No Issues with Gluten?

I recently discovered that I may not have an issue with gluten at all. What I thought were issues with gluten may have been issues from the wheat allergy all along. I’m thankful that I may no longer have to worry about barley and rye ingredients in foods.

When I first discovered that I was likely allergic to wheat, I had decided to continue avoiding barley and rye as well. I also tested a very low positive to these on their food allergy blood tests, although their results were quite a bit lower than my results for wheat. Also, since I wasn’t sure I had celiac disease, I really just didn’t want to take a chance on trying them. Even though I never tested positive for celiac disease, I have one of the common celiac genes, DQ8, and I have other conditions that increase risk or that are associated with celiac disease, like hypothyroidism and IgA deficiency. It was just too much of a question for me to take a risk. However, I was willing to try them once the results from a new celiac blood test, one I planned to request once it became available, showed that I did not have celiac disease.

With more and more time passing and with little news concerning the celiac blood test being developed, I began wondering if I should just try either barley or rye to see what happens. I believe my grass pollen allergies are what triggered my wheat allergy, but I can eat other foods in the grass family, like corn and oats, with no problems. Also, I began to think more and more that my hypothyroidism is not Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and was probably not caused by gluten ingestion. I’ve had thyroid antibodies checked multiple times, and they’ve been negative each time. Also, I’ve been on levothyroxine for over twelve years now, and I’ve always remained stable on 50 mcg. I’ve not had to go higher than that, and when I’ve tried to go down, thinking my dietary changes were affecting my thyroid, I’ve always had to go back up. I’m beginning to think that my thyroid was somehow damaged during a one-time event in the past. About a year or so before I was diagnosed, I had a severe ear infection. It lasted for several days at least and was very painful. I was taking the maximum number of Tylenol doses a day for a few days at least. I even went to the hospital emergency room in order to see a physician over the weekend for help. I wonder if this ear infection might be connected somehow. I became more and more curious about how I might be affected by rye and barley and began to think more and more about trying them.

One afternoon while shopping at Wal-Mart, I went to the frozen food section. I saw some entrees that I knew contained barley ingredients. I had seen some of these same entrees elsewhere, but they would always have ingredients like distilled vinegar or xanthan gum, ingredients I have to avoid if I don’t know the starting source for them. However, I happened across one that had barley without other questionable ingredients. I was so shocked and so unprepared for the find that I couldn’t bring myself to purchase it at that time. I did continue to think about it, though, and when I happened to find it again elsewhere, I decided to get it and try it. At first, I just licked the fork that I used to stir it when it was ready. Not noticing any issues, I slowly began trying bigger and bigger amounts, eventually working up to normal forkfuls and finally finishing the entree. I noticed no issues at all! At the grocery store the following weekend, I decided to pick up a bag of pearled barley along with a bag of rye flour. I made some pancakes with the rye flour a few days later. They were delicious, and I noticed no issues. I tried the pearled barley later, and while I had issues with it having a lot more copper than what the nutrition facts I checked seemed to indicate, I noticed no reactions to the barley itself. I ate the barley again with a meat source higher in zinc and noticed no issues. I’ve also had the rye flour on multiple occasions and have yet to notice an issue. I’ve also had the frozen entree again, and it was fine that second time also. I even got to try a regular Milky Way candy bar, which I hadn’t had in at least six years, and enjoyed it with no issues at all.

This discovery is exciting and significant because it means that my chances of having celiac disease are now very slim to none. There is always a chance I could have silent celiac disease, and I’m hopeful that I can be watchful enough to catch possible issues with barley and rye as they may arise. Hopefully something will make itself known, in symptoms or a test of some sort, that would help point me in the right direction. Also, it’s always wonderful to have a less restrictive diet and get to introduce something new. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had anything with rye flour, and I’ve certainly never prepared foods with it myself. I’ve used it in the pancake recipe I normally use and in a banana mug cake recipe that I sometimes make for breakfast. I just used the rye flour in place of the gluten-free blend I would normally use. Both recipes turned out wonderfully with the rye flour. I may have had barley a very few times in soups, but it actually made a pretty good “pasta” base for some ground bison and spaghetti sauce. The ground bison apparently had enough zinc to balance out the copper in the barley. The chicken wings I fixed with it on a previous occasion did not. I’m also happy that I can now treat myself to a regular Milky Way candy bar if I want one. In my pantry I have single-serving boxes of Cocoa Krispies and Frosted Flakes that I may have as a snack sometime.

I’m very excited that gluten may not be an issue for me, that wheat is the only grain in the grass family that is problematic for me so far. I’m also excited that I may not have celiac disease, that the tests results were true negatives. However, I plan to keep an eye on things in case I do develop symptoms from gluten ingestion and make changes as needed. It’s also wonderful to be able to enjoy certain foods that I’ve missed and to try making meals a different way with barley and rye.

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