Gluten Free Before Blood Tests

[ClyK]

I am going to go through the blood tests for celiac. I have been mostly off gluten for 8 weeks with almost weekly inadvertent exposure in that time frame. Will my blood tests be impacted by this? Do I need to resume daily consumption of gluten and for how long? How much is enough daily? Thanks!

[Lisa]

Yes, return to gluten to be tested. The blood testing and biopsies are not as accurate as we would like and certainly not eating gluten could further add to that inaccuracy.

A gluten diet for a couple of months would help reek havoc to show positive antibodies. If you are unable to do that, a positive dietary response is also considered a diagnosis, although it would be difficult to classify as Celiac, gluten intolerance or allergy. But you might feel better and that's the bottom line.

When you test, make sure that this is what is ordered:

Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) both IgA and IgG

Anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA

Total IgA level.

[firegazing]

Thanks for asking that question. I had been wondering the same thing, as I've only been back on gluten for a couple months and I am getting tested soon.