Asthma is strongly linked to environmental irritants and allergens. It is often triggered by physical exertion.
Typical asthma triggers include smoke (tobacco, wood fires etc.), chemicals, pollen, dust and dust mites, mold, pet dander and cockroaches.
Here are hidden asthma factors that no one is talking about: wheat and gluten.
These foods are probably not direct asthma triggers for most people.
A surprising number of people may be experiencing asthma from wheat and gluten, but indirectly.
Some studies have show a link between gluten sensitivity and asthma. For example, children with asthma have a higher incidence of celiac, according to one study.
Other studies have shown that when some people eliminate wheat from their diet, their exercise-induced anaphylaxis symptoms stop.
Numerous reports and anecdotal stories are showing a strong link between wheat or gluten, and asthma.
A reaction to wheat and a reaction to gluten may be two different things. What they have in common, besides the high levels of gluten in wheat, is that they are common foods, nearly impossible to avoid.
Because they are likely to be in your diet on a multiple-times-per-day basis, and because their effects are delayed, as are the benefits when these foods are removed from your diet, it is unlikely that you would notice the connection between wheat or gluten, and asthma.
However, if you eliminate all gluten-containing foods for three to four weeks, you may notice a big improvement in your asthma symptoms. I sure hope you do. Please add a comment with your story after you have tried this.
Note that traditional allergy tests may come up negative for wheat and gluten.
There are several reasons why you should ignore the results of such tests and try eliminating gluten from your diet instead. This is of course the ultimate test.
For one thing, if you have celiac, you don’t have an allergy, you have a specific reaction to gluten in your gut. This is a very serious condition that can do tremendous damage over time. There are tests for celiac disease.
Another reason tests are not that accurate. They give false positives, false negatives, and may miss other immune reactions such as delayed food reactions, food sensitivities etc.
So forget the tests, if you have asthma, try a gluten-free diet, and see what happens.
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I am 55 years old and after a flu shot about 15 years ago developed asthma. I did not know what it was. I have been on the puffer since and use it too much at times. I had allergies as a kid and always seemed to be constipated as well. In 1992 I decided to try to lose some weight. I went on food combining and fruit in the morning. No bread. I lost 20 lbs and the weight was just falling off me. I was not sick once in 1 year but abandoned the diet slowly as the fruit in the am was hard. Now I am back up to 200 and have been trying and because of your website I see what it was. It was the bread and wheat! Thank you!! When I go off bread my asthma gets better but I did not know why. I am going back on the bread free, wheat free. I don’t think I can handle oatmeal either for some reason. Great job this site.
I’m so glad it helped you. Your welcome!
After experimentation with my diet I found some years ago that wheat makes breathing very difficult. I was tested for gluten intolerance but this proved negative. There is absolutely no question that gluten or part of the processing treatment reduces me to state where I run out of breath cleaning my teeth. A further topical observation is the hyperactivity caused by fizzy drinks in children. This is passed off as a sugar rush but I have proved to my complete satisfaction that children cannot cope with the effects of caffeine until their brains at at least 10 years old.
I am a 42 year old male who was diagnosed with asthma while training for a marathon a few years back. I was told it was excercise induced and given an inhaler to treat the symptoms. the asthma continued to get worse and has bothered me at all times and not just during and after excercise. About one week ago I started a GF diet and my symptoms are better. Much less coughing and itchy lungs that I had been dealing with daily. Hopefully the symptoms will continue to decrease.
Thank you!
Corey
Hi. Me and my family just started a back yard chicken coop( healthier eggs) when we went to pick up the feed at a farmers place 10 minutes later my mouth became itchy and my throat felt uneasy. We had to hurry to find a store for water. I never thaught of the chickens diet in this way for the production of eggs and meat while having gluten intolerances. Any farmers on here with problems with your feed?
I stopped all grains and in three days, no more asthma.
Although environmental factors definitely play into my 8 year old twins’ asthma, I’ve notice that they do noticeably better when gluten free.
No gluten, no asthma, and I had it really BAD. Also rosacea free, but it took about a year for that to clear totally. Many other little inocuous symptoms gone too. The doc who founded the “gold standard” celiac test has published an article this year (2011) that debunks it totally – he feels there are many different levels to this auto immune illness – and he also feels his findings will take a couple years to filter down to the medical community. Try naturopathic medicine – it heals the body instead of throwing pills at symptoms. Given the climate in traditional health care these days (run by pharmaceutical companies, who want profits from medications, not health for us), we’re all pretty much in trouble on that front.
My 3 year old son has viral asthma, meaning that every time he develops a cold he gets asthma- lots of wheezing. Three weeks ago he hospititalized with this condition because it developed into pneumonia. Since he does not have sports-induced asthma, could there still be a connection between gluten and his viral asthma? I am definitely open to changing his diet even though I am intimidated at changing a toddlers diet to GF.
I suggest you try him on a GF diet and see if it helps. I know it is difficult. So many people see an improvement when they eat gluten-free, that it does seem reasonable to go to the effort and see what happens.
If you decide to go ahead, please check back and let us know how it goes, successful or not.
Good luck!
Hi I totally agree. He is young enough ge won’t mind after a couple of weeks.
At Halloween go around the neighborhood and hand out treats to the family nearest you. They won’t mind. Trust me I did this last year for a more sever reason Heath reason but in return I found out about the wheat and ashma link. Any ways my kids are the same environment not exercise induced ashma. Can’t wait to see your findings.
Ps dairy is a huge culprit as well just don’t take both out at once as you won’t see which is the triggered.
Oh find your local church that has a game night on at Halloween. Then you can go to a couple of homes and then have a party.
