Discover if gluten in Europe is safe for celiacs. A dietitian shares insights on navigating gluten-free diets while traveling abroad.
Understanding Gluten Tolerance in European Foods: Insights from a Celiac Dietitian
The conversation around gluten consumption often leads to a surprising claim: that people can eat wheat and gluten in Europe without adverse effects, while those in the USA cannot. However, it is crucial to clarify that for individuals with an official diagnosis of celiac disease, gluten must be strictly avoided, regardless of its origin. This means that gluten from Europe, Asia, or America can cause harm, and feeling fine after consuming gluten does not negate the potential damage it may inflict on the intestines.
Research, such as that from Iowa State University, emphasizes the importance of understanding the implications of gluten consumption for those with celiac disease. For individuals navigating a gluten-free lifestyle, it is vital to be informed about food labeling and cross-contact risks. Educational resources are available to aid in mastering the essentials of avoiding gluten, which is critical for maintaining health and well-being in those affected by this autoimmune disorder.
Decoding Gluten: A Journey Through Europe’s Culinary Landscape for Celiacs
Celiac dietitian here with over 10 years lived experience with Celiac myself and I want to talk about the pervasive myth that also has been alive at least since the dawn of my diagnosis over 10 years ago which is that the people in um the United States can tolerate the gluten in Europe so I want to talk about some of the things that debunk this myth and.
Also talk about where this myth might have started from and we’ll start with I’ve got a lovely piece of information up my screen here that I’m going to share with you we’ll start with talking about the gluten content in different forms of wheat so before we get into this though I do just want to emphasize if you have celiac disease you.
Have an official Celiac diagnosis you cannot eat gluten regardless of where it comes from whether it comes from pesticide covered fields in the United States or completely organic Fe artial fields in the country side of of Italy it does not matter where the gluten is from you cannot eat it if you have an official.
Celiac diagnosis but I do want to touch on why I think this myth exists and some things that we need to keep in mind when we’re talking about this and trying to think of like why would this even be a myth that is here so pulling up on my screen I have this um web page from Iowa State University um there I mean it’s just.
What I found that I think clearly breaks down like the different gluten contents between the different types of wheat um something that is suggested is that in the United States we produce more hard Wheats and in Europe they produce more soft Wheats This Is What suggests that I don’t I can’t find Like official information on this that’s just what.
I’ve read what I’ve seen other science scientists uh present um and if you look at soft versus hard wheat softer Wheats tend to have less gluten about 8% 8 to 11% um and harder Wheats tend to have more gluten around 11 to 12% so in this um in this case that could be why right off the bat people feel like they can tolerate.
The gluten in Europe but not in the United States because potentially in Europe they are using more softer wheat which would have a slightly lower gluten content compared to the United States where they may be using a harder wheat which may have a slightly higher amount of gluten now remember if you have celiac disease you cannot have gluten.
Regardless of the percentage or whatever like all of this is off the table for you but if you have a gluten intolerance or non- Celiac gluten sensitivity which is completely separate from celiac disease you might be a you might find you tolerate it better because there’s a lower amount of gluten um and again please please please please the there’s.
There are so many differences between gluten intolerance non Celiac insensitivity and celiac disease it’s so important we keep those separate because the treatment looks very different the outcomes look very different everything looks so different but if you have celiac disease you can’t tolerate it regardless I don’t care if you feel like.
You have symptoms or not just because you don’t have symptoms doesn’t mean harms not being done if you have non Celiac gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance it could explain why you might find when you go to your you can tolerate it and I think because there’s such this confusion between celiac disease and gluten intolerance people.
Can confuse that maybe they have they actually have non Celiac gluten sensitivity they don’t have an official Celiac diagnosis and they go over there and they’re like oh I can tolerate the gluten and then because people aren’t differentiating the two conditions they assume that means everyone who’s gluten-free can have the gluten in.
Europe which is just not the case so I suspect that part of this myth where people with um celiac disease can have the gluten in Europe may stem from the fact that Europe might be producing softer Wheats which have a slightly lower percentage of GL uh proteins in them compared to the United States um but that’s not the only thing um there.
Are other things that are happening um there’s also like a uh pesticide argument um and we use specific pesticides in the United States that the that Europe might not use um but here’s where like like the all of these claims kind of fall flat which is people in Europe and actually globally all develop celiac disease it’s not just a United.
States issue celiac disease is a global like a worldwide recognized condition that develops in many different countries across the globe people in Europe also have celiac disease they cannot consume gluten they can’t eat their own gluten they can’t eat our gluten they can’t eat any gluten and so that’s where that pesticide argument.
Falls off the table um additionally I want to say too with celiac disease and people suggesting maybe people with Celia can tolerate the gluten in Europe um there’s there’s like almost like this ideal I ide8 I I suppose like I can’t I can’t address this without acknowledging to there may be a placebo.
Effect here so with all of this negative information we have about food in the United States and this idealization of European foods and you come from the United States and you go to Europe and you eat gluten and you have this idea that their food is so much better you have this idea that you’re going to be able to tolerate the gluten a placebo.
