Gluten Cross-Reactivity Has Been Grossly Mis-Reported

Gluten is a buzzword (or, to some, a curse word) these days and has been for about 20 years, gaining steam each year. Since gluten-containing grains are not the same as the ancient gluten-containing grains because they’ve been hybridized to contain up to 80% more gluten, there are many people who cannot tolerate it in their diets.

The instance of Celiac Disease (CD) is rising and the onset of those with autoimmune conditions is at an all-time high.

If you have CD, it’s pretty obvious you can’t have gluten or you will feel like you have the flu and get really sick. For those with autoimmunity, the adverse symptoms that can come from eating gluten may not be as pronounced but you can still have what’s called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS).

There are some people who have CD or NCGS, and, in the event that they remove gluten, they still have symptoms as if they were eating gluten.

That’s Where Gluten Cross-Reactivity Comes In

Me personally, I was gluten-free for four years and my symptoms of Hashimoto’s continued to get worse.

The Gluten Cross-Reactivity Study Misrepresentation

There are scads of blog posts out there from well-meaning health bloggers and doctors, some of whom I love, who have overstated what the gluten cross-reactive foods are. In fact, some bloggers have actually added to the list of foods that actually came back with reactions in the science, with no evidence that there was ever a proven problem with the food actually being a gluten cross-reactor. Whew! That was a mouth-full. You might want to re-read that sentence again. It’s pretty eye-opening.

The rule of thumb I want you to operate by is, whether the science proves something or disproves something, the true gold standard test is YOUR body and what it does or doesn’t do.

What I mean by that is even if a study shows that rice cannot be tolerated because its proteins resemble gluten, you need to test that out on your own body to see if it’s true for YOU.

Furthermore, many experiments are done invitro or invivo (with animals) and, though we have some really good findings and understandings from these tests throughout scientific history, the human creation is different than animals on so many levels. We have different chemistry, digestion, microbiome, DNA, etc., which means that you can’t always rely on the science as the definitive answer to what your body can or can’t handle.

{Note} The study that brought all this hoopla up about gluten cross-reactivity was done on rabbits using mouse a-gliadin antibodies.

Now that I got that out of the way…

What is Gluten Cross-Reactivity?

This Gluten Cross-Reactive (GCR) principle applies ONLY to those who have a known gluten intolerance like CD (actual antibodies to gluten circulating their body) or autoantibodies which attack various tissues in the body. You have autoantibodies if you have autoimmunity where your own body attacks its own tissues as in the case of Hashimoto’s.

Gluten Cross-Reactivity, in layman’s terms, is a process that happens to someone whose body already recognizes the gluten amino acid (protein) chain as foreign and, at the same time, the body recognizes a protein structure in another food (that doesn’t contain gluten) to be similar. Therefore, producing the same or similar reaction to the non-gluten containing food that it would to the gluten containing food.

To have a reaction to any of the foods on the gluten cross-reactive list, it will depend on what antibodies your body has circulating because that will determine which protein chains in the other foods it will mistakingly identify as gluten. That’s why just looking at a food list and deciding you can’t have all the foods on it without properly testing your own body, is not necessary.

Make sense? If not, ask your questions in the comments below.

There are Not 19 Foods on the Gluten Cross-Reactive List

Now, when Vojdani and Tarash executed this test in 2013, they tested 24 foods. Most of the lists that you see circulating the interwebs today that are ‘known’ to be gluten cross-reactors are not totally accurate. Upon digging a little, it’s easy to find out what foods were actually tested in the experiment and determine the reasons these bloggers and doctors have just lumped 19 foods together on a list of no-no foods.

I want to break it down simply for you here to help you understand which foods truly can be cross reactors to gluten and why the others appear on the list so often. Then, I want to help you decide how you should address gluten cross-reactive foods in your own life. Sound good?

