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Researchers Pinpoint Cause of Gluten Allergies
An anonymous reader writes "When patients with celiac disease consume foods containing gluten — a protein present in wheat, barley and rye — their immune systems send out an alarm, triggering a response that can damage their intestines and prevent them from absorbing certain nutrients. Now, scientists have pinpointed the culprits most responsible for this harmful reaction: three small fragments within the gluten protein that spark chaos in the gut."
You are both right and wrong. It is an autoimmune disease, but it's triggered by an environmental factor. Actually quite a few reactions that are traditionally classified as "allergies" follow the same pattern. Serum sickness is another example. Most medication allergies 9true allergies, not adverse effects) are in the same category.
I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
There already are tests for celiac disease that are fairly quick and easy to interpret. it's the same problem as with all the other tests though: someone has to think of doing it. And BTW, the TB skin test you're referring to is in fact a lot more complex to interpret than you think.
Will this discovery lead to a change in the way we're approaching celiac disease? Most likely yes, however I wouldn't hold my breath. Check back in another 5, perhaps even 10 years and we'll see what(if anything) comes out of it.
I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
First, this research is great. However I want to point out that celiac disease is not an allergy, it is an autoimmune disorder. Calling celiac an allergy makes people think if they have it they will break out into hives or their face will swell if they eat gluten. This contributes to most with celiac not knowing they have the disease. According to U Chicago's Celiac Disease Center, 97% of those with Celiac are undiagnosed (http://www.celiacdisease.net/assets/pdf/CDCFactSheets%20FactsFigures%20v3.pdf). Examples of symptoms of celiac are fatigue, mental disorders, abdominal pain, joint pain... a full list is here: http://www.celiacdisease.net/assets/pdf/CDCFactSheetsSymptoms2.pdf Also about 1 in 133 americans have celiac, however 41% of adults and 60% of children are asymptomatic.
As a celiac'er myself, I can say that's not true. I ate dirt, played in the mud, my mom was not overprotective, and I still got critical anemia from damage to my gut from gluten. Also, as noted below, celiac/gluten intolerance is not an allergy - it's an autoimmune disorder.
His numbers are crap, you are closer to the mark.
I know Red Wheats, its what I grew up farming. It ranges from 8 to 16% protein.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat
http://www.eolss.net/ebooks/Sample%20Chapters/C10/E5-21-04-04.pdf
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/00555.html
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_c587d5a6-a1e0-11df-abc5-001cc4c03286.html
Actually, no. There is some evidence to support that position. Including both epidemiological and biochemical data. I'm not going to look it up for you, but there was a story on Slashdot a while ago.
Beer is an optional beverage that has not been made an integral ingredient to everything on the store shelf. People do not have to buy beer to fix dinner.
Well, there's still time to fix this!
Presuming you mean the red hair that americans tend to associate stereotypically with Ireland, no, that's different entirely http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair#Genetics.
While you will see redheads if you visit Ireland or the UK, and red hair is typically viewed positively in Ireland, one must bear in mind that you're talking about 1 person in 10 to 1 in 20 being redheaded, depending on the area. This sometimes disappoints american tourists to Ireland, as it's not much different in proportionality terms to "white" areas of the USA (well, except thinner), whereas they've been told by their Hollywood propaganda machine that Ireland is full of tiny redheads.
This despite the fact most well-known irish or [irish-american](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Irish_American_actors) actors and celebrities are fairly tall with brown hair.
Red hair is actually proportionally more common in Scotland, and the USA itself has by far the most redheads in absolute terms - presumably originally as a result of scottish/irish/english/welsh and other redheaded european immigration, of course, but if you want to pick up a redheaded partner, then the USA is the place to be.