Curious - Wheat v. Gluten?

[zenjess1980]

So I've been thinking...

My story in a nutshell --- had a weak positive blood work for Celiac several years back, had biopsies which were negative.  My doctor's seemed stumped and told me I "probably didn't have Celiac, but not sure entirely what your results mean" and I could " probably continue to eat gluten and be fine." -- the subject was dropped (in hindsight, I SEE how preposterous this was!)

So I did... I CONTINUED TO EAT GLUTEN...

And my problems just got worse.  I saw an alternative medicine doctor who did a bunch of testing on me and said I have a Wheat Allergy. I stopped eating Wheat immediately.

So, as my GI problems continued --  I went in for another endoscopy, and they discovered I had MALT non Hodgkin lymphoma of the Duodenum. At 32 years old, I had intestinal  Cancer.  My doctor's told me that specific type of Cancer was rare in someone as young as me. Which, through the powers of Google and research, I learned that that type of Cancer can be directly related to untreated Celiac Disease. WOW

Fast forward a few years, and I am Cancer free.  Gratefully so   I am gluten free since April 2016, but I have been thinking back to what that alternative medicine doctor said about being allergic to wheat.

So my question is -- I know Celiac is an autoimmune condition and therefore causes an autoimmune response when gluten is consumed, correct? An allergy, to wheat, for instance - I'm kind of confused?

Further - Can someone have both Celiac and a Wheat allergy, since gluten is found in wheat? Of course, being gluten free this may all be a mute point - but I'm interested anyhow...

Clarification? Thank you in advance  

[cyclinglady]

I think you can have celiac disease and an allergy to wheat.  But since a functional doctor diagnosed your wheat allergy I would  be leary.  Here is why.  Was the  testing IgE or IgG?  There is a difference.  From what i read (i am not a doctor or scientist), IgE responses can cause anaphlyatic responses.  The IgG is more like an intolerance.  To me, allergies are hives, swelling, nasal, breathing, ab pain, low blood pressure, fainting, and vomiting (epi pen can be needed) -- scary and can be immediately life-threatening.  The IgG response may be harming you , but it won't kill you fast.  

But there are other members who can better explain it to you.  But really, gluten covers the wheat allergy.  No gluten and you are safe.  ?

[zenjess1980]

Hi There, thanks for the reply

Yea it is kind of a mute point considering gluten covers wheat anyway... but I was curious and it was not something I really ever explored further.

The testing was IgG, btw.

[Gemini]

The only real way to test for food allergies is challenge testing.  You guessed it.......you eat concentrated food samples in a doctor's office and see how you react.  I do not have food allergies, just intolerance's, so do not know much about blood or skin testing for foods.  Seems logical that the best method of testing is to eat the food and see what happens.  I really am skeptical of skin or blood testing for food allergens but that could be due to lack of knowledge.

An intolerance to food is IgA or IgG based and allergies are IgE.  The IgE reaction is usually much faster than that of an IgA/IgG, although you can have an allergic reaction happen hours after ingesting what you are allergic to.  The few times I reacted to my allergy shots for environmental allergies, it happened about 3 hours later at home and not in the 20 minute window they give you at the office.  Go figure........I am always slow in everything.  But both an allergy and an intolerance like Celiac are autoimmune responses.........just a different type of antibody response.

You can definitely have both an allergy and an intolerance to wheat.  I am not sure if the testing you had was reliable but it doesn't matter.  You are gluten free so it's a moot point.  Did you have any allergic type symptoms when you ate wheat before going gluten-free?  Symptoms listed above in cyclinglady's post?

 

[GFinDC]

Hi zenjess,

Gluten (as the term is used by celiacs) is a protein in wheat, rye and barley that our immune system reacts to by making IgA or IgG antibodies.  What we call allergies (like hayfever etc) are caused by an IgE antibody reaction.  The different types of antibodies (IgA, IgG, and IgE) are different in how they affect the body and how they attack allergens.

So you could have an IgE reaction to the wheat, rye and barley proteins but I think it is an unusual thing for that to happen.

Some people claim that celiacs react to all gluten proteins but that is usually a come on to selling some kind of treatment that is questionable.  Every grain plant has a protein molecule termed generically as a gluten.  Watch out for the gluten allergy people as they are sometimes hucksters.  This question comes every so often.  The snake oil salesmen are hard at work!

 

[RMJ]

In a correctly functioning immune system antibodies bind to molecules that shouldn't be in the body and help to remove them - for example, bacteria and viruses.  In allergies and autoimmune conditions the immune system overreacts.  In an allergy, the IgE type of antibody binds with the allergen,  for example a protein in wheat (most allergies are to proteins).  In an autoimmune condition, the antibody (IgA or IgG for celiac) binds to a human protein, it is an antibody against "self".  For celiac this is the anti TTG (tissue transglutaminase).  TTGs are normal human proteins.  

In celiac there may also be antibodies against DGP, deamidated gliadin peptides.  These come from partially digested wheat.  This is an immune reaction but not either allergy or autoimmune.

[emma6]

so glad you are cancer free now. i'm sorry you have been through so much. thats crazy your GI decided a negative biopsy overwrites positive bloodwork even when you had developed lymphoma. i thought they would admit theres a chance they may have missed the damage and advise you to go gluten free anyway. at least your on the right track now though

the IgG testing has no scientific value for food intolerance testing thats why medical doctors/allergists don't use it. a positive result indicates exposure to that food so it basically just means that you had been eating wheat at the time it was tested. Alternative health practitioners wrongly interpret those positives as meaning food intolerances.

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thankfully like you said since your gluten free you don't need to worry about being intolerant to wheat.