The 24 Foods Tested

• Cow’s Milk
• a- +ß-casein
• Casomorphin (opioid compound in milk)
• Milk Butyrophilin (milk protein in the milk fat)
• Whey Protein
• Milk Chocolate, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate
• Wheat
• Oats (2 different cutlivars)
• Yeast (Brewers & Bakers)
• Coffee (Instant, Latte, Espresso, Imported)
• Sesame
• Buckwheat
• Sorghum
• Millet
• Hemp
• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Tapioca
• Teff
• Soy
• Egg
• Corn 
• Rice
• Potato

Foods Found to Be Gluten Cross-Reactive

Dairy

(a- +ß-casein, milk butyrophilin, casomorphin, whey protein)

Since there are four different proteins in milk, the chances of someone who has antibodies circulating their system tolerating milk is slim. The caveat that you need to understand is that cow’s milk was what was tested not goat, sheep, camel or any other milk. What this means is that cow’s milk has been found to be a gluten cross reactor and, if you are still having symptoms after removing glutinous foods, then try eliminating cow’s milk.

You can read up on dairy more here. What this doesn’t mean is that you now need to eliminate all dairy. You may be able to have sheep’s milk or even goats milk. It’s a matter of trialing it for your body and seeing how you react.

Yeast

(Brewers and Bakers)

In some articles circulating the internet, I have seen people add nutritional yeast to this list. That ingredient was not even tested in this experiment. What was tested was baker’s yeast and brewer’s yeast and they were found to be gluten cross-reactive. However, upon digging a little deeper, there are some important things to be aware of.

1. The yeasts were combined and tested together, not separately.
2. Brewer’s Yeast (a by-product of beer) is often cross-contaminated with gluten.
3. Due to the cross-contamination factor and that these yeasts weren’t tested separately, it cannot be said that baker’s yeast is a gluten cross-reactor.

Should you avoid these ingredients? Again, it comes back to your individual body. However, it is pretty well known and safe to say that brewer’s yeast should be avoided by those are gluten sensitive.

Oats (but only 1 type)

Two types of oats were tested and only one of them was found to be gluten cross-reactive. They likely came back as problematic due to cross contamination. Additionally, here are some facts about oats to be aware of to be able to make your decision about whether they should be in your diet or not.

1. Different types of oats can produce different reactions. (1)
2. Oats are often cross-contaminated with gluten.
3. Oats contain avenins which people with CD can react too. Though not ALL with CD react to them. Again, it’s an individual process.
4. Furthermore, oats are grains and can break down the gut lining, so for those with leaky gut, these might need to be avoided. (That’s a post for another time though)

If you eat oats, be sure to find a certified gluten-free variety. Be aware that even certified gluten-free foods can have still have 5-10 parts per million of gluten in them. Should you eat oats? Test on your body to see how it reacts.

Corn 

Vojdani and Tarash didn’t comment much on their findings of corn in their study except to notate that there were higher levels showing gluten cross-reactivity. They also mention that corn tends to be a major allergen with a high cross-reactivity rate.

• This study talks about how the zeins in corn can often cause IgA immunoreactivity in those with CD.
• In regards to corn, which is not a vegetable, by the way, it’s a grain, it can cause various symptoms in a person with CD or NCGS and is really hard on the digestive system.

In Vojdani and Tarash’s study it was found to be gluten cross-reactive so, if you are still having symptoms after removing gluten, it is a food you should trial eliminating to see if your symptoms reside.

Personally, I don’t eat corn and notice that if I ever have a little (even popcorn) my eczema comes back. To learn more about corn and why it can be problematic, check this article out.

Millet

Interestingly, millet showed up as a gluten cross-reactive food. It’s often used in gluten-free flour blends to substitute for glutinous flours. I have also seen various porridge and cereal recipes with this seed. A note must be taken that millet is often cross-contaminated which could be why it registered in the study as a gluten cross-reactor.

Honestly, it’s not something I would lose sleep over if I couldn’t include it in my diet. It’s just good to be aware and read labels because it could be the one thing that is keeping your symptoms from fully going away.

Milk Chocolate

In the past, until further research, I used to believe, based on the articles I was reading all over the internet, that all chocolate was gluten cross-reactive. Imagine to my pure joy when I found out that it was only milk chocolate. The fact that milk chocolate is gluten cross-reactive makes sense because the proteins in milk cross-react.

One thing to understand about most chocolate on the market, even dark chocolate and cocoa (which are not gluten cross-reactors, is that they tend to be cross-contaminated.)

