wheat allergy testing?

[kristadb]

Is there a way to test for wheat allergy?

I've noticed something over the last few months that is bothering me. I rarely eat pasta and other flour products (maybe 1 slice of bread a day).

However, when I make a bowl of spaghetti, I get terrible gas lately. I eat pasta w/ margarine only; nothing else on it. I sometimes get a lot of burping gas and don't feel like eating for hours b/c I feel "stuffed" (something I never feel).

Is this something to be worried about?

[Astarte]

It sounds like something you might want to get checked out if it persists. I'm certain they can check for wheat allergies. I'm not sure if it's standard in allergy testing, but your doctor should know.

[kristadb]

I have an appointment in about a month, so I'll ask then.

It's been going on for a while; I just eat so little wheat that it isn't enough to bother me (ie a little to thicken gravy, a couple cookies, a slice of bread). But, I notice how awful I feel after pasta. One of the reasons I almost never eat it.

Very odd. never thought of it before.

[Syntax]

Hmm. Allergies from foodstuff are notorious. They are often over diagnosed, or an intolerance is misread as an allergy. The only reliable test for an allergy [0] I know of is to apply the suspected allergen to broken skin [1], and see what happens. Edit to add: That said, there is advantage in trying to pin it down by elimination.

My first though was gluten - it could be a response to gluten, rather than wheat in general. Seitan, being pure gluten, is kind of an acid test for this - if you eat seitan, and it causes no problems, then that's a solid test. Of course, reactions to other parts of wheat are also known.

The other thing that struck me was the margerine. If you don't eat a lot of bread, then it could be that your marg consumption is pretty focused with the pasta [2]. This is testable by having pasta with something other than marg (may I suggest olive oil and a little chopped basil as particularly yummy), and ... feeling ... for results.

On to the pasta it'self - some pasta's are made with egg, which if you don't eat much egg otherwise, then it could be that. That's easily eliminatable - check the ingredients [3].

Last possibility I can see - That's a lot of starch. It's possible that consuming a large chunk of starch at once is causing that problem. There's a few ways of testing that - but probably the easiest is to grab some wheat free pasta from the local health food store [4].

What, me? An overly scientific approach to a simple query? :think: Never!

Stuey!

[0] Note: Other things may cause similar problems, but not be an allergy.

[1] Generally broken with the assistance of a burly nurse and a needle... owie!

[2] Unless you do a lot of baking with it - or something similar.

[3] Or, more likely, you'll be able to respond to that one imediatly :).

[4] Keeps all the other variables constant.

[kristadb]

I eat lots of egg :)

I've had wheat gluten cutlets before and could only eat a few forkfuls. Ugh...I thought I swallowed a rock. But, I thought you were supposed to feel like that :lol:

Even if I have an allergy or intolerance, I probably won't change my wheat eating habits much. I don't eat much of it anyways.