| Answer: | Gluten is the substance in wheat that can cause allergic reactions. We used to believe that gluten allergy, known as coeliac disease, was extremely rare, affecting about 1 in 6,000 people. However, according to research from Italy, coeliac' s diseasemay affect almost 1 in 100 people. In other words, it is vastly underdiagnosed. The other myth about gluten is that it only causes digestive problems such as bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea.
But there is now compelling evidence that the first diagnosis of coeliac disease is often cancer of the digestive tract! Deaths from such cancers are twice as common within the first year of a coeliac' s diag- nosis, so perhaps ' cereal killer' is not an exaggeration.
Medical expert Dr James Braly, author of the book Dangerous Grains, believes that screening for gluten sensitivity should be routine for high-risk people. This includes anyone with a family member with gluten sensitivity, and people with autoimmune diseases such as insulin-dependent diabetes, theuma-toid arthritis and thyroid problems, as well as women who experience pregnancy problems such as sponta-neous abortions.
Sensitivity to gluten, which is also found in rye, barley and oats, but not in rice or corn, can be tested with a simple home test kit that measures IgG anti-bodies (see Resources, page 483). |
