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Comment by wnolens | Hacker News Reader

Strongly disagree here. You're denying that the constituents of food matter and that it's all calories. No one is "allergic" to sugar but it has an effect on the body. Cutting out sugar is (or at least FEELS) different than cutting out the same number of calories in vegetables or meat.

There's no (known/convenient) blood test for so many dietary idiosyncrasies.

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The celiac disease test covers most cases of gluten sensitivity. Of the non-celiac gluten sensitive people the rest of them can be found (trivially) with in-office tests at a gastroenterologist.

Most gluten containing products also contain simple carbohydrate. Could it be a reduction in insulin resistance? Possibly. Point being, there are tests for this. In fact, a GI can test for many (but probably not all) serious dietary problems.

I am negative for the Celiac blood test (got tested three times) but I am absolutely allergic to gluten. Starting three years ago randomly I became allergic and severely ill for months - losing up to 30 lbs in a matter of a month - before isolating the problem to gluten. I have also on multiple occasions accidentally eaten gluten without realizing and immediately felt the symptoms. None of the tests I've taken show gluten as an allergen or problem in my body but cutting it out removes all my symptoms. Our tests are not nearly good enough and I suspect many people deal with chronic inflammation and other health issues due to food they can't eat and don't even realize

I'm curious, what effects and allergies did you get?

This isn't exactly true. The blood test and biopsy can _sometimes_ find celiac disease, but it _cannot_ diagnose gluten intolerance/sensitivity.

If you have an intolerance or sensitivity, the blood test will come back negative as your body doesn't produce antibodies indicative of celiac, and your villi remain intact, so the biopsy will show nothing. However, you can still have some incredibly unpleasant side-effects from eating gluten.

Even in folks with celiac disease, it can go under the radar. If you've been eating a gluten free diet prior to the tests, the results can come back negative, but that doesn't mean you don't have it.

Source: I have celiac disease, and it was a pain in the ass to get diagnosed.

It is insult to injury that the charity Coeliac UK is completely unwilling to assist those who are 'only' gluten intolerant, that is, those for whom the blood test comes back negative. At least here in Britain, the general attitude towards allergies and intorlerances has improved, but the majority of establishments still have no gluten-free menu, let alone an isolated coeliac-safe kitchen.

It's the same in Canada (Montreal, specifically)—if not worse. It's getting better, but oh man, the amount of "gluten friendly" restaurants dripping in cross contamination is horrid. The amount of trust I have for most restaurants, even "gluten free" ones, is pretty much at zero.

Same goes for vegan / veg restaurants.

Always avoid supporting them. Always joke about their incompetence and rudely ask any of their members asking donations to leave. Do it frequently enough they will soften their stance.

My aunt had celiac. She would have some real problems if she accidentally ate the wrong things. My mom tested negative for celiac several times, but she would have the same problems if she ate the same wrong things as my aunt. A more distant relative (child of a cousin or something) developed Crohn's disease (I think) and basically had similar problems as my mom and aunt if she ate similar things.

While I do think that previous posts are not wrong in that there is too much of a fad in blaming everything on gluten by people who probably aren't sensitive, we should not be dismissive of people just because some people might be mistaken. Plenty of people appear to have real problems, which, like you say, aren't always straight forward to diagnose.

I posted a reply to your main link. I think you overestimate the ability of the tests to rule out issues caused by strange interactions with food and/or constituent components of food. I think you are referring to 1) genetic tests for celiac genes, 2) IgA tests, and/or 3) biopsies for flatten villi. These can rule out celiac specifically, but cannot rule out a variety of other issues that can be a result. (My evidence of that you may not find convincing, but it comes from discussions with several gastroenterologists and rheumatologists that I've worked with).

Celiac disease make up a minor part of gluten sensitivity. It's obvious you know little about the topic and are just spouting misinformation. Also you seem to have little respect for what your fellow humans think, all the while displaying very limited cognitive abilities yourself.

> spouting misinformation

Wew lad take your meds.

Nobody is allergic to sugar but sugar that reaches your large intestine will be absorbed by bacteria and cause uncomfortable bloating or constipation.

see FODMAP

Sugars in carbonated drinks, alcohol and fruits plus onions and garlic are all problematic for me

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