Would You Take the Gluten Challenge?
Place: Planet Organic Store Tour, Victoria, British Columbia
Person: Since the age of 18, Maxine has struggled with headaches, thyroid disease, low iron, low vitamin B and osteoporosis. The tingling she has been feeling on her lips has been driving her to distraction. A specialist ordered the pre-screening blood test (tTg) but Maxine is IgA deficient, which means the blood test for antibodies associated with Celiac disease could be falsely negative. Genetic testing confirmed that Maxine carries one of the genes that predisposes her to developing celiac disease. Maxine has been following a gluten-free diet for 5 weeks now. While she is experiencing some relief, she has been advised by her GP to re-introduce gluten to her diet so that a biopsy can be performed to check for damage to her small intestine. This would confirm whether she has celiac disease vs being gluten-sensitive. Read more about the difference here.
Question: If you were Maxine, would you re-introduce gluten to your diet in order to achieve a definitive diagnosis for celiac disease? Why or why not? Please comment in the Facebook field below.