Sorry I forgot that part.
I was really interested to find this site. My 10 month old son has terrible wheezing and a permanent clear runny nose, but he also suffers with eczema stomach pains and wind. We have already found him to be dairy intolerant and by process of elimination have discovered that gluten is a major factor in these symptoms. I have now removed it all Gluten as well as dairy for the last four days and so far all the stomach pains and runny nose have gone and his chest and eczema are clearing. He has now been referred to an ‘allergy specialist’
Hi, your son is a prime candidate for autism, but with your findings so young puts you ahead of the game. Read GAPS diet book fast and delay the MMR vaccine as long as possible. You may avoid autism or make it so small it is very manageable. On the net, you will Find hundreds of families doing that. Other advice: probiotics, fish oil or DHA supplements, water kefir. also lots of good books on Amazon about ADHD, autism ans special diets, but the SC diet or specific carbohydrate diet is the best one. Good luck.
Thank you Anitra and Lucy for sharing those tidbits with me. I have my son on a gluten-free diet now. (Not easy but do-able!) I was wondering if either of you had any insight as to how long it will take for us to see results. So far I have not seen any clearing of his eczema. It has only been 4 days though, so we are going to give it two weeks to see if it helps. I hope so!
I’d give it at least two months to be sure. Two weeks may be too short to see results, it really depends on the individual.
Brooke,
I have the eczema that is flared up by gluten. And at first when I took gluten out of my diet it took several weeks to get my hands to clear up. So just give it time. I have found that I break back out by eating gluten but I have scaled back on my consumption. Pasta seems to be the worst, then followed by the whole-wheat bread. Good luck.
April
Hi. My one some that had ehcema had it clearing up shorty there after. However he kept getting clusters which we had his stool tested and he had parasites as well. It’s so common to have these guys most people don’t have any problems. My boy was an exception only natural pathic meds to take for it or laxative for three months. What a pain in the you know where. If you dOnt see any results as horrible as it seems think about taking out sugar as well. Those little guys love sugar and play a hacvic on the system. 1 year later and our boy has no bloating no bad breath no skin looks great and he is pulling in A ‘s in school your doing Brook congratulations if you stop now you will never know.
Hey I stoped wheat and I have not had ovarian cyst in a year what chemicals are they adding to this stuff??
Hi Brooke – I’m up to 8 days now and my little ones eczema is definately fading, not gone but certainly better than it was the chest seems to be taking the longest but the terrible coughing in the night has stopped as has the loud wheeze he had. I found with the diet (gluten and dairy is a nightmare) that going back to basics was the easiest thing to do and because he’s young I make it up in batches and freeze it. So stews and stuff are great as are meat, potatoes and veg. The biggest issues i’ve had are lunches to take to nursery but have now found a decent bread and cold free from pasta with various sauces seem to have gone down well. I was suprised to find just how hard it is to get away from gluten. As allergy gut said I have been advised by the dietition to give it atleast 2 months as gluten is quite a complex thing – it takes a while to build up and a while to go away. Let me know how you get on.
Hi Lucy,
Glad you’re seeing improvements.
You’ll notice something else over time: it gets much easier to manage a gluten- and dairy-free diet.
Here’s another idea for you: try the diet yourself. You may (or may not) be surprised at the results (if any, but you just never know). Hey, you’re already putting in all the hard work for your son, feeding yourself in with the bargain, given what you said you feed him, shouldn’t be much harder. Just an idea.
Hi Allergy Guy,
I was thinking of doing it myself – I was diagnosed years ago as having IBS and suffer quite badly having read up about gluten intolerances and allergies and the possiblility of it being hereditary I was starting to wonder if actually I have an intolerance too rather than IBS. I think I’ll give it a go and see if it helps.
Thanks
I don’t thing IBS is really a disease, it is more of a symptom (or set of symptoms) and since doctors don’t know the cause, they just call it something.
I agree with your line of reasoning, and I think there is a good chance you may be on to something. They only way is to try it.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
I have noticed that my sons (Miles) behavior has been in some ways worse. I was just doing a little research this morning that going GF can cause a gamut of withdrawal symptoms. For those who are already GF, did you experience this? How long does this last? It’s hard for my three year old to tell me how he feels but I have been doing the GF diet with him and have been feeling irritable, low blood sugar, and intense fatigue. Hopefully it gets better soon!
I am turning 21 next week, I have had asthma for about 8 years now. Tomorrow will be the 15th day of my gluten-free diet, and I have noticed a tremendous improvement in my asthma. I am out of shape, because having asthma makes it extremely difficult and scary to exercise. I often find myself having to alternate between running/walking on the treadmill just to catch my breath, but yesterday I was able to run a mile on the treadmill without having to stop to walk! I’ve noticed other benefits from this diet as well, but I have to say that breathing easier and not having to use my inhaler nearly as often is the greatest thing I could have asked for!
So glad to hear that, Chelsea, that’s fantastic!
What are some of the other benefits you’ve noticed?
I went to york testing after having to cut of dairy from my diet, I had IBS, tummy pain and sickness. My asthma was so bad I was never off prednisolne,antibitics and nebuliser. After my result came back (wheat, gluten, milk and eggs had to be cut from my diet) I have over the past 2 years tried out bread again and ever time I am back on my ventolin, I could never understand in the past why I ended up in hospital after the boxing day buffet my mam would lay on for the whole family and now I know why. Table was full of everything I shouldn’t eat. My nephew had the same test and another big improvement cutting out wheat and gluten. I hope some time in the future the doctors will understand more about food allergies as it could help so many athsma sufferes. Maybe if we all went back to basics… veg, fruit and salad and then introduced other food we could full out where the problems are but making a start with the top four food that cause allergies is a start… wheat gluten milk and eggs. From what I read dairy is linked to IBS, tummy problems and skin problems. I don’t eat things with additives as these also cause problems. I have tried lemonade when out on the odd occasion and my asthma it terrible, pringles make me feel like i have a major hang over the next morning
what is in our food and what is it doing to us?
