Whole Health Source: Gluten Sensitivity: Celiac Disease is the Tip of the Iceberg

This link is too important not to share. Given my stance on wheat, this puts things into a little more perspective about whether you think you might have a Gluten Intolerance.

Stephan has a great blog over a Whole Health Source, and alot of great information despite the fact that I disagree with him about eating fermented grains... Id rather avoid them all together.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/gluten-sensitivity-celiac-disease-is.html

I want to point out a few key pieces of information from his post.

It gets worse. Gluten sensitivity is determined in large part by genetics. A gene called HLA-DQ is intimately involved. It encodes a protein that is expressed on the surface of cells, that serves to activate immune cells when certain foreign substances are present. Different versions of the gene are activated by different substances. HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 are classically associated with celiac disease. Roughly 42% of the US population carries DQ2 or DQ8. According to Dr. Fine, every allele except DQ4 has some association with gluten-related problems! Only 0.4% of the U.S. population carries HLA-DQ4 and no other allele.

99.6% of the population of the US has genes that carry no known sensitivities to Gluten....
Thats good odds.

A betting man would assume they were part of that percentage.

Me personally, ive used the Elimination Test to determine my sensitivity. Eat absolutely no wheat, and I mean super strict, read every label, know everything you put in your mouth for 3 weeks. Then have some wheat for 2-3 days. then stop.

People report eliminating, Acne, Asthma, Weight!, Digestive Issues, Heartburn, Allergies, Fatigue and more! all from eliminating one poison thats directly attacking their immune system.

When you reintroduce it, pay attention to all these things to see if they return.
Personally I had Weight Loss, Better Digestion and much better Energy, all of which backfired when I eat Wheat. In fact, now that my gut is healed... if I eat wheat, I have Digestive Issues!

Stephan also explains why most normal testing doesnt pick up on the Gluten Sensitivity, besides, you can see for yourself the difference.

The immune system can be divided into two parts: innate and adaptive. The innate immune system is a nonspecific, first-line reaction to a perceived threat. The adaptive immune system is a more sophisticated, but slower system that produces a powerful response by particular cell types to a very specific threat. Antibody production is part of the adaptive immune system. Thus, if your gluten sensitivity test is looking for antibodies, it could still be missing an immune reaction to gluten mediated by the innate immune system!