related problems is skyrocketing. Until just recently, diagnosis of celiac disease was about 1 in 133 people (niddk.hig.gov) but now gluten has become a house hold term. I find this perplexing – with better science and technology, testing for gluten intolerance has become easier, however, if gluten sensitivity is an actual condition, why was it not nearly as prominent a few decades ago, as it is now? Why is gluten a hot-button topic? In my research, I noticed that genetically modified organisms (GMO), are a very popular scape-goat amongst all the finger pointing.

Layla Katiraee, a Doctor in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto, noticed the same pattern, and stated, “The Internet is exploding with stories about the supposed dangerous link between gluten allergies and genetically modified foods” (Katiraee). An obscure essay, written by Stephanie Seneff and Anthony Samsel, scientists from MIT, attributes to this new found blame on GMO’s. The essay focused on the correlation between glyphosateand rise in modern disease. Glyphosate the proper name for berbicides like Round-up, is sprayed on many crops that are sold commercially.

Dr. Katiraee noted that, “Anti-GMO campaigners postulate two primary hypotheses as to how GMOs cause gluten sensitivity. The first is that glyphosate may kill the healthy bacteria in the gut, leading to a bacterial imbalance. The second is that the Bt-toxin, found in Bt-resistant GM crop, punctures holes in human cells (in this case, the gut), leading to a leaky gut” (Katiraee). The Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF) challenged these hypotheses, calling them pure speculation: “The scientists at CDF pointed out that patients with Celiac Disease or gluten-sensitivity feel better when they cut gluten out of their diets. If the cause of their sensitivity were GMOs or glyphosate, then they’d have to cut out a lot more than just gluten.” Glyphosate is used on a wide spectrum of crops reaching much further than just wheat, barley, or rye.

Katiraee goes on to point out that the most convincing evidence against these hypotheses is that genetically modified wheat is not even on the market. Wheat is not glyphosate resistant, and is being tested to become so, but GM wheat is currently not commercially available (Katiraee). Katiraee states that the essay written by Seneff and Samsel, “cherry-pick data from global statistics to support their claims…Neither has any known expertise in genetics or toxicology” (Katiraee). 

In the world of increasing “gluten sensitive” individuals, Doctor Stefano Guandalini, director of the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, concludes, “These patients absolutely do exist… They do have real symptoms” (webmd.com). Many doctors and even registered dietitians will gladly prescribe a gluten-free diet for those who have what is known as non-celiac’s gluten sensitivity (NCGS). However, there is a very real conflict in the medical and dietary world on the topic. Why?

Ben Fager