# Antioxidants, gluten intolerance and supplements? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088 "2011-09-21T17:23:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/1 "2011-09-21T17:23:09Z")
My husband just found [this guy’s website](http://www.drglidden.com/home) from a facebook link, and we spent part of last night arguing about his claims, among them that no one can be truly healthy without supplements, everyone is gluten-intolerant to some degree, that baked potatoes, meat that isn’t rare, and fried food cause cancer, and that antioxidants are the miracle cure for atherosclerosis. I find people who are pushing their own line of supplements suspicious, I disbelieve the gluten intolerance claims, and I don’t think that ingesting huge amounts of antioxidants is going to make people amazingly healthy and reverse heart disease and cure cancer. So, any health specialists or people with more than high school level organic chemistry, could you please refute, debunk, or correct this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/2 "2011-09-22T12:55:08Z")
I’m also suspicious of people that push supplements. I also agree that the new gluten intolerance fad is nonsense. The problem is that gluten is almost everywhere, so people that give up gluten have to modify their diet so drastically, that they may very well start to see improvements in some areas having nothing to do with gluten itself. I have nno idea why baked potatoes would cause cancer, but there is a sliver of truth to meats and fried foods. Overcooking meats will make polyaromatic hydrocarbons which are very carcinogenic. I believe this is an issue with fried foods as well. But completely avoiding PAH’s is nearly impossible. They are literally the byproducts of any incomplete combustion. I say enjoy your meat however you like it. I know of no study that connects a well done steak with imminent death. Antioxidants get a lot of buzz on these sites as well. While they do reduce cancer, there is no study indicating an overload of antioxidants reduces cancer more. In fact, anti-oxidants work by absorbing free radicals. In doing so, they become free radicals themselves. An over load of antioxidants could actually increase your cancer likelihood. I’m sorry, I don’t have time to cite any of this, but nobody else was answering, so I gave it my best. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/3 "2011-09-22T13:58:19Z")
Well there are so many looney toon sites … I guess I’d ask why you specifically want to debunk this particular one, and which of that fairly long list of crock claims is of most interest to you? Supplements? Clearly established that getting your vitamins in supplements is not as beneficial (if at all) as getting them in real foods. Extra A C and E have been associated with some increased risk even. Gluten? Sure there are people with celiac disease, but “everyone”? That’s absurd. Funny enough, another group, led by so-called scientists like Campbell, are big on blaming animal protein for everything, and point to studies that show less progression of liver cancer in mouse models between mice fed gluten only as opposed to casein as proof of vegetable protein’s superiority. (Of course they fail to point out their own studies that demonstrate it is a result of the fact that gluten by itself is an incomplete protein and that when they also gave some lysine, an amino acid gluten is very low in but is high in beans and many other sources of vegetable protein, the cancer growth rate was the same.) Baked potatoes? Huh? Rare meat? Okay fine, grilled, processed, and highly cooked meat has some carcinogens (heterocyclic amines) and diets high in those products in particular are associated with an increased risk of colon cancer, but just between rare and medium? No data to justify such a claim. Antioxidants? Solid data that a diet high in foods that have high antioxidant levels is associated with a host of health benefits, from lower cancer risk, to improved lipid profile, to lower risk of Alzheimer’s. How much is enough? Not so much data on. Any reason to believe taking supplements of antioxidants (as opposed to choosing real foods high in antioxidants) is beneficial? Not in general. That said I personally _do_ take two pills of turmeric a day along with supplemental fish oil caps. If you want some cites you can find them by starting off at [National cancer Institute’s site](http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/nutrition/HealthProfessional/page5#Section_255) and you can pubmed for specific studies. Look for reviews and metanalyses in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/4 "2011-09-22T14:08:14Z")
