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Okay, I've forgotten how I ended up at this website, but I read here
http://www.thesuperallergycookbook.com/story.htm
that it's possible to become allergic/intolerant to rice if you eat it too much! Is this true? And how much would you have to eat? If this is true, why isn't most of the world intolerant to rice, considering it's a staple food for many people?
This is really worrying me, bc I eat rice in some form just about everyday. And I LOVE rice! And it's about the only food I can eat right now.
Any thoughts?
Courtney
Rice???
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Hi Courtney,
This is just my opinion, of course, but I believe that rice intolerance is extremely rare, and it's probably unrelated to the intolerances that typically occur with MC, or celiac disease. I suspect that when it occurs, it probably requires special genetics, because most cases seem to be in very young children, don't they? For example, see this report, where infants were found to be intolerant to rice, but nothing else:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8618193
The reason why I feel that it is not likely to be an issue with MC and/or celiac disease is because of the relatively small amount of the reactive protein fraction of the prolamin in rice, compared with the other cereal grains. In general, rice is considered to have very low allergenicity. Consider this list, which shows the percentage of protein the respective prolamine has in relationship to the entire grain:
* Wheat - Gliadin - 69%
* Rye - Secalinin - 30-50%
* Oats - avenin - 16%
* Barley - hordein - 46-52%
* Millet - Panicin - 40%
* Corn - Zien - 55%
* Rice - Orzenin- 5%
* Sorghum - Kafirin - 52%
Note that while oats, (at 16% avenin), adversely affects only a small percentage of people with gluten-sensitive enteropathy, rice, (at 5% orzenin), contains only a third as much of the respective protein fraction as oats, and only 7% of the level of gluten in wheat. Did you by any chance read the reports on the avenin challenge that I did a couple of years ago? I had to eat oats for a relatively long time, before I reacted to it. Therefore, just as it took a lot of oats to make me react to it, it would probably take roughly three times as much rice, to have the same potential to cause a reaction, if I happened to be intolerant to rice. Look at the zein in corn. At 55%, it would appear to be a significant risk to us, but in fact, very few of us are bothered by corn. It seemed to bother me, only if I ate a lot of it, for several days, but if I did so, I would react. Of course, direct analytical comparisons cannot be made this simply, because we all differ in our degree of sensitivity, (despite what Dr. Fine and others imply, in order to simplify considerations), but you get the point, I assume, namely that the orzenin in rice does not appear to be a very high risk factor for intolerance. That said, there are always exceptions to the rule, and as we all know, YMMV. That list comes from this site, by the way, which has some excellent information on food intolerances, in general.
http://www.celiac.com/articles/75/1/Ext ... Page1.html
IOW, I wouldn't worry about it until it actually happened. The odds are in your favor. If orzenin intolerance were a major problem, the populations of China, India, and many of the countries in that part of the world would be in serious trouble.
Tex
This is just my opinion, of course, but I believe that rice intolerance is extremely rare, and it's probably unrelated to the intolerances that typically occur with MC, or celiac disease. I suspect that when it occurs, it probably requires special genetics, because most cases seem to be in very young children, don't they? For example, see this report, where infants were found to be intolerant to rice, but nothing else:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8618193
The reason why I feel that it is not likely to be an issue with MC and/or celiac disease is because of the relatively small amount of the reactive protein fraction of the prolamin in rice, compared with the other cereal grains. In general, rice is considered to have very low allergenicity. Consider this list, which shows the percentage of protein the respective prolamine has in relationship to the entire grain:
* Wheat - Gliadin - 69%
* Rye - Secalinin - 30-50%
* Oats - avenin - 16%
* Barley - hordein - 46-52%
* Millet - Panicin - 40%
* Corn - Zien - 55%
* Rice - Orzenin- 5%
* Sorghum - Kafirin - 52%
Note that while oats, (at 16% avenin), adversely affects only a small percentage of people with gluten-sensitive enteropathy, rice, (at 5% orzenin), contains only a third as much of the respective protein fraction as oats, and only 7% of the level of gluten in wheat. Did you by any chance read the reports on the avenin challenge that I did a couple of years ago? I had to eat oats for a relatively long time, before I reacted to it. Therefore, just as it took a lot of oats to make me react to it, it would probably take roughly three times as much rice, to have the same potential to cause a reaction, if I happened to be intolerant to rice. Look at the zein in corn. At 55%, it would appear to be a significant risk to us, but in fact, very few of us are bothered by corn. It seemed to bother me, only if I ate a lot of it, for several days, but if I did so, I would react. Of course, direct analytical comparisons cannot be made this simply, because we all differ in our degree of sensitivity, (despite what Dr. Fine and others imply, in order to simplify considerations), but you get the point, I assume, namely that the orzenin in rice does not appear to be a very high risk factor for intolerance. That said, there are always exceptions to the rule, and as we all know, YMMV. That list comes from this site, by the way, which has some excellent information on food intolerances, in general.
