Conflicting Information On How Much Gluten For The Gluten Challenge

[BlessedMommy]

I'm prepping for my visit with the new doctor that I'll be switching my oldest to in order to pursue celiac testing. 

 

The one thing that I'm unclear on and have gotten conflicting information on, is how much gluten a day should be consumed for a gluten challenge?  U of Chicago says 1/2 slice of bread or 1 cracker a day for 12 weeks. That doesn't seem like very much.

 

I've also seen information elsewhere that suggests more like 1-3 slices a bread per day. Is there any actual consensus on this? I don't want to feed my kid any more gluten than necessary, but don't want false negatives either. 

[kareng]

If it were me..... I would go with Celiac Research Centers for my info on this. They are giving an educated guess, so a little extra won't hurt.

I think the point of a challenge is the length of time over the amount per day. So...eating a loaf of whole wheat a day for a week, might not be enough TIME to make enough antibodies to show in the blood tests. You can only make so many antibodies a day

[LauraTX]

What are the other sources?  It is definitely important to look at the validity of the source in this circumstance.

[nvsmom]

Most I have seen say a gluten challenge should be 8-12 weeks with 1-2 slices of bread per day or equivalent.  

[NatureChick]

I've seen 1/2 piece of bread every day for twelve weeks, two pieces a day for 6-8 weeks, and have heard of people having positive results after just two weeks.

I've never done a gluten challenge but suspect that I was going in and out of being gluten free before I officially went gluten free, just because when I shop and cook for myself, I always avoided gluten subconsciously. It was knee injury and suddenly eating out a lot that made me realize that gluten was my problem. For me, I'd guess that it was the equivalent of 2 pieces of bread for 6 weeks that took me up to a level of horrible symptoms. I wonder if the 1/2 piece for 12 weeks could avoid the worst of the problems because more gluten per day definitely caused worse symptoms than lower quantities caused, which may be why the lower-dosage, 12-week recommendation exists.

But I don't have an answer for you. If I were doing a challenge, I'd probably schedule a test for a few weeks in. If it were negative, stick with it for another few weeks and retest. I don't know that I'd be able to stick it out for 12 weeks though I'd love to have a croissant, a sub, sour-dough bread, and some english muffins ... that someone else makes for me!!! I'm sure I could find plenty of restaurants to enjoy in three months.

[BlessedMommy]

That's the thing, is that I want the best chance of my daughter being able to finish the gluten challenge. So that's why I don't want to dose her up with any more than I have to.