Celiac disease regard only an estimated1 percentof Americans , butmore peoplethan ever before are eschewing wheat berry and other grain that contain the protein gluten due to belly discomfort . But it may not be the gluten that ’s the problem , concord to a new study in the journalGastroenterologyhighlighted byNew Scientist .
Previously , Dr. maintained that celiac disease was the only cause of wheat sensitivity , direct expert to wonder if gluten - free diets were just the latestdiet drift , not the resolution to a real , widespread dietary issue . But recent inquiry is starting to bolster the idea that there may be other causes of response to wheat , add credence to the large number of people who report adverse reactions to eating it . A2016 studypointed to a group of protein in wheat called amylase - trypsin inhibitor ( ATIs ) as a trigger of inflammation in the bowel and elsewhere in the body .
This latest subject , conducted by gastroenterologists at Oslo University Hospital in Norway and Monash University in Australia , points to a group of carbohydrate call fructans , a form of short - chain carbohydrate made up of fructose molecules . Fructans are found in high quantities not just in wheat , but in onions , garlic , edible asparagus , and certain other vegetables .

investigator make 59 people who had already independently put themselves on a gluten - free dieting ( but were n’t coeliac ) cereal bars that either contained gluten , fructans , or a placebo . They found that the participants who eat the bars containing fructans experienced more symptoms of irritable intestine syndrome . There was no difference between those who experienced symptom on the placebo cake and those who ate the gluten Browning automatic rifle — in other words , the fructans were the job .
If it ’s fructans rather than wheat that make gastrointestinal suffering for people who diagnose themselves with wheat predisposition , that explains why cutting out gluten may not make them feel totally better . They ’re probably still eating onions and Brussels sprout . When you go to a gastroenterologist complaining of gluten subject these Clarence Day , they may instead order alow - FODMAP dieting — which targets sealed hard - to - digest sugar like fructans — rather than a gluten - free one . The low - FODMAP dieting require not just forefend scratch mathematical product , but informant of fructans , too .
Unfortunately , that mean that if you are n’t coeliac , new gene - editing research geared toward producinggluten - less wheatprobably is n’t going to assist you much . veer out your artichoke fixation might . On the burnished side , it does mean that traditionalsourdough breadis back on the table .