FODMAPs May Be Responsible for Gluten Intolerance Symptoms

Yesterday I wrote a post about the recent news headlines claiming that a recent study shows that gluten sensitivity does not exist.  Indeed, to poke at the swelling balloon of tense emotions on this subject, I titled my own post, “Have You Heard the News? Gluten Intolerance May Not Exist“.

Now, just because I titled my post this does not mean that this is what I personally believe.  I was merely commenting on the current media spin of this recent study.

For a multitude of reasons the whole gluten-free issue is very emotionally charged one.  When people decide to cut gluten out of their diets they are often seen as radical eaters, following yet another food fad.  Some extreme gluten-free advocates claim everyone would benefit from cutting gluten out of their diets.  The agriculture and food industries of this country rely heavily on the production and consumption of gluten containing grains.  Can you see why emotions are so high?

I think that some of those reasons are behind what I see as the slightly misleading headlines about the study in the past week.  Many of these headlines and some of the stories contained therein would lead a reader to believe that people who claim to have gluten sensitivity are merely experiencing a placebo effect , or that while they may think they are suffering from gluten intolerance, they are actually sensitive to foods known as FODMAPs.  With the exception of the latter comment, this was NOT the conclusion of the researchers!

CLICK HERE TO READ A SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH

Researchers found that FODMAP foods were the most likely culprit of the gastrointestinal symptoms study participants reported:

FODMAPS are a far more likely cause of the gastrointestinal problems attributed to gluten intolerance. Jessica Biesiekierski, a gastroenterologist formerly at Monash University and now based out of the Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders at the University of Leuven in Belgium,* and lead author of the study alongside Gibson, noted that when participants consumed the baseline low-FODMAP diet, almost all reported that their symptoms improved! –Ross Pomeroy in the RealClearScience.com blog

“Reduction of FODMAPs in their diets uniformly reduced gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue in the run-in period, after which they were minimally symptomatic.” –Biesiekierski

Had some more of the sensationalist journalists and news reporters dug a little deeper they might have discovered that, quite ironically, some of the largest dietary sources of FODMAPs are…

Gluten containing bread products!

Hahaha.

So, I suppose that would be why many people who opt to go gluten-free report feeling so much better than they did when they were gluten eaters.

For those of you who are not celiac, but have adopted a gluten free lifestyle and felt better for it, I say “good on ya!” you’re on to something!  And for those of you who have gone gluten-free but are still experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort and related symptoms, I made a chart of the FODMAPs the study cites as being the probable culprits of your discomfort.

Feel free to click on the picture and download the PDF. 🙂

You can download a great list of low FODMAP foods here.