Comment by Calipso on October 29, 2011 at 6:34am

Thanks for this. I think I'll try this diet:) Maybe it will help if not it's always good to cut down on some pastry:D

Comment by Nachiketa Sanyal on October 29, 2011 at 6:36am

all the best calipso.. will check with you in a couple of months :)
currently its a bit difficult fr me to be on diet as i am travelling extensively

Comment by AJ on November 1, 2011 at 7:41pm

Hey, i did a little bit of reading about gluton/wheat free diet and alopecia a while ago... can't remember where i read it, but it was somebody saying they'd had a positive result for regrowth by cutting wheat and gluten. but like most things with alopecia, there seemed to be very mixed results - some saying it worked, some saying it made no difference.
celiac disease is a lot more serious than just a food intolerance though, it's a serious auto-immune condition that can cause major health damage to internal organs if even the slightest amount of gluton is eaten. it's apparently common for people to have more than one autoimmune disorder though, which is what AA is believed to be, so always worth mentioning it to your doctor if you are concerned.
however, even if you don't have celiacs, lots of people say going wheat free had health benefits for them. i've sometimes tried to cut down but not really done so since having alopecia - couldn't hurt to try i suppose(expect that i would miss eating cake...) 8-}

Comment by Kathryn on November 1, 2011 at 10:12pm

I was excited to read the same article when first dealing with my AA/AU earlier this spring. It is interesting news, and it motivated me to go gluten free, which I've been for almost 5 months. Although I feel a little healthier, I have not had any regrowth worth mentioning. My thought is, I think we all have our own triggers. If one is gluten sensitive or even has celiacs, this may be the trigger. But it isn't necessarily for all AA's. I love being able to share info on this website in my quest to figure out my trigger. You may also want to check out the group, AA who are gluten free.

Comment by Pat on November 2, 2011 at 6:58am

I've also tried the gluten free diet...I'm not celiac but my husband is. Nothing changed for me.

Comment by Ryan on November 3, 2011 at 6:48am

I went threw the why stage,
tested everything, even had a x-ray test cause it can be tooth infection related (pretty rare)
evreything came back sweet though,
worth a check but its ussally just what it is ay

Comment by mabaker on November 4, 2011 at 8:26pm

Hello - it seems to me that there is a link between auto immune response conditions, food intolerances, gut flora imbalances and hair loss - I have fibromyalgia and I'm sure that eating wheat makes it worse and I feel that my whole system is over sensitised - perhaps stress triggered it - anyway my whole system sort of does double time and turns on itself - leaving out wheat and sugar helps - I haven't noticed results with my hair - thanks for posting - x

Comment by emmettbrown on November 13, 2011 at 5:31pm

One thing to consider if you think you are sensitive to gluten -- the celiac test that most doctors use isn't very accurate. I've heard that it's only accurate in about 30% of cases. So even if you got a negative test result, you may still have a problem with gluten.

The good news is that a few new tests have recently been introduced that are much more accurate. My mom's doc gave her a new test from a place called Cyrex Labs. Here's a page on their site about this: http://www.cyrexlabs.com/CyrexTestsArrays/tabid/136/Default.aspx

Looks like array 3 and array 4 are extremely comprehensive. Although I think it was pricey - around $700. Her doctor said that a cheaper approach could be a stool test from a place called Entero Labs: http://www.enterolab.com/

Of course, I did my own inexpensive home test: buy some gluten-free beer and drink it. See how you feel :) Seriously, it was amazing how much different I felt - no anxiety or gas, just a nice buzz... I'm now off gluten and dairy, and everything but my facial hair has come back in. So food sensitivies were my autoimmune triggers.

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