To ask if everyone who is 'gluten-free' has an actual allergy to it?

[Caribou58]

I'm not being disingenuous here. Time was when people suffering from coeliac disease were few and far between, but yet another acquaintance has declared themselves suddenly 'gluten-free' (when we were out as a group for dinner recently).

I wasn't near enough to ask her about it discreetly.

Has there been a sudden upsurge in allergies?

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease in December. I'd lost over 2 stone in a very short space of time and was hospitalised with malnutrition.

I agree that the trend in going GF has made the selection in supermarkets etc much better for coeliacs. However, I do sometimes find that people don't really understand how dangerous it is for me to eat gluten and think I'm just doing it as a fad.

My 2 granddaughters both have coeliac disease, and it's really hard making people understand how desperately ill it makes them and it's not a fad diet.

Both are highly gluten sensitive - it only takes a few crumbs to bring on sickness, diarrhoea and agonising somach pains that knocks them off kilter for days. We were extremely lucky that our GP was very on the ball and they were both diagnosed fairly efficiently within weeks rather than months. I have little respect for people who cut something like gluten out of their diet and declare themselves "allergic" or similar without medical diagnosis tbh.

Hypothyroid vegetarian here. I suppose being gluten free is just as 'faddy' as not eating meat .

I don't need a lengthy medical diagnosis to confirm that my body is a negatively affected by something I can just stop eating.

I was sneered at when a woman struck up a conversation with me at the gluten section in Tesco a few weeks ago, as I wasn't medically diagnosed and her children and husband were .

How does me not eating gluten because my thyroid medication had little effect, I'm overweight (now losing), was bloated and farty, had terrible migraines, heavy periods and a whole host of other things which have improved drastically (athletes foot disappeared!), make 'it harder' for diagnosed coeliacs exactly?

I doubt ANYONE would cut out tiger bread, pecan danishes, and crumpets just because.......

Maybe they're gluten free to try to lose weight but won't admit they've no allergies

I think most people understand the difference between coeliac disease and just preferring not to eat gluten.

Why do you care, OP? What business is it of yours?

I eat gluten free because I have non coeliac gluten intolerance. Which basically means my bowls go to shit and I feel like I'm dying for a fortnight from some sort of myalgia if I even look at a slice of proper toast. This was confirmed by the gaestroenterology team by the way.

My favourite thing to eat in the world is crusty french bread with ice cold salted butter. Can I ever it again? Can I fuck. Why would that be a choice I'd make unless I had to?

People like you are why chefs and serving staff are harming coeliacs and other people just because you all think it's some diet 'fad'. Why would that ever be your decision to make?!

@hugitout10 as a dietician you should be a bit more clued up on ige and non ige rather than carb porion control should you not? Where exactly did you do your degree and placement? Or are you really just a nutritionist bullshitting dietetics again?

Kings college, but thanks for asking.

2 people I know very well but only know of each other through me, both avoid gluten as they get very bad mouth ulcers and when they eat less/no gluten the ulcers are smaller, less painful and heal quicker

I have a gluten intolerance as well as IBS I find that annoying onion is awful for IBS and cutting that out is harder than cutting out gluten.
If I am to eat anything with gluten even a teaspoon of soy sauce or a mouthful of Diet Coke I’ll be poorly with gastro problems for a good few days. Gluten also affects my skin, mood, sleep as well as making me look 9 months pregnant. I do think that sometimes people think I had gf because of a fad diet which is a bit annoying but on the whole I find it easy to mange.

Mouth ulcers are a symptom of coeliac disease @Fevertree get them to get tested!

@fearfultrill @Fevertree I was just about to say the same thing.

I have little respect for people who cut something like gluten out of their diet and declare themselves "allergic" or similar without medical diagnosis tbh.

So you have a problem with someone choosing to stop eating something that disagrees with them, just because your granddaughters have a disease which stops them eating that same thing? Even though there are people on this thread with no medical diagnosis who have nevertheless stopped or improved symptoms through cutting out gluten? It's not medical Top Trumps, you know. Indigestion, diarrhoea and bloating may not be life threatening, but why on earth wouldn't people try and get rid of them by avoiding foods that trigger them?

I have little respect for people who judge what others choose to do for their own health.

I know one person with true gluten intolerance (slightest trace makes her ill) and one coeliac.

I also know at least 6 people who avoid it as they say they don’t feel well after eating it. Not saying there is a link but these are people who take fear mongerers seriously and are always avoiding something. I’m more than a little sceptical as they don’t have a problem eating cakes or desserts, but they will make a right fuss about gluten in bread and pizza bases etc.

Gluten is seen as the enemy by a lot of people and those jumping on the bandwagon but applying their own rules to suit just make it more difficult for people who genuinely need to avoid gluten.

I’d hate to run a restaurant or cafe these days - you need the patience of a saint!!!

I've done gluten free phases here and there, not because I'm allergic but because it bloats me and constipates me. Is that an OK excuse to not eat it?

I've done gluten free phases here and there, not because I'm allergic but because it bloats me and constipates me. Is that an OK excuse to not eat it?

No! You must eat gluten and put up with your (clearly made-up) symptoms! . Otherwise you are belittling the suffering of those with 'real symptoms'. Anything that isn't a diagnosed illness isn't real, obvs!

kw
Diet Coke doesn't have gluten in it

Coke can be contaminated with gluten if it’s from a pub tap- but fine if in a can/bottle - no gluten.

Supermarket own brand diet cola can have gluten in it. Also can from pumps,

If you stick to branded cans/bottles you should be ok.

Son is coeliac, was diagnosed 8 years ago - doctors had fobbed Me off for years

Think it's not more common but is more diagnosed now.

We have a 95% gf household and we all feel better for not having gluten

A lot of people with IBD are gluten or lactose (or both) intolerant. Some other medical conditions (Ezcema / Asthma) can even be caused by these intolerances.

There is no test to prove Ds is allergic to wheat, it won’t show up in his blood - he can be biopsied and the presence or absence of einosinphils can suggest but not prove he has issues with his current diet, it could be caused by pollen or chemicals in the air. He can eliminate wheat and find he no longer has food impaction for hours on end but it sounds like that wouldn’t be enough medical proof - what medical proof would be sufficient so that he wasn’t pissing people off - should he take a medical note from his consultant to eat out? Or do you need to observe him suffering from food impaction due to a badly swollen and inflamed oesophagus and then observe that this does not happen when he avoids wheat and dairy - would that be enough for you to respect his needs? Medical top trumps indeed!

I’m not coeliac but have sensitivity to gluten. If I let it build up in my system I get extreme lethargy and painful finger and toe joints. I’ve nearly fallen asleep behind the wheel on the motorway after unwittingly glutening myself. I avoid it now but will indulge very occasionally in a pastry or cake.

I can't eat gluten - I get explosive diarrhoea after more than tiny amounts. Fortunately for me I can share a toaster so can cope with traces.
I went gluten free on the advice of my GP after we'd tried working out what was causing my terrible diarrhoea. I'm another one who worked it out by a dramatic response to soy sauce.
I get really pissed off if I'm asked to explain. I don't want to have to explain to the waiter, colleagues or people I'm having dinner with. Talking about explosive poo is just not what I want to talk about when I'm eating. And yet so many people think it's their business. It's not!

I know a few who claim to have this but when confronted with a particularly tempting cake, they are miraculously cured.

It definitely badly affects some but I think lot of people have Google-diagnosed themselves.