Blood Test for Celiac wheat type matters?

[GlutenFreeChef]

I finally am seeing a GI specialist after being gluten free for over 10 years. When I turned 30 an allergy panel stated that I was allergic to wheat, barley, rye, oats, peanuts, soy, and crab/lobster. A friend who worked at a pharmacy said my results looked just like hers and that I was probably celiac or severely gluten sensitive, so I stopped eating gluten and everything else on my list. I felt better.

Since November of 2024 I've been having issues that looked like thyroid, but could be EoE in combination with perimenopause and went off of dairy as well, which provided relief. While in Europe in November I decided to try eating wheat because I kept hearing rumors that I may not react to their wheat, and I didn't. I was so glad that now I'm importing it to make my own breads. My Homeopathic doctor said it was probably the glyphosates and pesticides that I am allergic too or reacting too, not the gluten. The GI wants to retest me for celiac and told me that I would need to switch back to American wheat products for the test to come out positive otherwise I may test negative since European wheat is different. This makes no sense to me. Gluten is gluten and is in the flour there as well as here. Please help, I don't want to ingest the pesticides and glyphosates for this test as I get severe migraines, bloating and joint pain when I do eat American wheat products. That is how I know I've had cross-contamination at restaurants. Does the type of wheat really matter???? I am so conflicted with this. The GI was getting irritated with me insisting that if gluten was really the issue that it would still show up regardless of where the wheat came from.

[Scott Adams]

The type of wheat does not matter for the test--all wheat contains gluten. You need to eat lots of wheat daily for 6-8 weeks before a blood test.

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.

 

 

[trents]

Welcome to the celiac.com community, @GlutenFreeChef!

Your question begs an ongoing controversy in the celiac community and you are likely to get a variety of answers from different responders. It is true that we have gotten numerous posts from celiacs traveling in Europe who state that they could eat wheat products there without getting a celiac reaction. This does not mean that the leadership of this online community has signed off on the safety of consuming wheat products originating from Europe. It must be remembered that these are anecdotal accounts as opposed to research-based, meaning it has not been studied in a formal, controlled way. As you state, one would think gluten is gluten no matter where the grain source is cultivated. Or, in reality, perhaps there is a difference we have not quantified yet. We do know that in some European countries, the wheat used in baking tends to be derived from heirloom stock rather than the oft-hybridized varieties grown in the US. Incidentally, we sometimes get anecdotal reports from forum posters that they were able to consume sourdough bread products without issue. But again, these are anecdotal reports and the leadership of this online community does not endorse this as a safe practice for celiacs in general. 

But I can address the idea that glyphosate/pesticides idea as being the key to why some celiacs cannot tolerate wheat products made in the US but tolerate those made in Europe:

https://www.eufic.org/en/food-production/article/is-glyphosate-banned-in-the-eu-due-to-its-harmful-effect-or-not

https://theconversation.com/our-study-analysed-pesticide-use-and-residues-across-europe-heres-what-we-found-264907

My point is, glyphosate and pesticides are still used in European agriculture so that cannot explain the differential experience you and others have had when consuming European wheat products vs. US wheat products. But that does not mean we are dismissing the concerns over glyphosate and pesticide use in agriculture in relation to celiac disease as being a factor in the development of the disease in the first place.

[GlutenFreeChef]

Thank you. I have been baking and eating bread daily since I got back from Europe. Even making Whole Wheat bread and having a couple slices a day, so my test should be pretty accurate if it is the Gluten.

[cristiana]

I agree with you @GlutenFreeChef that you should still react to European flour, so long as it is regular gluten containing flour.  Even if the reaction is not anything you can actually feel, the damage should be going on internally if you do a proper gluten challenge.   

My gastroenterologist has told me more than once that he has coeliac patients who report the same as you when visiting France, they can eat French baguette with abandon.  Maybe the variety of wheat the French use could be the explanation for a less marked reaction? 

Personally I react horribly to even mild cross contamination in France so I shan't be doing the French baguette test any time soon! 🤣

 

[trents]

I think cristiana's post is an important contribution to this discussion and reinforces what I said earlier about the anecdotal nature of those reporting they seem to be able to tolerate wheat products in Europe. We need to be careful not to extrapolate from the particular to the general. And as she also implied, not having a discernable reaction to consuming a wheat product made in Europe or made from flour imported from Europe may not equate to "0" intestinal lining harm for those who actually have celiac disease.