http://www.celiac.com/articles/75/1/Ext ... Page1.html
IOW, I wouldn't worry about it until it actually happened. The odds are in your favor. If orzenin intolerance were a major problem, the populations of China, India, and many of the countries in that part of the world would be in serious trouble.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Gloria,
All of the cereal grains are grasses, of course, (including corn, even though it doesn't look like a grass, in it's modern form - the ancestors of corn did look like grasses, however). Anyway, the nutritional values of millet, sorghum, and corn are very similar, and except for one or two amino acids, when they are used in livestock rations, they are almost directly interchangeable, pound per pound. This is because the amino acid chains that make up the protein in these grains, are quite similar. That suggests that if someone is intolerant of one of these grains, he or she may well be intolerant of all three of them. Conversely, if someone is not intolerant to one of them, chances are that he or she can tolerate all three of them.
You may recall that I've posted this before, (in a response to one of Hotrod's posts, if I recall correctly), but anyway, it's actually a certain sequence of amino acids that are a small part of the chain that makes up gluten, (in the case of wheat), that we are intolerant of. I believe that two of these sequences have been identified, and they each contain 33 amino acids each, (more of less - I'm not sure of the actual count in the second sequence), and these are known as gliadins, of course. There are other sequences that cause us to react, but these two are the main offenders.
If you examine the amino acid sequence of hordein, (from barley), you will find that it also contains sections of linked amino acids that closely resemble the sequences found in the gluten gliadins that we react to. The most closely-matching sequences will not be identical, but they will be very similar, (like maybe only one amino acid appearing in a displaced position). Likewise for secalin, (from rye). If you examine the amino acid sequence of casein, you will find that it too, contains certain sequences that resemble the gliadins that we react to. As you go down the line, the foods that we are less likely to react to, contain amino acid sequences that are still somewhat similar to those gliadins, but they are more dissimilar than secalin, and hordein, for example. IOW, they are not as good a match, when the amino acid sequences are compared. Therefore, fewer people have immune systems that are confused by the fact that those amino acid sequences resemble the gliadins found in wheat. IOW, we react to these other protein fractions simply because they resemble the gliadins in wheat gluten, and our immune systems can't discriminate well enough to be able to tell the difference, (in some cases).
The GF diet was designed for celiacs, and all these other proteins are off the radar of the doctors who originally prescribed this treatment, (by definition - since celiac disease is defined as gluten-sensitive enteropathy), so I would assume that's why they aren't forbidden on the GF diet.
Does what I said here make any sense, or have I just confused the issue?
Tex
P S For a bit of agricultural trivia - while most of the rest of the world, (including our nearest neighbors across the Rio Grande), refer to what we here in the states call "corn", as maize, (maize is the correct historical name given to it by the ancient civilizations that first developed it), here in Texas, at least, we grow a lot of sorghum, also, and we not only call maize "corn", but we call sorghum, "maize". Talk about confusing. 
