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Can Celiacs Tolerate A Little Gluten Sometimes?

livinthelife

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livinthelife Apprentice
livinthelife
Posted

I mentioned this as a reply on another topic but thought I'd ask it as a separate question.

 

I keep reading that some celiacs are super sensitive to gluten while others seem to "tolerate" it a little better.

 

If celiac is a confirmed DX with blood/biopsies, wouldn't even a little gluten damage the villi even if it doesn't cause symptoms? Can some celiacs tolerate a little gluten (maybe cross contamination and the like?) with no damage at all?

 

I'm not considering trying this out or tempting fate, I just know other celiacs who eat a little more carefree than I do and just wondered!

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WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

No, Celiacs can never tolerate gluten.

 

I've heard of people saying that they have "Light Celiac" or "Mild Celiac". There is no such thing. Celiac is Celiac. Even the smallest amount of gluten will affect you. What does vary is the type of reaction in terms of symptoms. Some people will have a very strong outward reaction to the tiniest amount of gluten, while others will get a mild reaction. It depends on the person and their symptoms. Everyone is different. 

 

Honestly the Celiacs who eat "a little more carefree" are probably seriously hurting themselves without realizing it. Or they are in denial and don't care. I've met a few people like that. This is a diet you cannot do halfway.

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

I agree with WinterSong. Cross contamination is cross contamination & it will hurt you. Some people don't get any symptoms but it is still damaging their villi. Heck, there are celiacs who, when they were eating full gluten & didn't know they had celiac disease, had absolutely NO symptoms at all yet upon endoscopy had complete villous atrophy. Loves2travel is one such. She got tested b/c her sister had celiac WITH symptoms --- on testing she found out she was far more damaged than her sister.

 

It's not okay to eat carefree in any manner as far as celiac & gluten are concerned. Period. The end. That's the bottom line.

notme Experienced
notme
Posted

no gluten.  period. 

 

i know a few celiacs who don't follow a strict diet or they follow it loosely (just scrape the gravy off the meatloaf, it'll still be fine) and they pay the price.  i asked one of them, "don't you get symptoms?'  and he showed me his hands - all blisters/dh said that was a direct reaction to eating it.  but at the next dinner we went to, there he was again, eating whatever, scraping the crust off the pie...........  or they have other symptoms and deny that they could be from eating gluten.  example:  rheumatiod arthritis!  would i rather adjust my diet (boo hoo) or have r.a. ?  kind of an easy question to answer ;)

livinthelife Apprentice
livinthelife
Posted
  • Author

That's what I thought. Even chips fried in the same oil as onion rings and the like or just taking the bread off the patty. I would throw a fit that it was there in the first place. I just don't get it. 

 

Thanks for all of your comments. I KNEW IT!!!  :wacko:  :wacko:  :wacko:

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Can some celiacs tolerate a little gluten (maybe cross contamination and the like?)

 

well, I can tell you........this one can't. :huh:

LauraTX Rising Star
LauraTX
Posted

I am what some people call a "Silent Celiac".  I was kind of diagnosed by accident, early stages according to my doctor.  If I ingest gluten, I do not get acute symptoms, so I don't know if I am CC'd or anything like that.  However, my intestines will still get damaged and such, like I had unexplained anemia before diagnosis that is now better on a gluten-free diet.  So I do not intentionally eat gluten and I still go all anal retentive when avoiding CC, because even though I don't run to the bathroom I understand what it does to my body.  It actually has a downside in that if I accidentally ate something with gluten in it, I don't have a built in detection system.  

 

I have also met people who will scrape the crust off the pie, etc, and then they get a tummy ache after but they continue behaviors like that.  Just like some diabetics still eat sugar, some super morbidly obese people still overeat, some people with lung issues still smoke, not everyone complies with medical needs.  They hurt themselves in the end.

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Mac0030 Newbie
Mac0030
Posted

I have never had a symptom and didn't even know I had celiac. It has been two months without gluten. I asked my doctor about the no symptom t all eating gluten once in awhile. He said NO WAY! Even though you don't feel anything then damage still occurs. My biggest problem is that if my no symptoms continue to occur I will never know about cc so I need to be extra careful. Don't eat gluten willingly it's not worth it and will harm you.

eers03 Explorer
eers03
Posted

No.  1/8 of one teaspoon creates a reaction in our bodies even if we don't feel it per se.

MGR Apprentice
MGR
Posted

Well, I get a horrendous reaction even if I just look at gluten... ! I am exaggerating , but it is very close... I am still learning to live gluten-free and I KNOW when I have been glutened... with even the smallest crumb ..

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

This is a research paper on how much gluten celiacs can tolerate.  http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/1/160.full.pdf+html

 

They conclude that 10 mg per day can be tolerated by most celiacs and that the diet should be kept at below 50 mg per day. This is the accepted science at this point.  I personally don't agree with it.

w8in4dave Community Regular
w8in4dave
Posted

Not so sure I could take 10 MG. you couldn't pay me enuf to eat Gluten on purpose , I know a Celiac who does, to keep herself "regular"  Nooooooo way jose!

