Christina Graves
09 May 2014
Abstract:
1. Numerous online blog articles report â€19 Gluten Cross-Reactive foods.“
2. Close inspection reveals questionable conclusions and significant overstatement and extrapolation from the original sources of information.
3. Alternate conclusions presented within this blog article would call into question existence of many blog-reported gluten cross-reactive foods.
4. Lessons about rigorous research and reporting of scientific data can be learned.
Introduction:
I have been reading the same article for more than two years now. Basically, it reads like the “Breaking News Alert†pictured to the left. Indeed, the same article (or only slightly altered versions of it) have been repeatedly featured on health diet and Paleo blogs alike:
• The Paleo Mom:“Gluten Cross-Reactivity: How your body can still think you’re eating gluten even after giving it up.†Updated article found here.
• The Primal Docs: “19 Foods That Cross-React With Glutenâ€
• Mind Body Green: “Are You Not Healing Because Your Body Thinks Coffee, Chocolate & Cheese Are Gluten?â€
• Dr. Perlmutter, author of Grain Brain: “Gluten Associated Cross Reactive Foodsâ€
The basic gist of these above articles is that there are approximately 19 foods that “cross-react†with gluten—that these other foods can mimic gluten. This leads to your body reacting to these “cross-reactive foods†as if they were gluten, making these foods problematic for anyone who has a sensitivity to gluten (either Celiac disease or non-Celiac gluten sensitivity). That is, if you are making antibodies to gluten, those same antibodies recognize other food proteins.
However, just because it’s regurgitated doesn’t make it true.
Keep reading: http://paleomovement.com/19-gluten-c...eactive-foods/