All of the cereal grains are grasses, of course, (including corn, even though it doesn't look like a grass, in it's modern form - the ancestors of corn did look like grasses, however). Anyway, the nutritional values of millet, sorghum, and corn are very similar, and except for one or two amino acids, when they are used in livestock rations, they are almost directly interchangeable, pound per pound. This is because the amino acid chains that make up the protein in these grains, are quite similar. That suggests that if someone is intolerant of one of these grains, he or she may well be intolerant of all three of them. Conversely, if someone is not intolerant to one of them, chances are that he or she can tolerate all three of them.
You may recall that I've posted this before, (in a response to one of Hotrod's posts, if I recall correctly), but anyway, it's actually a certain sequence of amino acids that are a small part of the chain that makes up gluten, (in the case of wheat), that we are intolerant of. I believe that two of these sequences have been identified, and they each contain 33 amino acids each, (more of less - I'm not sure of the actual count in the second sequence), and these are known as gliadins, of course. There are other sequences that cause us to react, but these two are the main offenders.
If you examine the amino acid sequence of hordein, (from barley), you will find that it also contains sections of linked amino acids that closely resemble the sequences found in the gluten gliadins that we react to. The most closely-matching sequences will not be identical, but they will be very similar, (like maybe only one amino acid appearing in a displaced position). Likewise for secalin, (from rye). If you examine the amino acid sequence of casein, you will find that it too, contains certain sequences that resemble the gliadins that we react to. As you go down the line, the foods that we are less likely to react to, contain amino acid sequences that are still somewhat similar to those gliadins, but they are more dissimilar than secalin, and hordein, for example. IOW, they are not as good a match, when the amino acid sequences are compared. Therefore, fewer people have immune systems that are confused by the fact that those amino acid sequences resemble the gliadins found in wheat. IOW, we react to these other protein fractions simply because they resemble the gliadins in wheat gluten, and our immune systems can't discriminate well enough to be able to tell the difference, (in some cases).
The GF diet was designed for celiacs, and all these other proteins are off the radar of the doctors who originally prescribed this treatment, (by definition - since celiac disease is defined as gluten-sensitive enteropathy), so I would assume that's why they aren't forbidden on the GF diet.
Does what I said here make any sense, or have I just confused the issue?
Tex
P S For a bit of agricultural trivia - while most of the rest of the world, (including our nearest neighbors across the Rio Grande), refer to what we here in the states call "corn", as maize, (maize is the correct historical name given to it by the ancient civilizations that first developed it), here in Texas, at least, we grow a lot of sorghum, also, and we not only call maize "corn", but we call sorghum, "maize".
Talk about confusing. It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I do remember your explanation to HotRod, but somehow I didn't relate it to the millet and sorghum. As usual, you did explain it pretty clearly and I understand the difference now.
I've always read that millet and sorghum are similar, but I didn't realize that corn was, too. It is very confusing if they call sorghum maize in Texas. I think my head is spinning...
Gloria
I've always read that millet and sorghum are similar, but I didn't realize that corn was, too. It is very confusing if they call sorghum maize in Texas. I think my head is spinning...
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
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kate_ce1995
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I haven't seen the reference myself, but there is apparently a small percentage of folks out there (no one in this group that I'm aware), who are actually allergic to rice and there is a correlation to people who have sensitivities to apples. My niece has avoided products containing any form of apple for years because it would trigger migraines. About 2 years ago she developed an allergy to rice (although it has not been scientifically tested), and her father found this fact about the rice/apple sensitivity connection. The rice thing developed while she was having issues that turned out to be a gluten sensitivity. She may have had early stages of celiac because she actually has the gene for it too.
At any rate, in normal serving sizes, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Katy
At any rate, in normal serving sizes, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Katy
Tex, you've amazed me again with the amount of knowledge you have on this subject! Okay, so it sounds like I don't need to worry about rice for now. I was just thinking that I do eat a lot of rice--as rice, rice pasta, snacks made of rice, etc--since I can't seem to tolerate any other grains right now, and I didn't want my only grain option to disappear.
Thanks for your thoughts, as always.
Love,
Courtney
Thanks for your thoughts, as always.
Love,
Courtney
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