Sometimes I see supplements which are badly formulated, at least regarding minerals. Any element is provided in the form of a soluble salt, but sometimes two of those salts are “incompatible” (a term which may not be completely scientific, but more understandable and used than “mutually insoluble”): salt AB is soluble, salt CD is soluble, but salt AD is not - so, if you dissolve AB and CD in the same glass, you get a deposit of AD. One of my classmates’ chose as his Research Project (undergrad thesis) a little study where he bought several brands of OTC mineral supplements and examined each of them for salt incompatibility, in neutral and extreme pHs. Out of a dozen supplements, there wasn’t a single one which did not show incompatibilities. Sucking on a CaCO3 pebble (insoluble in most pHs) does not do your bones any good. If the pebble also has some Li2CO3 (soluble), it may be good for your depression… but your bones won’t notice a thing. OTOH, calcium from biological sources is in biologically-absorbable forms: it will do your bones good. ETA: yes, it’s simplified. I’m not trying to teach **LiLi** biochemistry or inorganic chemistry, just give her arguments. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/5 "2011-09-22T15:34:07Z")
> [@Lissla\_Lissar](#): > > I find people who are pushing their own line of supplements suspicious, Absolutely. Put your hand over your wallet and run. > [@](#): > > I disbelieve the gluten intolerance claims, Right you are. Gluten intolerance is a narrow and specific ailment that only a tiny fraction of people have. > [@](#): > > and I don’t think that ingesting huge amounts of antioxidants is going to make people amazingly healthy and reverse heart disease and cure cancer. Not a particle of evidence for these extravagant claims. Look, the human body is an ecosystem that is part of a larger ecosystem. The entirety of those two ecosystems determines health. It’s the effects, synergistic or antagonistic, of hundreds or thousands or perhaps millions of parts over decades that is what we call health. Even the best longitudinal surveys of tens of thousands of participants is just beginning to tease out what the large factors really are. Nobody yet knows whether the smaller factors truly mean anything at all. Supplements are like UPS buying more expensive tires for its vans and then looking at the net earnings for the year. Are they getting their money’s worth? Ten accountants could make the case ten ways. Next time you go out, order a well-done steak with a baked potato and dare your husband to tell you whether you have increased your chances of cancer over just breathing the air around you - which is a known cancer cause. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/6 "2011-09-22T18:04:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess I’d ask why you specifically want to debunk this particular one, and which of that fairly long list of crock claims is of most interest to you? I want to debunk this site because it’s the one that my husband (who doesn’t know any organic chemistry- I know a little) is somewhat interested in right now. We actually have friends with celiac and a few other real, diagnosed food intolerances, so I know something about the effect of gluten on celiac’s villi. I am strongly against the notion that a) humans are delicate flowers who only flourish if they take a huge range of nutritional substances and b)are almost universally allergic to some of the most basic foodstuffs which have supported cultures for millenia. Humans live almost everywhere, on an absurd range of diets- from blood and milk to exclusively sea animals and fish to tea and roasted barley flour. My husband is pretty smart but knows much less about digestion, food, and history, and is heavily involved in martial arts, which tends to be filled with people pushing miracle diets and supplements. I just did a little refresher on how redox reactions work, and it seems to me that a lot of the heavy antioxidants-pushing assumes that humans are meant (in some vague way) to live forevery, and that decay and breakdown _ought not_ to be inevitable, if only we did the right series of incantations and took the right pills. I don’t see the logic- we’re animals, we’re alive, we degrade over time. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/7 "2011-09-22T18:30:23Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I also agree that the new gluten intolerance fad is nonsense. Wrong. Gluten intolerance/gluten sensitivity is estimated to affect 6-7% of the U.S. population. Around 1% have full-blown celiac disease. > **[Web Page Under Construction](http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_15/qa_augsep11-2554-1.html)** > > Network Solutions - Original domain name registration and reservation services with variety of internet-related business offerings. Quick, dependable and reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/8 "2011-09-22T18:57:54Z")