Happy reading.
I’ve had chronic cough for over 5 years. I’m 58 years old. The diagnosis is cough variant asthma. It’s debilitating. I’ve been through the mill with medical tests with no help. I know that gluten makes me worse though allergists do their skin tests and say that I’m not allergic. Gastro docs test me for celiac and it comes back negative.
I really need help. Is there a clinic or hospital that has a good reputation for treating asthma caused by food allergies?
Thanks, Ann
If gluten makes you worse, I hope you are avoiding it, no matter what the allergy tests say. You may want to search for other triggers, like dust, mold, pet dander etc., plus food allergies. You can test these by eliminating suspect foods from your diet for a few weeks.
I have had asthma since I was 2. I am 37 now, and am tryin I’m a gluten free diet. Aside from my asthma, in the last 5 years I have had thyroid problems, chronic back/shoulder pain, fatigue, stomach pains, brain fog, insomnia, and probably a few other symptoms that I’m forgetting. I’ve had a few difficulties getting started as GF, especially missing beer and wine! But I started a few weeks ago and have not had to use asthma meds since! I can breath more deeply and my brain feels clearer. I feel more connected to others, and less anxious. I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. I also can’t believe that the many docs I’ve seen over the last 5 years didn’t suggest an elimination diet. I do think most of our western doctors are overworked, and have blinders on! Although I’ve noticed all these improvements, not all my symptoms are gone, and i’m also getting pretty bad headaches on most days, probably withdrawal. I’d love to know more about withdrawal from gluten. t any rate, being asthmatic for 35 years, the last 2 weeks have been so liberating and I’m keepng my fingers crossed that maybe my asthma will be gone for good! Good luck to you all
I’m glad to hear you’re having such great results with a gluten free diet.
It can take many weeks for gluten and its effects to clear out of your body, so you may find more of your problems/symptoms disappear over time.
Your biggest challenge may be sticking with the diet. It is easy to slip off, convincing yourself that you can’t really be sensitive to gluten after all, eating it again, and then getting your symptoms back!
I hope your headaches clear out soon, along with your other symptoms.
Hey Chris,
Happy to hear you are getting results with your new diet. Just thought I’d let you know: Whole Foods sells a tasty gluten free beer! Now one more reason to stick to the diet!!
I stopped eating wheat about a year ago. First I switched to spelt and did okay, but I started having asthmatic reactions to that and went gluten-free altogether. In the years prior to going gluten-free, I had a lot of skin rashes, would retain up to 5 pounds of fluid overnight (my face and neck started to look “puffy” every day and I felt awful!), and had bad asthma. My asthma markedly improved (I still have asthma but stopped having so many attacks), and for the first time in my life, despite being about the same weight as when I went off gluten, I have a defined neck and jawline because I no longer retain fluid in that area. I highly recommend going gluten-free. It was hard at first since I used to be a professional baker, but making gluten-free goodies has become fun. If you’re making the switch, I recommend going to the Serious Eats website and looking up “Gluten Free Tuesday.” All of the recipes are great, and it will help you make the transition!
We recently got a celiac diagnosis on my daughter who is almost 12. She has suffered from asthma for years, and her pulmonary function breathing tests are below normal. Her pediatrician wants to run another pulminary function test in early April, at that time she will have been gluten free for well over 3 months. I’m so anxious to see if gluten is a trigger for her asthma. Her stomach aches, acid reflux symptoms, heartburn, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome have already shown much improvement – I can’t wait to see if her asthma gets better as well. She says that she notices she can take deeper breaths! Hoping and Praying that her celiac diagnosis and gluten-free lifestyle will help her health improve in other ways.
Hi Teresa,
My daughter is 12 and was just diagnosed with asthma. Her pulmonary function was 74, below normal. All the doctor would give us was steroidal inhalers, no info about diet, herbs, anything. We are starting on gluten free today but my daughter is resistant. Has her symptoms gone away? Is she on the steroidal inhaler?
Karyn,
my daughter’s pulmunary function was in the severe category over a year ago. At that point they changed her asthma med to Advair, and she does have a rescue inhaler as well that she uses before activity. Her next pulmonary function test showed slight improvement (moving her to moderate instead of severe). We have had the test repeated every three months since and there was no more improvement. – I don’t have the numbers handy, but after being gluten free 3 months now, we had a repeated pulmonary function test last week. Her pediatrician (who I know was cautiously optomistic, but kind of skeptical) is a believer now that in my daughter’s case, removing gluten from her diet has made all the difference. He told me that her PFT this time was almost normal – that there was remarkable improvement – he wants us to have another one in July, and at that time, if she has shown more improvement, then he will start weaning her from her asthma medication. My daughter had to go gluten free because she was diagnosed in January with Celiac. So, gluten free was not an option. She has adjusted really well, even though she was really upset in the beginning. She feels so much better, has more energy, no more severe stomach aches, and she noticed that for the first time in years, she could take deeper breaths. She’s becoming more physically active as a result – actually enjoys going to the YMCA with me now. I hope that this helps your daughter as well. We are so excited at the prospect of coming off medications.. She’s also been able to cut her acid reflux medication in half and we think she’ll be off it completely very soon. A dietary solution, that is providing better health, and less medication.. We are seeing the inconvenience as a real blessing in our lives. Good luck!! (There are so many good gluten free options too – which really helps!)
