"tasting" Gluten

[Brrrandy]

I noticed something really interesting lately-- if I eat something that contains gluten now, I can often tell while chewing it. It does not have a particular metallic or bitter taste to me, but (this is weird) it almost feels "dead" in my mouth. Does anyone else have this, or have other gluten "tasting" experiences? It's such a weird thing to say, but if I eat a gluten free cookie, it's as if the flavors come alive in my mouth while chewing, but if I eat a cookie with gluten, I can definitely tell because the flavors don't come alive, and it's like they just sit there in my mouth, dead.

That sounds so bizarre when I actually say it.

I had this experience again today with a free kielbasa sample at my local deli. I had no idea it would have gluten, but after putting it into my mouth I swallowed a tiny bit but then spit it out because I'm beginning to completely trust the "dead" sensation. A few minutes later, my stomach started to gurgle. Looking it up at home, I learned that many kielbasas do indeed contain gluten.

So weird.

[T.H.]

I haven't noticed this, but I have to be super careful because I get so sick, so I don't think I HAVE had any major gluten cc, you know?

However, one thing I remember reading about a few months back was a study where they swabbed a little gluten inside the check and checked for anti-bodies at certain intervals. Within a few minutes, celiacs were already producing antibodies in response to the gluten. I could totally believe the body would have a reaction to gluten in a way you could detect.

[Brrrandy]

I occurred to me after I posted that maybe it has something to do with saliva enzymes breaking down the food, so I looked it up.

Apparently researchers at Boston University and Harvard might be one step ahead of me? They've found some enzymes in saliva that seem to break down gluten as you chew.

Could what I'm experiencing be the lack of an enzyme to break down a major component in the food, i.e. gluten? Maybe that would create the sensation that the food is just "sitting there" in my mouth-- it's not being broken down by my saliva.

It's crazy to think about, but it's definitely the coolest explanation I've encountered

[Brrrandy]

A newspaper summary of the findings can be found here:

Open Original Shared Link

And the actual journal article is here: Open Original Shared Link

if anyone is interested

[mamabear272]

I have noticed the funny taste too. I can also smell it too though. There is a distinct smell I smell when my son has just eaten something with gluten in it. I also tasted it this weekend when I was eating something that was supposedly gluten-free that I don't think was. I think it had gluten cau I'm sicker than a dog right now and an emotional wreck (all my symptoms from beforenI went gluten-free). I suppose I sound looney that I can smell and taste it. Lol