Study Finds Celiac Patients Can Eat Hydrolyzed Wheat Flour

[klhale]

Baked goods made from hydrolyzed wheat flour are not toxic to celiac disease patients, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Celiac disease occurs in the digestive system when people cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found primarily in wheat.

"This is the first time that a wheat flour-derived product is shown to not be toxic after being given to celiac patients for 60 days," said Luigi Greco, MD, PhD, of the University of Napes, Italy, and lead author of the study. "Our findings support further research that explores therapies that could reduce the toxicity of gluten for celiac patients beyond the standard gluten-free diet."

Gluten is also primarily found in barley and rye, but may be in everyday products such as soy sauce and salad dressing, as well as some medications and vitamins. Celiac disease was, until recently, thought to be a rare disease. However, recent research has shown that as many as three million people in the U.S. may have celiac disease.

In this study, doctors evaluated the safety of daily administration of baked goods made from a hydrolyzed form of wheat flour to patients with celiac disease. The doctors fermented wheat flour with sourdough lactobacilli and fungal proteases; this process decreases the concentration of gluten.

A total of 16 patients with celiac disease, ranging in age from 12 to 23 years were evaluated. They were in good health on a gluten-free diet for at least five years. Two of the six patients who ate natural flour baked goods discontinued the study because of symptoms such as malaise, abdominal pain and diarrhea. The two patients who ate extensively hydrolyzed flour baked goods had no clinical complaints, but developed subtotal atrophy (complete absence of villi, the fingerlike protrusions necessary for absorption). The five patients that ate the fully hydrolyzed baked goods had no clinical complaints.

"Prolonged trials have to be planned to underscore the safety of baked goods made by applying the rediscovered and adapted biotechnology of hydrolysis. In the future, cereals made through such biotechnology could also improve the nutritional and sensory properties of baked goods containing hydrolyzed gluten compared to products made of naturally gluten-free ingredients," added Dr. Greco.

Google it....it is all over the internet today
*This explains why I can eat sourdough bread and not get sick.

[Polly]

Hi there!

Interesting...........apparently the wheat must be fully hydrolyzed (as opposed to extensively hydrolyzed) in order not to cause difficulty for the celiac patients. It will also be important to do this study over a much longer term - I don't think 2 mos. is enough time to be certain there is no damage.

It occurs to me that we are now "reversing" our previous progress in the field of wheat manipulation. Since our great-grandparents time, wheat has been modified continuously in order to increase the gluten fraction, since gluten is what makes baked goods fluffier, airier, lighter. Our gr-grandparents' bread was mostly dark, coarse, etc. I think I read somewhere that the gluten fraction was originally about 3% of the wheat and that it has now been increased to 50%. Maybe this is why so much gluten sensitivity is now rearing its ugly head. So, it's good news that folks are now finding ways to deactivate the gluten fraction.

Thanks for sharing. I used to love sourdough bread......wonder if I should try it again. I'll have to work up my courage.

Hugs,

Polly

[MBombardier]

Hmmm.... I will have to read up on what the chemical process is in soaking grains (for example, with kefir) before cooking does to them. I know that it is supposed to deactivate the phylates. If it also hydrolyzes the gluten, that would be good to know, though I would still be concerned about "extensively" versus "fully".

Interesting article.

[tex]

Here is why that process makes wheat flour tolerable for most celiacs:

If you look at an abstract for the original research article, you will see that it's all about gluten content. The process simply converts wheat flour into a low-gluten product, (8 ppm). It's that simple. The point is, though, it's gluten that gives wheat it's superior baking qualities. Without the gluten, why use wheat flour? You might as well be using flour from some other non-gluten grain, because it will have similar baking characteristics to wheat flour with the gluten removed. There's nothing great about wheat without gluten. Removing the gluten simply converts it into "just another grain". Wheat's only "claim to fame" is it's superior baking qualities, and that's lost, if the gluten is removed.

Patients were randomly assigned to consumption of 200 g per day of natural flour baked goods (NFBG) (80,127 ppm gluten; n = 6), extensively hydrolyzed flour baked goods (S1BG) (2480 ppm residual gluten; n = 2), or fully hydrolyzed baked goods (S2BG) (8 ppm residual gluten; n = 5) for 60 days.

http://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542 ... 0/abstract

Tex

[Zizzle]

Well, well. This also contributes to my theory that soy-intolerant people may be able to tolerate soy sauce (especially Tamari - wheat-free soy sauce) because it is fermented and hydrolyzed, which should totally alter the soy protein in the process. Check out the process on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce

Just curious, have any of you soy-intolerant folks tried GF Tamari sauce and gotten sick?

[tex]

Zizzle,

Theoretically, that should work for most soy-sensitive people, because like products made from flour with a gluten level below the reaction threshold, it amounts to a low-soy product.

Low-soy and low-gluten products are always dosage-sensitive. The gluten study mentioned above, for example, used a daily dose of 200 grams per day, which is slightly over 7 ounces per day, (not a heck of a lot). Anyone who eats over 18 ounces per day, would be getting slightly over 20 ppm equivalent, (which is the current allowance for GF labeling). Most celiacs do not react at daily allowances below about 50 ppm, so at that level, one would have to eat almost 3 pounds, (45 oz), of the product, before initiating a reaction.

Of course, before one reaches that level, histological changes, or other lab marker changes are possible, well before clinical symptoms begin to show up. As Marliss suggested, a longer study needs to be made, because for marginal doses, it can take a long time for cumulative damage to reach the point where a reaction is triggered. At 8 ppm, though, it should be "safe" for most celiacs who like to tempt fate with a little gluten in their diets, without exceeding the reaction threshold.

Tex

[Gloria]

IMHO, it's not worth tempting fate. I'm satisfied with my GF bread and muffins.

Gloria

[ant]

Just curious, have any of you soy-intolerant folks tried GF Tamari sauce and gotten sick?

Over the Christmas hols my wonderful, gourmet-chef niece cooked a "chinese" fish dish using Tamari sauce. It was a deliberate experiment. Unfortunately a mild flare developed so.........I will still stay cautious on any soy sauce.

Best, ant

[MaggieRedwings]

I am with Gloria on this one - not going to tempt the hand of fate. Love sourdough but definitely not worth the risk for me.

Love, Maggie

[TooManyHats]

Just curious, have any of you soy-intolerant folks tried GF Tamari sauce and gotten sick?

Over the Christmas hols my wonderful, gourmet-chef niece cooked a "chinese" fish dish using Tamari sauce. It was a deliberate experiment. Unfortunately a mild flare developed so.........I will still stay cautious on any soy sauce.

Best, ant

I found a wonderful chickpea based tamari from south river miso. We tried it last night and it tasted very close to soy sauce. They also make a chickpea based miso, which I'll try. Chinese is back at my house!

[ant]

Dear Arlene

Hope it works for you.

Chickpeas are legumes (like soy) so I will try one day, but not until I feel more fully healed.

Thanks, Ant