Has anyone ever read that coffee triggers the same anti-gluten responses? I’ve lost the weblink I found earlier this year that there’s something in coffee that gluten-intolerant folks respond to. I certainly do and am looking for a reason.
Thanks!
I’ve not heard that but it sounds interesting. I’ve been avoiding coffee, I think I’m allergic to it – causes low blood pressure when I get up.
Hi Ann, I read so many bad things about coffee lately that I decided to give it up. Caffeine, not just coffee. Unfortunately I’m still on here looking up help for my asthma so that hasn’t been a gain yet. I got awful headaches for two weeks but now into the third week they seem to have gone.
I wrote in August about my asthma I had developed and how GF had lessened the symptoms. It has now been about six months and in addition to the asthma, I have noticed a couple other positive changes I would like to share. I have chronic back pain and have had multiple herniated discs over the years. At times (every few months) my back would get so bad I would have spasms and it would really limit what I could do. Since going GF, my back is much better. I also had a constant ringing in my ears that is now gone. I didn’t even notice until last week when I broke down and had a beer and slice of pizza during a football game. For the next 3 days I had allergy symptoms and ringing ears in addition to a slight asthma wheeze. I also sleep better and feel less on edge. Overall it has been a small price to pay for the positive changes.
My whole family is now GF, including my 2 year old and 5 year old. We cook much more, pack the kids lunches and this has been an overall positive change. My kids have more solid bowel movements and my sons behavior is noticeable calmer.
Corey
Thanks for sharing. Glad that gluten free has worked so well for you and your family. I can relate to ringing ears – it is usually the fist symptom that I get and the last to go when I get gluten poisoning.
Thank you so much for having this website. My dad suffers from a lot of things that are posted here. i.e. chronic cough, wheezing and irritable bowel . He has been through too much the past few years with Doctors and received no answers. After dealing with another asthma attack last night, it sent me on a search and here I am. I truly believe that a gluten allergy is what is causing all of his issues. I hope that I am able to see a change with a GF diet.
It is well worth trying Angela, and the comments you see here are just a small sampling of people’s experiences.
Do please drop by again and let us know how your dad does on a GF diet.
I recently went wheat-free for 8 days to try to clear up my digestive problems. On the 9th day, I began eating wheat again, and now, for 2 days I’ve had what I can only describe as lung irritation, wheezing, coughing, and general asthma symptoms. Could it be that removing the wheat from my diet for a week was enough to cause this kind of allergic reaction when adding it back? I’ve eaten it all my life and I only have what my doctor calls “situational asthma” – a little coughing and wheezing when something irritates my lungs. I’ve tested negative for all of the Celiac tests, but I tested positive for a “mild wheat allergy” a few years ago after a skin scratch test.
The only way to find out is to cut out wheat/gluten again and see if it clears up. If it does, consider it a clue, but not definitive. If you really want to know, you have to go through a few cycles of cutting it out and re-introducing it.
Have you noticed any other positive health effects from cutting out wheat? 8 days isn’t really enough time to be sure, you should really cut it out for two months.
I was diagnosed with celiac disease on January 10, 2012 and have been gluten free since my diagnoses. I have had ashthma and allergies all of my life and have been on daily Singulair, prednisone periodically, daily albuterol inhaler/nebulizer and daily benadryl for over 20 years. I am now about 30 days into the gluten free lifestyle and so far, no asthma at all in the last two weeks! It is amazing and this time of year is normally bad breathing-wise for me. I am still taking the singulair daily but I have not had any inhaler or benadryl. I am excited to read that other people have also gotten better with their asthma symptoms when going gluten free. Being able to breath easily in the mornings when I wake up is wonderful. My doctor listened to my lungs and was shocked at how well they were “working”.
WOW Leah – your story is my daughter’s story! She was diagnosed with celiac in early January, 2012 – and also has severe asthma. All her pulmonary function tests over the past year have been low functioning. After being gluten free, she just last week had the best PFT ever. Her doctor said that it was almost normal, and was significantly improved over the last one performed in November 2011. She is supposed to continue advair and in July repeat the test again, and he wants to start weaning her off her meds that she’s been on for years. She is only 12 – the prospect of discovering a connection with her celiac and asthma, and that she can come off medications is a blessing… She said that she didn’t know she could take such deep breaths!!
Teresa,
So glad that your daughter is breathing easier! My asthma is still doing awesome, even with all of the molds and pollen here right now in NE Texas, I have not had to have any inhaler! All of my friends are sick with allergies and I am breathing better than ever. Even if they told me tomorrow that my Celiac diagnosis was wrong I would NEVER go back to eating gluten. I have also found that potatoes make me wheeze, easy fix, I just have sweet potato fries instead.
With numerous health issues, including asthma….went gluten free around the 1st of the year. Interestingly enough, the asthma did indeed go away about the third day, not to mention less inflammation in the body. Getting away from gluten is tough indeed, but so worth feeling like a well person again! I am surprised that gluten is not more addressed than it is. I have been treated for many years for many health issues and most of them are greatly subsiding…………maybe the docs aren’t aware of how dangerous gluten is to many people.
I would like to tell you my story. Since a child I have suffered with a cat allergy which in later life manifested into an asthmatic reaction. During the course of the last ten years I have also shown patches of alopecia in my beard.
Last year my mum died suddenly which seemed to trigger alopecia on my head, legs, face (eyelashes etc). My doctor organised a blood test and to my surprise he explained that i have a wheat allergy of sort but needed further tests to determine the exact affliction. I declined further tests as i felt relatively well, just tierd which i related to the depression i felt from my mums death.
