Hi Marie,
You are right, gluten is often the culperate. But not always.
For example, I am pretty good with rye, oats and barley. I even discovered that I had been eating wheat gluten for some time, yet I did not appear to be affected.
I agree with you that if a wheat allergy is suspected, a test for Celiac is important. It won’t change your diet one way or the other (besides knowing that gluten is definitely a problem, and therefore the foods mentioned above must be avoided), but it will convince you not to cheat. People with celiac run a high risk of cancer (of the colon I believe) if they continue to eat gluten. They should avoid all gluten, even if they feel OK when they have a little.
If you don’t have Celiac, and you feel OK, you can use your own judgement as to if you eat gluten-containing foods, how much and how often.
As for MSG, it can be derived from wheat as well as from other sources (if I’m not mistaken). I’d avoid MSG anyhow, too much of an artificially refined substance can’t be good for you!
]]>hello! Thanks for referencing my article. May I also add that the allergy component in wheat is most often GLUTEN, the protein, which is also found in oats, rye, MSG, all sorts of stuff. So if you want to eliminate wheat in your diet to see if you feel better, my advice is to eliminate ALL forms of gluten so you can get a really true look at what wheatfree feels like. You might also want to ask your doc to test you for CELIAC disease.
I used to have a miserable time in spring and fall with my stupid allergies! It’s nice to have that part of my life back…
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