What should you do if you can’t get tested?

Not everyone is able to get tested. What should you do if a formal lab test just isn’t possible? Eliminate gluten completely (absolutely no cheating) for 30 days and see how you feel. If you notice an improvement, that is a legitimate test. While I would never encourage you to reintroduce gluten into your diet if you are convinced that it’s bothering you, gluten typically sneaks in either purposefully or accidentally. When it does, what do you notice?

I’d love to say that is a fool-proof test. Cheat, feel bad, positive test! Unfortunately, gluten has a more covert nature, meaning that not everyone “feels” it when they cheat. Gluten may be affecting you on such a deep level that you cannot feel its destruction. Or, since a reaction may occur three to eight days after ingestion, you’re not convinced that gluten could be the cause of your symptoms after so many days. I can assure you that eight days is the window for reactions.

It’s not a perfect system. If you have a negative test but still feel better off gluten, trust yourself and trust your body. The good news is that from my experience I have observed that nothing bad should ever occur to your health from eliminating gluten. In fact, there’s a substance called wheat germ agglutinin that is thought to cause negative health effects in everyone who eats wheat, whether they have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, or not. Much evidence is growing to support that wheat is just not our friend and shouldn’t be a part of our diet.

Written by Vikki Petersen.