As the months passed my hair regrew on my head but I felt rough constantly, my asthma was really bad and it was a constant battle to breath ok. It got so bad my lungs ached constantly, my stomach was killing me, I felt dizzy all the time. I thought I had cancer or something.
I rembered my blood test previously and considered wheat to be the cause. After searching the web for wheat intolerance and the possible link to my symptoms it became clear what I needed to eliminate from my diet.
It’s been two months now and I feel like a different person. I never use an inhaler anymore, my aches, pains and dizziness have gone but most of all my hair has returned completely everywhere. I’m not going to blame my hair loss on wheat because it is evident that the circumstance surrounding my recent alopecia is more likely but I consider it to be a factor involved somehow.
Have gone off grains and dairy for one week now (decided on a two-month trial) and I am having a very interesting result. Have had exercise and mold induced asthma my whole life. For the last 2 days I’ve had a clear, productive cough that seems to be clearing out my lungs. It’s not a cold or a flu or anything. Just the stuff that was filling up my lungs seems to be leaving my body. My peak flows are stable but no empirical change there yet. Anyone else experience this kind of “cleaning” effect?
I had asthma as a child and it recurred about 7 years ago after an upper respiratory infection. I use a puffer twice a day. My pulmonary function tests are been consistently getting worse over the past 5 years. Seven weeks ago I went wheat free and then gluten free (3 weeks). I had pulmonary function tests done two days ago and my results are the best I’ve had since 2009! Lost some weight too (more than I needed to however). I am going to continue gluten free and just incorporate more non-wheat grains into my diet.
That’s great news, Linda!
This is something I just noticed this weekend. I have been following Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, which has meant NOTHING with wheat in it, but I had a craving for pasta the other day so I went to a local Italian restaurant. I was “good” and got WW pasta, but my asthma was horrendous after eating that (no signs prior to eating it). I plan to ask my doctor about it.
I believe if you eliminate wheat from your diet and then suddenly introduce it (big bowl of pasta) you lose your tolerance for it.
You are probably right, assuming the individual had an intolerance to wheat in the first place.
Hi Corey, my family is a lot like yours, except we found out much later. I found out last August I have celiac disease, my 8-year old son is autistic and 11-Year old daughter has ADHD. Your children could develop those but you can probably avoid it! the loose BM you mention is a sign of poor digestion. Read GAPS diet book, and stop milk! As my son,s GI Doctor said, milk has been linked to a number of auto immune diseases (see Milk A-z book on Amazon) and is absolutely not needed for calcium. I so wish i knew all this when my kids were 2 and 5! Christine
There’s a bit of information about wheat and ADHD and wheat and autism on this website and much more out there on the web.
Thanks Christine for your suggestions.
Christine,
Thanks for sharing your experience with milk and the book recommendation. Our GF diets/meals at home have been wonderful. We have found many recipes and resources online and from recommendations like yours. My family is currently eating gluten preparing for our Celiac test. My Asthma has returned in the past 2 weeks. In addition, i have joint pain, trouble sleeping, ringing in the ears and stomach pain most mornings and night. The kids are doing much better, but are still having some problems that are likely related to eating gluten again. No matter the results, we will be on a gluten free diet. However, we want to know how strict we need to be with the kids. Things such as birthday parties, school events and travel would be much simpler if we didn’t have to be 100%.
Corey
I think you’re going about things is a perfect way for your family. Other people may prefer a different way and that’s OK too. Preparing for the test is painful though, isn’t it? I had the same experience years ago. The test came up negative but I sure suffered while eating gluten, as did those around me who had to put up with my moods!
What kind of test are you getting?
Ho Corey,
1) It sounds to me you should have your celiac test tomorrow! If you have celiac, this abdominal pain means more damage every day, your system is attacking your own gut and you want to stop this fast. I like the test by Prometheus by the way, it indicates also if you have susceptible genes for celiac; not useful for you, but could be for your kids.
2) Your kids seem better. If their test shows they don’t have celiac, then how strict you want to be depends on what you observe. This is the case in our family. I have celiac but my children don’t. Youppi !
3) Final advice for you: if your joint pain does not go away when you stop gluten, try the Dr Seignalet diet: basically no grains (wheat, corn, oat, but buckwheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, rice OK) no dairy, especially the dry milk solids, or powder milk. Meat OK but cooked at low temperature (below 230F) to avoid formation of acrylamide toxins (I marinate then steam mine now, good and fast). I got rid of my joint pain with this diet. Took about 4 weeks. If you want detailed diet, let me know, I can email you. Unfortunately the only info about this is in French, the web info in English is minimum and not all true.
[The original comment is long and useful so I've turned it into a separate article. See Experience with Gluten-Sensitive Children with Asperger Syndrome]
Hi Christine,
Great comment, I turned it into a separate article because it really belongs to its own subject and I don’t want the information to get lost in the current long thread. You might want to leave a comment under http://www.allergy-details.com/gluten-free-diet/experience-gluten-sensitive-children-asperger-syndrome/ just so you can listen in to what ever conversation comes up (assuming you sign up to follow comments, that’s up to you).
Thanks for sharing all that great information!
Hello Allergy guy,
Thank you for this site ! i wanted to tell a fellow karate mom about trying to remove wheat for her daughters asthma, and this site is the best info i could have given her! You will help many families.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for your feedback. I’m glad this website helps so many people and plan to expand it further to help more people with better information.
I have to thank the many people who provide additional information by leaving useful and informative comments. So many people appreciate knowing that there are others with the same problem as them.
