Hi, I don't have coeliac disease but i found out i carry one of the main genes for it, DQ2.5. I was just wondering if anyone knew if it's ok to keep eating gluten or will it increase my chances of developing coeliac disease? I also have fructose malabsorption, so i'm not eating that much gluten anyway because i can't eat wheat, however i still eat things with wheat/gluten in them. Do you think its ok to continue doing so? Thanks

Welcome to the Board!!!

That's quite a controversial question...

Yes, having the gene does increase your risk of Celiac. And one of the criteria for developing Celiac is that you must be currently eating gluten... But as you already know, doesn't mean that you will have it. There are many folks that will tell you that if you have the gene, your best bet is to eliminate all possibilities and go gluten-free. Others will say that if you can eat it, go for it. It's really your choice to make, although my personal opinion would be to avoid gluten. Do you know for sure that you don't have Celiac? It is possible to have it and have no symptoms. Did your doctor advise you to avoid it or not?

well i had the antibody tests done a few months ago before i found out i had the gene and they were negative. although i had been wheat free for awhile i was not gluten free, and i made sure i ate gluten and wheat containing foods for about 2 weeks before i got tested. i don't know however if i was really eating enough of it though to make a difference. my iron levels were fine too. however my stomach symptoms kept getting worse but i think that could be put down to the fructose malabsorption problem. i went to see a gastroenterologist and he ordered the gene test for me. i asked my doctor if i have to avoid gluten forever and she said i'd like to say no but there is no point in waiting for it happen (as in celiac disease to happen). so she seems to think i should avoid it, however the gastro man didn't really go into it. i had another blood test done for IgE or the tissutransglutaminase one, and apparantly my levels were up a bit, which the doctor said means i'm reacting to something but they don't know what because it takes some time to show up? i don't even know what that test was for though anyway, what does it test for? she reckons it has something to do with having the celiac gene. i'm going back to the gastroenterologist at the end of april so maybe he can explain it in more detail to me? what's your opinion?

In America, 1 in 133 Americans has Celiac (slightly less than 1%).

However, 30-40% of the American population has either HLA DQ2 or HLA DQ8.

So, just having the gene doesn't necessarily mean that you will get Celiac. The vast majority don't.

However, if you are having symptoms, and have had other tests run to determine if you have any other conditions that could be causing your symptoms, then I don't see any harm in trying a gluten free diet (gluten free, not gluten lite!). You may not have Celiac, but for reasons unknown, you may have problems with gluten.

You may want to get a copy of your bloodwork so that you can see the results of the bloodwork yourself.