Gluten Challenge

[rimsch]

Hello,

 

currently I'm doing a gluten challenge for the biopsy I'll have to take in about a month.

 

Since I generally eat extremely healthy I decided to make the gluten challenge a little bit more comfortable by eating burgers, pizza, etc. - stuff that I normally don't eat.

 

My question is: Are products like pizza, burger, cookies, etc. as good as normal bread for an effective gluten challenge? Or should I start eating the often proposed "2-4 slices of bread" per day?

 

Also, what do you think about products that basically are pure gluten like Open Original Shared Link ? Does it make sense to eat stuff like that on a regular basis for an optimal gluten challenge?

 

 

Thanks in advance for every answer!

 

Best regards,

 

rimsch

[kareng]

Open Original Shared Link

 

"A gluten challenge is the period of time when gluten is added back into a person’s diet to assist in the diagnosis of celiac disease. Antibodies take time to build into the blood stream before they can be detected through blood analysis. For a gluten challenge we recommend eating 1/2 slice of bread or a cracker each day for the duration of the challenge.

• Prior to blood testing we recommend 12 weeks of eating gluten.
• Prior to an endoscopic biopsy we recommend 2 weeks of eating gluten."

 

Also look at this:

 

 

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/blog/1038/entry-1994-hope-for-a-less-challenging-gluten-challenge/

[BlessedMommy]

1 or 2 servings of something with gluten as a predominant ingredient should be plenty. Take care not to overdo the gluten.

[nvsmom]

Any form of gluten is fine. 

 

And I agree with the otheres, don't overdo the gluten.  A month long gluten challenge for a biopsy is on the long end of things; you could probably get by with 1 slice of bread per day (or equivalent).  If you are handling it okay, then go for the extra Oreo. 

 

Good luck with the challenge.

[rimsch]

Thanks for your answers!

 

What exactly do you mean by the advice to "not overdo the gluten"? Can it influence the biopsy result in a negative way or is it "just" about my health maybe being unecessarily damaged if I eat  too much gluten during the challenge?

[nvsmom]

It's the effect too much gluten can have on your health.  You need enough gluten to damage your intestines enough that it can be seen on biopsy, but you don't want to consume so much that it causes, arthritis, neuropathies, extreme intestinal damage, etc.

 

Normally the recommendations for a gluten challenge that I see are 1/2 a slice up to 1-2 slices of bread per day (or slices of pizza, or servings of noodles, etc) for a gluten challenge.  The only time I have seen 2-4 slices of bread recommended is when someone is doing a shortened gluten challenge, like 4-6 weeks for the blood tests or 2 weeks or less for the biopsy.  2-4 servings seems like a lot, and would cause a great deal of sickness in many with a gluten sensitivity.

[BlessedMommy]

Yes, it is more related to your health than the biopsy results.

 

Not overdoing the gluten will also give you the best chance of finishing the gluten challenge and not having to quit early due to severe reactions.