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What Does A Anti-Gliadin Result Of "Negative", But >0, Mean?


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I looked at my blood test results again and became puzzled. The test result page says results less than twenty are negative, twenty to thirty a weak positive, and above thirty positive. What supports this breakdown?

I understand that there is no generally accepted test for gluten sensitivity. Some doctors think gluten sensitivity does not exist, others go by a positive anti-gliadin blood test, some accept a positive stool test, and some rely on dietary elimination and reintroduction. Others rely on a combination of factors, which may or may not include the blood test. With that being the case, it's difficult to understand the negative/positive in blood tests results as equalling a gluten sensitivity yes/no. So the negative positive must mean something else.

I've also learned that many lab tests with a "normal range" are not based on health, but on all tests given by the lab in a period of time, after dropping of the top and bottom 5% (or some similar algorythym). Is the anti-gliadin test result range determined similarly?


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    • Mmoc
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    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
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    • trents
      Thanks for the thoughtful reply and links, Wheatwacked. Definitely some food for thought. However, I would point out that your linked articles refer to gliadin in human breast milk, not cow's milk. And although it might seem reasonable to conclude it would work the same way in cows, that is not necessarily the case. Studies seem to indicate otherwise. Studies also indicate the amount of gliadin in human breast milk is miniscule and unlikely to cause reactions:  https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/gluten-peptides-in-human-breast-milk-implications-for-cows-milk/ I would also point out that Dr. Peter Osborne's doctorate is in chiropractic medicine, though he also has studied and, I believe, holds some sort of certifications in nutritional science. To put it plainly, he is considered by many qualified medical and nutritional professionals to be on the fringe of quackery. But he has a dedicated and rabid following, nonetheless.
    • Scott Adams
      I'd be very cautious about accepting these claims without robust evidence. The hypothesis requires a chain of biologically unlikely events: Gluten/gliadin survives the cow's rumen and entire digestive system intact. It is then absorbed whole into the cow's bloodstream. It bypasses the cow's immune system and liver. It is then secreted, still intact and immunogenic, into the milk. The cow's digestive system is designed to break down proteins, not transfer them whole into milk. This is not a recognized pathway in veterinary science. The provided backup shifts from cow's milk to human breastmilk, which is a classic bait-and-switch. While the transfer of food proteins in human breastmilk is a valid area of study, it doesn't validate the initial claim about commercial dairy. The use of a Dr. Osborne video is a major red flag. His entire platform is based on the idea that all grains are toxic, a view that far exceeds the established science on Celiac Disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and a YouTube video from a known ideological source is not that evidence."  
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