Effect could be there and why people say they feel completely fine when they’re eating the gluten in Europe I don’t know how many times I I’m going to say this in this video but I’m saying a lot if you have celiac disease again if I don’t care how you feel after you eat gluten you should not eat it if you have an official diagnosis because just because.
You don’t have symptoms or you don’t notice symptoms it doesn’t mean it’s not doing damage but this could be a potential explanation as to why now I’m going to talk to people who don’t have a Celiac official Celiac diagnosis for a minute because I do also want to acknowledge something that is um a little bit more Nuance that they might.
Want to explore if they’re trying to figure out what’s going on why can they tolerate the gluten in Europe so first Also to clarify people with Celiac can’t eat sourd that’s another myth that is often pervasive and I do have a video up about that if you want to check it out um explaining the research on that and the misinformation around that where.
That comes from um but if you are someone who does not have celiac disease but you do find you’re reacting to gluten and you go to Europe and you’re eating sourdough bread you’re eating breads that are or or pastries that are likely fermented um the fermentation process can break down um sometimes in cases it can break down.
Gluten not to any level that is safe for celiac so Celiac stay away from this part of the conversation um but also what’s known as frutin they’re a fod map and you might not actually be reacting to gluten but you’re reacting to frutin which is found in wheat and maybe you feel better eating the products in Europe because more often they are.
Fermented than in the United States and so you feel like you tolerate them better and potentially you may want to have a conversation with a FODMAP aware provider about whether or not this is an issue with gluten and or or fod um FODMAP specifically fruen so I just want to touch on that please do not try to DIY that that is.
Faps are very complicated situation you want to make sure you’re working with a appropriately informed provider on that um you can do a a lot of harm and a lot of damage to your body if you try to DIY the FODMAP situation and you do it wrong and I’ve seen it happen so many times please please like if there’s anything you take.
From this I cannot EMP emphasize enough don’t eat gluten if you have Celiac regardless of where it comes from regardless of if you have symptoms and do not try to DIY a fod map scenario CU that can be so harmful so damaging it can really mess up your gut okay so those are some things to consider Gathering our thoughts we found out that.
There are some slight differences between the types of wheat that are potentially m grown in the United States versus mainly grown in Europe but regardless celiac disease occurs globally it occurs in Europe it occurs in America it’s not like the people in Europe just don’t develop Celiac and can always eat gluten they develop Celiac.
Too and they can eat gluten in fact some of the highest um prevalences of celiac disease are in European countries like Italy like uh Scandinavia um so in that if you have celiac disease that’s completely that myth is completely dispelled you cannot eat the gluten there um and I suspect that potentially this is coming from people potentially.
Confusing gluten intolerance non- Celiac gluten sensitivity with celiac disease assuming that anyone who lives gluten-free is going to have the same experience and be following the same treatment protocol and thus because people with non Celiac gluten sensitivity and gluten intolerance sometimes can tolerate the gluten there.
That means that that is the same for people with Celiac there could be a placebo effect here and what I also didn’t mention is if you’re traveling to Europe there are a lot of other things that could be at play too during travels that are changing your routine that could potentially be improving digestion or worsening it it just depends and that.
Could also be at play as to why you feel better why you feel like you’re not getting so sick and you could be attributing it to food when it could be something else like you’re getting more sleep you’re able to catch up on sleep you are eating more routinely you’re eating more and you’re eating enough finally maybe you weren’t eating enough.
When you were in the in America maybe you have more time to slow down um that is a huge part of European culture is to slow things down a bit more and that’s really soothing to your body it’s giving it enough time to properly digest and properly function maybe you’re able to actually relax because you’ve been so stressed in the United States working.
And all of that you’re on vacation in Europe and you’re able to relax you’re able to enjoy yourself you’re able to laugh and connect with the people you’re traveling with there’s a lot going on there that could be at play um and it might not even be food that’s happening um so you also want to consider that as well so.
Wrapping up people with Celiac can never eat gluten regardless of where it comes from regardless of if they feel like they are reacting or not or they’re noticing symptoms or not that’s like end all be all you cannot eat it don’t do it um if you have gluten intolerance or non- Celiac gluten sensitivity maybe you can tolerate the gluten a little bit.
Better in Europe for a lot of different reasons um if you are suspecting other potential causes please work with your provider but because people often confuse these two conditions to be the same and the treatments to be the same I also suspect that maybe this this myth is coming from that confusion and be coming from the fact that people fail to.
Differentiate those two things and then finally you know there are other things at play when you are vacation that could potentially be causing the situation and we can’t discount the placebo effect but Point Blank if you Celiac you cannot eat the glue and I don’t care where it comes from all of that said if you found this helpful if you found this.
Discussion helpful you’ve been wondering like where is this myth coming from and you like the discussion around what’s going on there go ahead and hit that like button if you want more information brought to you from a Celiac specialized registered dietitian and also fellow Celiac of 10 plus years go ahead and hit that subscribe button if you need any.
Celiac safety resources check out the description box down below I have resources ranging from free to paid so you can definitely check those out and all of that said my name is Taylor silver duuk registered dietitian specializing in Celiac and I will see you when I see you
