A Columbus, Ohio allergy specialist is debunking one of the biggest health myths and is setting the record straight on a supposed allergen, The Christian Post reported.
Dr. David Stukus of the Nationwide Children's Hospital asserted the gluten allergy is not real during an annual meeting at of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. In his presentation he said that many of his patients often misdiagnose themselves as having a gluten allergy when really it's another condition completely.
"There's this claim about 'gluten allergy,' which doesn't exist," he told Today.com. "It's not really a recognized allergy. Wheat is a recognized allergy - but a lot of people will misinterpret that as gluten."
According to Stukus, gluten has been blamed for many things that ail humanity, there are only three disorders that people can attribute to gluten on a scientific basis: celiac disease, wheat allergies and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Celiac disease, which may be the most ailing of the three, it's an autoimmune condition where the body mistakes substances inside gluten as dangerous and attacks them and healthy tissue in the bowel. Diarrhea, bloating, weight loss and tiredness, which have been thought to be symptoms of a gluten allergy, actually come from the three disorders.
Other myths Stukus debunked had to so with hypoallergenic pets for those allergic to pet dander. He said that doesn't exist either because all pets secrete allergens. Stukus said the animal's saliva, sweat glands and urine that contain the allergens, not fur.
Stukus said a lot of the misinformation has come from increased self-diagnosis based on Internet forums and Google.
"It was shocking to me, the amount of misinformation that is available to the general public," he said. "Use the Internet for guidance, but don't rely on it as your sole source of health information. It's a great place to formulate questions that you can take to physicians."
Stukus' suggestion for those with a tendency to self-diagnose: step away from the computer.