I have placed my 5 year old son on a wheat and gluten free diet. Based on bad asthma, runny noses that are constant and sudden terrible behavior thats been ongoing for months. It’s been a week and its like our little sweet boy is back. I’m so upset the doctors put him on steroids for nothing. I’m happy we did this!
You’re not the only one who has experienced how gluten affects behaviour. See Behavior Improved After Removing Gluten.
I was using my emergency inhaler upwards of 4 times a day – until about a month ago. I already knew that I had allergies to several species of grass and wheat is, after all, a grass. I also knew that dairy products thicken mucus. With that in mind, I made two major changes to my diet.
1. I cut all wheat products (including beer) out of my diet and have worked diligently to maintain a gluten free diet (had but possible).
2. I cut out all dairy products – including replacing cream with either soy milk or coconut milk for my coffee.
The results?
My asthma symptoms improved a thousand percent. I still use my inhaler before runs but I’ve had only a few minor attacks in the last few weeks and one hit on the inhaler took care of the problem and it seems to be continuing to improve.
I had read in one of my many health books that upwards of 50% of the population may diplay some sort of reaction to wheat products. This could be true and if it is, I definitely feel that it makes asthma worse due to the allergic reaction.
Yes, this is anecdotal, but completely true and I want people to know about my experience because it may help them.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Good point about milk and mucus.
I’m encouraged to find this information. I’ve had asthma since I was 8, 34 now. My asthma became uncontrollable when we were living in a house that, unbeknownst to us, had mold. We had to move as I couldn’t breathe even with advair and albuterol. Since then, my asthma has been ‘out of control’. I had not had any problems for the previous 20 years provided I avoided cats, horses, etc.
Awhile ago, I noticed I was wheezing after meals. We had recently stopped using organic flour and increased the amount of baked goods in our diet to save money. I read ‘Prescription for Nutritional Healing’. The section about asthma said to eliminate wheat and dairy as they are mucus producing foods. I wasn’t aware that wheat was, but I am desperate to feel better. I’ve been through allergy testing and I’m not allergic to wheat on a skin test. Food and grass are the only things I am not allergic to, in fact. Despite that, I am eliminating dairy and wheat now.
I’m so glad to know that others have had a similar experience and that perhaps I’m not crazy after all!
I am a very healthy, active 67 year old woman. I went on the Dr. Simone HGC diet which eliminates all carbs.
Along with losing weight my asthma completely went away. As soon as I eat bread it comes back. Simple.
I’m 30 and I’ve been self-diagnosed gluten and dairy free for over three years due to cronic constipation and fatigue among other issues. My digestive system is working much better, though I still have problems now and then and they seem to go on for at least a week when it happens.
I’ve never had any breathing problems, but about 5 months ago I started weezing. LNP diagnosed it as exercise induced asthma even though I told her it doesn’t always happen when I’m exercising. I was using the inhaler only when I had weezing, which happened a couple times a week.
I seem to have developed allergies this March. Never had them before. I think the culprit is dust mites. We have had newer carpets for about six months (house also treated for mold) and I got a allergy mattress cover and new pillows a week ago as I seem to have the worst breathing problems at night in the bedroom.
The last two weeks have been the worst. Horrible coughing at night. I have to take cough syrup so my husband and I can sleep. (Vicks Nature Fusion is gluten free but still contains High Fructose corn syrup so I try not to take it often.) I’m up to using my inhaler a couple times a day.
The last two days, I’ve been coughing during the day. I had a yearly exam today, (county family planning as I have no insurance) but her comment on the breathing issues was, “My husband and son seemed to be allergic to our house for awhile, but it went away…” Not helpful.
I’m possibly wondering if my problem now is soy. I’ve had a higher soy intake recently because of a high intensity exercise program I started a week ago and not wanting all my protein to have to be from meat and beans. Today I made a smoothie with soy milk, tofu, banana, soy protein and romaine lettuce, but I stopped drinking it after a few swallows because I started getting the itchy throat and need to cough. After about 20 minutes it went away. Before I came to work this afternoon, I had a small glass of chocolate soy milk and a few minutes later had a horrible coughing fit, trouble breathing, and had to use my inhaler. I also took a 24 hr Loratadine tablet because that seems to help with all the allergy symptoms I’ve been having. (i.e. itchy throat, clear runny nose, coughing, headache)
So now, I’m rethinking the allergy issues and wondering if they could all be related to soy…. There’s already so much I can’t eat, I’d hate to have to cut soy out too!
I’d like to have a scratch test for allergies done, but really can’t afford one.
I’m going to cut out the soy for awhile and see if my symptoms improve. Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Melissa, from the description of your smoothie, loaded with 3forms of soy, and your itchy throat soon after, it is pretty clear that you are allergic to soy, unless it is the banana. Now, i am not talking about an intolerance. I agree with Mo that the GAPS diet can help with food intolerances, i have many and the diet did help, but throat itching is in the same class as anaphylaxis, so a real allergy. Following itching, you can get swelling.