LauraTX Rising Star
LauraTX
Posted

This is a research paper on how much gluten celiacs can tolerate.  http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/1/160.full.pdf+html

 

They conclude that 10 mg per day can be tolerated by most celiacs and that the diet should be kept at below 50 mg per day. This is the accepted science at this point.  I personally don't agree with it.

 

This study makes perfect sense to me and it rationalizes the ppm limits for gluten-free food.

 

WARNING! SCIENCE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!

(hehe)

The average adult consumes 3.5 lbs of food per day from the most reliable internet source I could find..  This is 1,588,000 milligrams.  (I didn't mess with significant figures here just threw out some rough estimates).  So 10 milligrams is 6 parts per million.  If someone consumes less food per day you will approach 10 ppm, etc.  Completely rationalizes the 5, 10, and 20 ppm standards held by companies and soon the FDA.  50mg per day is 30 ppm and that is too much to handle.

 

However, I cannot imagine how they were able to convince enough celiacs to join the study.  "We are going to give you this pill, and it may or may not contain gluten, maybe a good amount.  Will you volunteer?"  Haha!

 

 

Not so sure I could take 10 MG. you couldn't pay me enuf to eat Gluten on purpose , I know a Celiac who does, to keep herself "regular"  Nooooooo way jose!

 

That person is a nitwit.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

This study makes perfect sense to me and it rationalizes the ppm limits for gluten-free food.

 

However, I cannot imagine how they were able to convince enough celiacs to join the study.  "We are going to give you this pill, and it may or may not contain gluten, maybe a good amount.  Will you volunteer?"  Haha!

 

They didn't get many people in the study.  13 people had 10 mg per day and 13 has 50 mg per day.  Of the ones taking 10 mg per day, one had a full relapse.  Does this rationalize the ppm limits for gluten-free food?

livinthelife Apprentice
livinthelife
Posted
  • Author

I literally treat gluten like poison because that's what it is. For me there is no "tolerance" or cheating. Heck, even if we get a little bit and don't have a horrible reaction, it's still in there destroying villi and causing who knows what kinds of problems.

 

I sure wouldn't join that study. NO WAY!!!

notme Experienced
notme
Posted

 

 

WARNING! SCIENCE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!

(hehe)

OH, NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!  :o

 

lolz :D  too funny, laura!   :)

Nick-incollege Rookie
Nick-incollege
Posted

If you're a legitimate celiac, no. 

w8in4dave Community Regular
w8in4dave
Posted

I tell my husband eating Gluten for me is like eating Poison Ivy! And truly it is!! 

cap6 Enthusiast
cap6
Posted

We have friends who tested negative for celiac (and we all know about the reliability of tests!) but because it runs in the family and they were not feeling well decided to go g.f.  They are far more carefree about it than I would be as they are the ones who pick the bun off etc.  Personally, if you get sick run from the stuff.  Never cheat, never scrape sauces/buns off, never.  Never. 

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

We call it Kryptonite in our family...I just wish it turned anything it touched bright green ;)

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

We call it Kryptonite in our family...I just wish it turned anything it touched bright green ;)

 

I also call it kryptonite,  but I take great glee in walking through BJ's GIANT bakery section, my eyes wild and me, pointing at the stacks of

bread, croissants and saying loudly "IT's POISON, POISON, I tell YA!" 

 

My poor hubs.....lol

 

  • 4 years later...
Zigzag Rookie
Zigzag
Posted
On 2/8/2014 at 8:39 AM, dilettantesteph said:

 

They didn't get many people in the study.  13 people had 10 mg per day and 13 has 50 mg per day.  Of the ones taking 10 mg per day, one had a full relapse.  Does this rationalize the ppm limits for gluten-free food?

It's seems the question is not only one of not triggering symptoms but one of physically impacting villi destruction. From what I can tell through reviewing studies, the limit for causing actual damage is somewhere between 50 and 100 mg of gluten per day. Being asystematic as I am I try to keep my per day intake below 50mg. The only time I knowingly break the diet is having a gluten-free 20 PPM beer.  This by my calculation is worth 7 mg of gluten, well under a daily limit of 50. If I have a salad dressing with a dash of malt in it (last item on ingredient list on bottle) the gluten ingested in a typical serving is much less than 1 mg, so why not if it doesn't make me sick and I am below my daily life it of 50 mg. Some say "oh, don't eat anything with malt in it", that sounds extreme to me.  I understand that this would make some celiacs very sick, but those in my shoes could ingest a lot and not feel it, not that I  ever do that. I wish I had better way to control the actual amount of gluten without going cold turkey like so many recommend. Being new at this game, I am just trying to logic out the best way to proceed...

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