Gluten-free not helping your celiac disease? This might be why

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where exposure to gluten protein causes the body to attack its own intestinal tract. Treatment for this condition has traditionally been the elimination of gluten–a protein found in wheat and other cereal grains–from the patient’s diet. But not everyone can control their celiac disease on a gluten-free regime, and now researchers say they might know why.

Gluten accounts for 75 percent of the protein in wheat, but is also found in rye and barley. For reasons not fully understood, gluten in a patient with celiac disease triggers the body to attack the small intestine, subsequently damaging the villi, small finger-like projections that line the small intestine and promote nutrient absorption. This interference with nutrient absorption results in nutritional deficiencies, diarrhea, and a number of other gastrointestinal symptoms.

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But gluten might not be the sole protein responsible for this immune response. According to a new study published in the Journal of Proteome Research, individuals with celiac disease also show hyper-sensitivity to the non-gluten proteins in wheat.

“Compared with healthy controls, patients exhibited significantly higher levels of antibody reactivity to non-gluten proteins. The main immunoreactive non-gluten antibody target proteins were identified as serpins, purinins, a-amylase/protease inhibitors, globulins and farinins,” stated the report.

This suggests dietary recommendations for celiac patients might need to be broadened; gluten-free may be good, but it might not be good enough.

The Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF) indicates untreated celiac disease can lead to additional serious health problems, including the development of additional autoimmune disorders like type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS), dermatitis herpetiformis (an itchy skin rash), anemia, osteoporosis, infertility and miscarriage, neurological conditions like epilepsy and migraines, short stature, and intestinal cancers.

Because ingesting even a small amount of gluten has been linked to intestinal damage in patients with this disorder, researchers feel it is important to investigate the effects of other wheat proteins more thoroughly. It is possible that intestinal damage is still occurring in patients even though they have eliminated gluten from their diets.

SEE ALSO: Celiac disease: Why our ancestors did not deal with gluten intolerance

“Currently, the only treatment for celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet. People living gluten-free must avoid foods with wheat, rye and barley, such as bread and beer. Ingesting small amounts of gluten, like crumbs from a cutting board or toaster, can trigger small intestine damage,” states the CDF.

It may be necessary for people with celiac disease to eliminate certain grains form their diets completely; this means not just gluten-contianing grains, but also those with serpins, purinins, a-amylase/protease inhibitors, globulins and farinins. Unfortunately, the new addtion of these restricted proteins might completely eliminate all grains from a celiac patient’s diet completely.