> **[Finer Health and Nutrition : Educational Information : Frequently Asked...](http://www.finerhealth.com/Educational_Info/Gluten_Sensitivity/#What_is_gluten)** > > A website devoted to intestinal disorders caused by gluten, as well as gluten-free living. Offers health and nutritional counseling as well as a wealth of educational information based on facts and medical research. > [@](#): > > What is gluten sensitivity and how is it diagnosed? > Gluten sensitivity implies that there is an ongoing immune reaction to gluten in the diet, usually detected as antibodies against a subprotein of gluten called gliadin. **Although recently these antibodies were looked for only in the blood and are found in 12% of the general American public, my research has revealed that these antibodies can be detected in the stool in as many as 35% of what are otherwise normal people (U.S. and International patents pending). If high risk patient populations are tested, or people with symptoms, the percentage usually exceeds 50%.** It makes sense that the antibodies are more easily detected in the intestine because the immune system reaction to food is mainly a response occurring inside the intestinal tract. Thus, the end product of intestinal transit, stool, is the most logical (albeit more messy) place to look. This is the rationale of the new test developed by a laboratory set up by Dr. Fine to serve the testing needs of celiac patients. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/9 "2011-09-22T19:03:00Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > [Finer Health and Nutrition : Educational Information : Frequently Asked Questions about Gluten Sensitivity](http://www.finerhealth.com/Educational_Info/Gluten_Sensitivity/#What_is_gluten) I’ll have to believe you, because that site sure has all the markings of a reliable source of evidence-based information. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/10 "2011-09-22T19:06:21Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > I’ll have to believe you, because that site sure has all the markings of a reliable source of evidence-based information. Do you have some actual facts to supplement your opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/11 "2011-09-22T19:17:53Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Do you have some actual facts to supplement your opinion? Can we start with the fact that it’s a lot of unsourced claims about the evils of gluten, on a website which is selling gluten antibody testing by mail directly to the reader? ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/12 "2011-09-22T19:18:56Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Can we start with the fact that it’s a lot of unsourced claims about the evils of gluten, on a website which is selling gluten antibody testing by mail directly to the reader? Did you read my post #7? ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/13 "2011-09-22T19:20:25Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Did you read my post #7? No, and I wasn’t addressing it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/15 "2011-09-22T20:00:34Z")
According to medical experts I respect, there may be something to non-celiac gluten sensitivity, but it’s not affirmed, and mechanisms are unclear. > **[Editorial: Can gluten contribute to irritable bowel syndrome? - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21378766/)** > > Functional gastrointestinal disorders are the most common gastroenterological problem in our society. Changes in gut function, including pain perception, motility, and intestinal permeability, and low-grade inflammation have been described in... > [@](#): > > Am J Gastroenterol. 2011 Mar;106(3):516-8. > Editorial: Can gluten contribute to irritable bowel syndrome? > Verdu EF. > Abstract > Functional gastrointestinal disorders are the most common gastroenterological problem in our society. Changes in gut function, including pain perception, motility, and intestinal permeability, and low-grade inflammation have been described in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The triggering factors for the described immunity and gut functional changes in patients with IBS are not completely understood. Similarly to post-infective IBS, some patients with IBS symptoms exhibit immunological evidence of gluten sensitivity but have no overt intestinal mucosal injury. They have symptoms that meet the diagnostic criteria for IBS and respond symptomatically to exclusion of gluten from the diet. Thus, gluten sensitivity may be involved in the pathogenesis of a subgroup of IBS patients. Unfortunately, there remain many unanswered questions regarding the mechanistic link between gluten sensitivity and functional gastrointestinal symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/16 "2011-09-22T22:09:00Z")
The quoted study shows that a certain percent of people without any problems have an antibody in their stool that obviously has no correlation with having problems, let alone any evidence of causing a problem, and no evidence of being likely to cause a problem in the future. Yeah? And? Show me a double blinded study that documents that that many people with alleged gluten sensitivity get better when on the gluten free arm and worse when exposed to gluten (and better yet that the antibody level in the stool mentioned above predicts if that happens) and I will reduce my skeptics meter. Until then all that pings is “bullshit”. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/17 "2011-09-22T22:40:04Z")
