Did you know that if you go gluten free PRIOR TO being tested for coeliac disease, you must consume a considerable amount of gluten for a minimum of SIX WEEKS before your test results can be conclusive? This is commonly referred to as the ‘gluten challenge.’ It is a major deterrent for many people to being formally diagnosed, as even an amount as small as cross contamination could cause them to be too unwell for school or work.

What if I told you this could all change? What if you only needed to consume ONE gluten-containing meal in order to be tested AND diagnosed?? This is the research that’s being done as we speak!⁠ Although the Nexvax2 vaccine clinical trial was discontinued at the end of June 2019, the research and findings are what led to this brand new possibility. 

It was noted that there were noticeable enzyme shifts from before a meal to after a meal for those with coeliac disease. What this new research is aiming to achieve is the ability fo diagnose coeliac disease by doing blood work before the meal and then four hours after the meal. This diagnosis method would be a world-first!

“This would be a dramatic improvement on the current approach, which requires people to actively consume gluten for at least several weeks before undergoing an invasive procedure to sample the small intestine,” said Associate Professor Jason Tye-Din, head of coeliac research at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and a gastroenterologist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

How would this affect you? Has anyone NOT been tested because they went GF and now get too sick to justify the current diagnostic requirements? 

Click here to read more on the news update and research.

Let’s keep the conversation going in our private online community, the yum Gluten Free Village.