PS Soy is not that healthy anyways, i read some info that linked it to serious problems, So don’t be too sad. Google soy dangers or read http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/04/soy-dangers-summarized.aspx
Hi Christine,
I’ve cut out the soy completely for almost a week now and I still am getting the itchy throat occasionally. Especially in the morning. It doesn’t seem to be related to food, so I’m not sure if it could be airborne allergies or what. Thank you for your comment (:
Hi Melissa, I feel for you. I have similar issues. Went gluten free for a year but symptoms did not fully resolved. Reading up on the GAPS diet has opened my eyes to WHY we have allergies in the first place – largely leaky gut. Consider looking into that healing diet in which people tend to lose their food sensitivities as they heal their gut. (which can take a few weeks to a few years) But it’s better than suffering with the present symptoms forever. Here’s a link to the idea:
http://www.savevid.com/video/gaps-diet-course-1-part-3-of-7-real-foods-market.html
Mo
Hi Mo,
I did a little reading on GAPS and will be doing more research on the subject. It will take a lot of dedication to follow that diet for 2 years if it takes that long, but might be worth it if I can eat regular food again! Thank you for the link (:
I still can’t understand why nearly all GP’s think that York testing is a con and no way can wheat or gluten be linked to asthma, I think more of us should mention this to our GP. I really feel for others who are unaware of the link between asthma and gluten, let alone feeding it to young children/loved ones who have asthma. Lets hope they dont over eat at a birthday party it could be leathal !!! Going to Mum’s buffet every Boxing Day had me in A&E the same night for a few years running and I used to scratch my head and wondering why.
Just checking back in to update. I had posted a few days ago that I was trying the elimination of dairy and wheat to see if it helped with my asthma.
I can breathe! I am not using my inhaler AT ALL during the day or night, other than before exercise! I feel better than I have felt in over a year. It has been 5 days without wheat, 4 without dairy. I have no idea why this works, but it has for me and that is all that matters at this point.
That’s great news, Erin! And in only just a few days, that’s great!
Hi Erin ! We are so happy for you !
Share the news! Let people around you know! I got the idea of getting tested for Celiac disease from a casual chat at the health club with someone i knew little and who was talking about her friend. It changed my life!
I did a juice fast for 25 days last summer, and my life-long (49 yrs) asthma pretty much disappeared. As soon as I went back to my normal diet, the asthma returned. I then eliminated wheat, and it again improved remarkably. Now, I try to stay wheat free the best I can. And when the temptation for a slice of pizza is too much for me to handle, I know I’ll be paying for it for a couple days.
I have no doubt that a wheat-based diet has aggravated my asthma since I was a kid.
Can someone please say a bit more about the difference between Gluten free and wheat free. I’ve been tracking my peak flows on no-gluten-no-dairy for 7 weeks and there’s been no change, well actually using my Albuterol and Qvar even more frequently. Then I added back dairy and still no change. I was wondering if it’s just wheat I need to eliminate and maybe I misunderstood that there was a difference….
thanks
Gluten free is basically wheat-free plus other gluten-containing grains (rye, barely and oats, but oats are disputed by some).
Some dispute that gluten-free is really completely wheat free, but I think for most people, I’m not sure the distinction is important since gluten free will pretty much eliminate all wheat.
Thanks for the fast reply. I am thinking that maybe the gluten-free flours contain something else besides gluten that is found in wheat that may account for the allergenic effect. The recipe books I’ve started with all use Gluten-free flour for their recipes, so that’s what made me start to wonder.
Gluten free seems to work for a lot of people. Maybe you’re still contaminating your food source some how. Or maybe it doesn’t work for you.
I’d start by taking a very close look at what you’re eating, and cut out anything you’re not sure about (including eating out and at friend’s places) for a while and see if that helps. If not, it may be that gluten isn’t a problem for you, and you’ll have to look else where. Or maybe it’s gluten AND something else (food, mold, whatever).
Most gluten free flour mixes contain potato starch. I have found out that potatoes cause me to have asthma. Since going gluten free (due to Celiac Disease) and then potato free, I have not had any asthma (went from being on a nebulizer, predizone, and inhaler to just one singulair tablet a day). So I would try eliminating potatos (this does not include sweet potatoes) and other nightshades (peppers-black pepper is not a nightshade-, tomatoes and eggplant). You can gradually try adding items back to see which might be causing you to have problems.
Gluten Free cannot contain any form of wheat, rye or barley. Even if buying something listed as gluten free you need to check the label because it may say, “processed in a plant that also processes wheat”. I cannot risk even the smallest amount of possible cross contamination so I do not use those items. You are safe sticking with fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed meats (chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb, etc…avoid sausages, lunch meats, or other processed meat).
Good luck!
You may also want to check into sulfite sensitivity. I am allergic to wheat and so have eliminated gluten in the process. Which greatly improved my asthma, but when I discovered I had a sulfite sensitivity that is when I really had to educate myself. For example, potato starch unless organic is usually sulfited as is beet sugar and much more. People with asthma are more susceptible to reactions to ingesting sulfites. It may be worth looking into. It has changed my life.
When my daughter was 7 she was diagnosed by a nutritionalist as gluten intolerant without being a celiac. I put her on a gluten free diet. She had quite severe asthma and was slightly hyper, being in time out in her room was the norm. She was on the gluten free diet for approximately 12 months. In that time I can remember she was very rarely in time out and never used her nebuliser, I think for that year she didnt even have asthma. She was tested at Westmead Hospital and was told she didnt need to be on a gluten free diet, which she has not been on for the last 5 years. She takes her ventolin quite alot and is very hyper and back in time out quite often. Im seriously thinking of putting her back on the gluten free diet. I know she will resist this, the bread is disgusting and I never found one or baked one that tasted nice and the gluten free products are very expensive. She is also anaphalactic to nuts. We have an appointment with the asthma clinic this month because they really want me to put her on preventative asthma medication (steriods) which I have strongly opposed. I wonder if I mention the gluten free diet if they would agree that it has benefits to her health. Everytime me kids eat ice cream, milk and milk chocolate they get terrible pimples and there only 11 and 13. That’s been happening for years so it’s not because of puberty. When they have bad breakouts I just limit the milk and chocolate and dont buy ice cream and eventually it clears up. Still waiting for my sons easter pimples to leave.
