Wheat Intolerance

 

Why has gluten come up positive but not wheat?

The wheat extract does not contain gluten but other proteins found in wheat such as seed storage proteins. The gluten extract does not contain these proteins but is a pure preparation of gluten. If there are antibodies to gluten but not to other proteins found in wheat, wheat will not show a positive result. Similarly, if there are antibodies to non-gluten proteins, wheat will show a positive result and in the absence of antibodies to gluten, gluten will remain negative.

 

What is durum wheat and why has that not come up positive, although wheat has?

Durum wheat and common wheat are different species of wheat. Durum wheat is very hard and is usually used to make flour and semolina for pasta. The protein content is different and therefore one can show up positive and not the other. Many people find that they can tolerate durum wheat if they are positive for wheat but negative to durum wheat.