> **[Web Page Under Construction](http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_15/qa_augsep11-2554-1.html)** > > Network Solutions - Original domain name registration and reservation services with variety of internet-related business offerings. Quick, dependable and reliable. > [@](#): > > Q & A with Alessio Fasano, MD > The latest on gluten sensitivity and celiac disease > A groundbreaking study recently released by the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Celiac Research demonstrates that gluten sensitivity is a distinct medical condition that differs from celiac disease. Living Without’s editor Alicia Woodward spoke with Alessio Fasano, MD, the study’s lead investigator. A world-renown expert on celiac disease, Fasano is professor of pediatrics, medicine and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the Center for Celiac Research. > > LW Thanks to your team’s research, we now know that gluten sensitivity actually exists. What does this mean to the gluten-free community? > Dr. Fasano **In my humble opinion, it’s a big deal. First, we’ve moved gluten sensitivity, also called gluten intolerance, from a nebulous condition to a distinct entity—and one that’s very distinct from celiac disease. Gluten sensitivity affects 6 to 7 times more people than celiac disease so the impact is tremendous.** Second, we now understand that reactions to gluten are on a spectrum. The immune system responds to gluten in different ways depending on who you are and your genetic disposition. Third, there’s a lot of confusion in terms of gluten reactions. Gluten and autism, gluten and schizophrenia—is there a link or not? These debates are on their way to being settled. And fourth and **most important, for the first time we can advise those people who test negative for celiac disease but insist they’re having a bad reaction to gluten that there may be something there, that they’re not making it up, that they’re not hypochondriacs.** Once it’s established that a patient has a bad reaction to gluten, it’s important to determine which part of the spectrum he or she is on before engaging in treatment, which is the gluten-free diet. > > Do you believe people can move along this spectrum? Could someone be gluten sensitive and then develop celiac disease? > No, I don’t think so. The three main conditions—celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy—are based on very different mechanisms in the immune system. Given that fact, it’s hard to imagine the possibility that you could jump from one to the other. > > Yet many of the symptoms of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease are the same. > That’s right. While there’s a clear distinction on the immunological side, there’s tremendous overlap on the clinical side. If you came to my clinic complaining of tingling in your fingers or depression or headaches from eating gluten, these symptoms (and many others) are associated with celiac disease. If your celiac tests are negative, these same symptoms could point to gluten sensitivity. There’s no question about that. > > **Up to 20 million Americans may have gluten sensitivity**. That’s in addition to 3 million who have celiac disease and 400,000 to 600,000 with wheat allergy. Humans have consumed wheat as a staple for generations. What’s going on? > **Although we’ve been eating wheat for thousands of years, we are not engineered to digest gluten. We are able to completely digest every protein we put in our mouths with the exception of one—and that’s gluten. Gluten is a weird protein. We don’t have the enzymes to dismantle it completely, leaving undigested peptides that can be harmful. The immune system may perceive them as an enemy and mount an immune response.** > > It seems like we’re seeing an explosion of gluten-related health problems. > Two components are coming together to create this perfect storm. First, the grains we’re eating have changed dramatically. In our great-grandparents era, wheat contained very low amounts of gluten and it was harvested once a year. Now we’ve engineered our grains to substantially increase yields and contain characteristics, like more elasticity, that we like. We’re susceptible to the consequences of these extremely rich, gluten-containing grains. Second, and this applies to the prevalence of celiac disease that’s increased 4-fold in the last 40 years, is the upward trend we’re seeing in all autoimmune diseases. We’re changing our environment faster than our bodies can adapt to it. > > You mentioned the link between gluten and conditions like autism and schizophrenia. Can you elaborate? > This is very controversial. Some people believe undisputedly that gluten plays a role in these kinds of conditions while others say that’s bogus. Most likely the truth is in the middle. I have a hard time believing that all kids with autism improve once they go on a gluten-free diet. At the same time, I have a hard time believing that gluten has absolutely nothing to do with these behaviors. We know in clinic that people can have behavioral issues due to gluten, such as short-term memory loss, mood swings, depression so you can imagine schizophrenic and autistic behaviors. If it’s true, as I believe, that complex diseases like autism are final destinations but that you can take different paths to get there, I have to believe that one of those paths for a subgroup of patients could, in fact, be gluten sensitivity. > > Is there a test for gluten sensitivity? > No. So far, the only way to determine gluten sensitivity is an exclusion diagnosis. You have a problem with gluten. The