Most doctors think they know everything, but they don’t. Doctors are not God!
In this case it sounds like you know best, so I suggest you put her back on a gluten free diet, and don’t ask doctors about it anymore. If you feel like educating them, you can tell them the benefits of a gluten free diet for your daughter, but don’t bother asking they advice, they’ve really set you back here.
Do what you know is right!
Hi,
I know a great allergist who told me: the best test for an allergy is the reaction you get after ingesting the food. He told me a positive allergy test mean an allergy, but a negative test means maybe. He told me to trust what I saw in my children and not use them as tests tubes to disprove the tests. Too bad for me he moved to L.A. and now I am stuck with doctors who believe in tests. As Allergy guy says, I stopped listening to many doctors.
If you are wondering why you child was hyper when she was having wheat:
The Gluten/Casein Peptides … inability to digest wheat, rye, barley, and milk. These undigested proteins, called peptides, are associated with gastrointestinal, neurological, and neuro-developmental disorders.
Urinary peptides are incompletely broken down pieces of protein. The peptides from gluten and casein can react with opiate receptors in the brain, thus mimicking the effects of opiate drugs like heroin and morphine. These compounds, called neuropeptides, have been shown to react with areas of the brain’s temporal lobes that are involved in speech and auditory integration. Neuropeptides also decrease the ability to feel pain and effect cognitive function.
Most people who have food allergies to milk and wheat also have problems with peptides from these foods interacting with their brain and causing an opiate-like effect. However, some individuals may not show a food allergy to milk or wheat, but have the peptide problem and vice versa…
Both my kids behavior is very affected by wheat and dairy. Actually in 6 months, we became a GFCF family, and are actually even moving towards almost no grains except millet, buckwheat and a little rice, because we see benefits! You will find that parents of kids with ADHD see a lot of improvement on a GFCF diet. Visit their blogs for encouragement.
For explanation regarding the pimples/zits, visit http://www.notmilk.com and go to Z.
Hi Christine,
what do you mean by allergy tests? If you mean just what you said in the first sentence, that you observe what happens when someone does vs. does not eat a certain food, than I agree with you completely. Medical tests on the other hand, are fraught with both false positives and false negatives, and should only be used as a guide, in my opinion.
What do you mean by ‘using children as test tubes’? To truely nail down an allergy, I think you have to see what happens when a food is removed and then what happens when it is reintorduced; but it does depend very much on the sevarity of the reaction.
When my son (2nd child) was a baby, I noticed a discoloration on his cheeks, patches of white and red, that my allergist indicated was eczema in reaction to a food allergy. He had showed me these on my first child, and it seems not many doctors, or at least another allergist I saw later, recognize it.
My son previously had allergy blood tests, and they came up negative. So right before a follow-up appt, I ate almonds, breastfed my baby, and sure came the eczema on his cheeks. I showed this to the good allergist, and he said: Don’t do this, I believe you! Don’t use your children as tests tubes. He explained that in one of his first jobs at a hospital, ALL the tests for everybody came up negative one day, he thought it was impossible (believing in human error, or equipment error, who knows) but told me from that day was not very trusting in tests.
I also saw on the AAAAI web site that one of the top allergist, one whom other allergist consult with, wrote: the only real test is the reaction you get after eating the food. There you go. Only my children pediatrician doesnt believe that, he believes in tests, and if I were listening to him, I would feed all kinds of foods that would ruin my children skin and health. I am VERY sad for Robyn’s daughter who received such ill-advice from her doctor. Years of suffering !
I totally agree with you and your good allergist, Christine. The only test is food avoidance (I would add to that: food challenge, but this can be skipped if a maybe is good enough), and once you are sure (or sure enough) no further tests or consultation with doctors is necessary. You shouldn’t have anything to prove to your doctor; your doctor has to prove themselves though.
This is an amazing story : I have had asthma my whole life I gave up wheat two days ago no more asthma!! !!!!! For years I have been on steroids and other drugs the medical community is a freaking joke. Are you kidding me this is all I had to do this whole freaking time !!! 30 Years of suffering.
I have been trying to follow a low-carb diet in order to lose a few pounds. Obviously grains are a no-no. I have a real problem though eliminating breakfast cereal to which I am addicted. However I do occasionally get enough determination together to go a few days without. My asthma improves markedly when I do so. Within hours of a bowl of muesli my wheezing and tightness return.
Well then, don’t you think it might be worth making a more concerted effort to ‘kick’ breakfast cereals? You probably are more addicted to them than you realize; addiction to specific foods goes along with being allergic to them! And you have the added benefit of improving your asthma.
I suggest that if you can give them up for a week, you won’t miss them so badly any more and the next week and the weeks after that will be much easier, then effortless.
Good luck!
You can always try the Gluten free cereals. There are several gluten free Chex cereals available at most all grocery stores. Bigger grocery stores will also have a collection of other gluten free cereals including those that are of buckwheat (no relation to wheat), rice and corn.
This is true. However there are a few things to watch out for.
1) Some consider oats to be gluten free (if specially grown and handled), but there is controversy on this. Personally, I suggest you avoid all oats.
2) Not all celiacs do well on corn (another grass, just like wheat).
3) Some people who go gluten free find they feel better with no grains what so ever.
4) “Gluten-free” generally means less than 20ppm detectable in various samples. That isn’t the same as 100% gluten free (except in marketing land where everything is fiction anyhow and nothing means what it says). Some celiacs may find this to be too much gluten.
With the above in mind, certainly “gluten free” cereals are worth looking in to, especially if you find it hard kick wheat-based ones.
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