In order to avoid a gluten reaction in your body, enjoy certified gluten-free cocoa and dark chocolate. As for the milk chocolate, you can test your body to see how it does but if you know you can’t tolerate dairy, then milk chocolate is going to be a no-go as well.

Instant Coffee

Here’s the scoop on coffee:

First, note that the picture above is not a photo of instant coffee being made. Instead, it’s our favorite way to make coffee around here – with a Chemex!

Second, the test revealed that instant coffee is the gluten cross-reactor, not regular coffee that is brewed.

They tested coffee made from pure beans, cafe latte’s (which – duh – of course those are going to gluten cross-react due to the dairy) and instant coffee.

It’s well known that instant coffee often has wheat in it or is cross-contaminated so best to steer clear of it. Plus, if you’re an avid coffee drinker, chances are you aren’t going for the instant stuff.

Coffee does present some other problems in regards to those with autoimmunity, but again, I will save that for another post.

Personally, I can’t tolerate coffee – even decaf, as it makes me feel horrible. Be sure to test your own body to see if you can tolerate it or if continuing to drink it is making your symptoms remain.

Rice

Again, Vodjani and Tarash did not comment extensively about their findings with rice in the study. However, they did cite this article which, interestingly enough, says rice can be an allergen (IgE reaction) which is not the type of reaction we’re talking about in this post.

Nevertheless, rice was found in their study to be a gluten cross-reactor so if you are still having symptoms, then you might want to trial eliminating rice and see if they subside.

There are other problems with rice and gut health which I’ll save for another post. These other problems aren’t to be discounted because when there is a gut issue, it generally results in symptoms.

What About the Other Foods Tested in the Study?

There were several foods that did not come back as gluten cross-reactive.

They are:

• sesame
• buckwheat
• sorghum
• hemp
• amaranth
• quinoa
• tapioca
• teff
• soy
• egg
• potato

What this means is that, in general, these foods are not going to be recognized in someone’s body to resemble gluten. However, not to add confusion or overwhelm but some of these foods can still cause symptoms for you. In fact, one of them, in my opinion, is a food that no woman should be eating and that’s soy. The reason for that is the subject of another post.

It all comes back to your individual body and what it can and can’t tolerate.

Can you have nightshades? If not, then you’ll probably want to steer clear of potatoes.

Does your gut do well with starch? If not, then you’ll probably want to eliminate tapioca.

Keep asking yourselves these probing questions. During your healing journey, you are getting to know your body better than you ever have before. It’s with testing certain foods for your body, you will come to understand your unique make-up. Even though these foods are not found to be gluten cross-reactive, doesn’t mean you don’t need to do further elimination testing to see if any of these might be allowing your symptoms to continue.

Why Do Other Bloggers, Doctors and Practitioners Include These Foods on The GCR List?

Most of the foods that were tested and found not to be gluten cross-reactive are included on gluten cross-reactive lists today for two reasons.

1. The first reason is that people didn’t do their research to find out that, even though the foods were tested, they didn’t come back as reactive. They just lumped them all together because they were tested.
2. The second reason is that most of the foods that didn’t come back as gluten cross-reactive can cause other reactions in the body so practitioners and doctors decided to just include them on the list of foods to avoid.

Personally, I like to be more thorough than that and include explanations for people. Plus, I am not a fan of eliminating a food if it’s not necessary!

Final Thoughts About Gluten Cross-Reactive Foods and You

You now have a clear picture of the real facts behind foods that have gluten cross-reactivity according to the study done in 2013 by Aristo Vodjani and Igal Tarash. To say, people on the internet have over-inflated this issue is an understatement. Still, gluten cross-reaction is real and there are non-glutinous foods that have been found to look like gluten to some people’s cells.

The biggest take away I have for you outside of educating you about the study and the true findings is that you are unique. You have cells that no one else has. You have DNA that no one else has. You have a body chemistry that nobody else has and with that, it’s important that you purposely and intentionally test certain foods to see how your body reacts. Then, make your decision from there whether or not to keep that food in your diet. During my healing journey, that’s exactly the process I had to take to find out the triggers for my own body. Be sure to share the facts about gluten cross-reactivity so your friends and family are informed as well!