problem goes away when you go on a gluten-free diet and comes back when you add gluten back into your diet. > > What would you advise someone who believes they’re gluten sensitive, given there isn’t a conclusive test right now? > Do not try the gluten-free diet before you see your physician. You must exclude a celiac diagnosis before you start the diet. If celiac disease and wheat allergy and all other causes of your symptoms have been excluded, then and only then is it worthwhile to do a gluten-free trial. > > Do you recommend that most people avoid gluten, provided they get tested for celiac disease first? > I wouldn’t go to this extreme because the gluten-free diet isn’t a walk in the park. The bottom line is quality of life. If you’re suffering with symptoms that make your life miserable and you’ve investigated all possible causes, including celiac disease, I don’t see anything wrong with going on the gluten-free diet. If you’re gluten sensitive, you’ll see quick improvement on the diet, a matter of days or weeks at the most. It’s not weeks, months or years like with celiac disease. > > Having said that, at the clinic we take care of athletes who are healthy but say they feel much more energetic and have increased endurance on the gluten-free diet. Novak Djokovic, the tennis star who’s gluten sensitive, claims his endurance, capability to concentrate and energy have skyrocketed since going gluten free. > > I’ve heard you say that gluten sensitivity is where celiac disease was 30 years ago. > It’s déjà vu. The patients, as usual, were visionary, telling us this stuff existed but healthcare professionals were skeptical. The confusion surrounding gluten sensitivity—testing, biomarkers—is exactly the same confusion we had around celiac disease 30 years ago. So we’re starting all over again now. > > What’s surprised you most about the studies you’ve conducted? > I was shocked to learn that certain people have tricks that allow them to tolerate gluten for 60 or 70 years without getting sick—and then suddenly in their mid-70s, they develop celiac disease. This means it’s not destiny. You’re not born to develop celiac disease. That’s mind-blowing to me. So I’m dying to know what kind of tricks these people use to tolerate gluten for so long. If we learn the tricks, we can apply them to everybody at risk for the disease and put them in a stage of tolerance so they’d never get the disease. And here’s another thing—why do they suddenly lose this trick? If we knew, we could use that knowledge to avoid other problems. Celiac disease is a prototype of other conditions, like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, heart attack, stroke. The mechanism is all the same. So if we can understand what the heck is going on with celiac disease, it could lead to huge, huge changes in preventive medicine. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/18 "2011-09-22T23:05:12Z")
Whether or not a larger gluten sensitivity exists is immaterial the fact that people I know, with no real health problems at all, are jumping on the “gluten is bad” bandwagon. Gluten is a natural protien that has been in the human diet for thousands of years, yet with any sign of any problem (even behavioral in nature), gluten is the first suspect nowadays. I consider these claims to be extraordinary. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/19 "2011-09-22T23:54:21Z")
> [@](#): > > . . . these antibodies can be detected in the stool in as many as 35% of what are otherwise normal people I’ve been reading about the human microbiome and research into its interactions within its populations and between them and their host. Is there a chance that its the gut bacteria that are producing the antibody? Also, has anyone else found these antibodies in stools from symptom free people, or certified the test as not giving false positives? On a completely different tack, there has been a single study finding that [microRNA from rice can pass into mammalian cells and affect gene expression](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/09/21/what-you-eat-affects-your-genes-rna-from-rice-can-survive-digestion-and-alter-gene-expression/). I can’t wait to hear what the garage-science guys come up with using that at a selling point. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/20 "2011-09-23T01:10:04Z")
The problem with the study that Surreal is referring to is exactly the sort of problem I mentioned earlier. It was a study of 26 people. This may be a breakthrough study. It may change our perceptions of the entire subject. The full study is available [here](http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/9/23). As of today, however, it’s a small, unreplicated study that should not generalized to an entire population. I’m frankly surprised that Fasano is making these claims. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088/21 "2011-09-23T01:10:51Z")
A family member claims to be gluten intolerant, yet I see her eating a lot of foods–albeit highly processed ones–with wheat as an ingredient. I quietly smirk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antioxidants-gluten-intolerance-and-supplements/597088.md?page=2)