Gluten intolerance is very common and can produce a variety of distressing symptoms. If you doubt you have gluten sensitivity, you can do a four-day test that can confirm.

According to a poll, up to one in five people think they have gluten intolerance. Gluten is a protein that is present in wheat, barley, and rye.

Stomach discomfort, bloating, gas, indigestion, constipation, and diarrhea are common signs of gluten intolerance.

Avoiding gluten is the easiest approach to getting over an intolerance to it. However, doing so can unintentionally reduce the number of other nutrients in your diet.

There is now a four-day test to check if you are really intolerant to gluten or something else, according to gut health specialist Dr. Megan Rossi.

Four-day gluten test

The first step, according to Dr. Megan Rossi, is to avoid all gluten-containing foods from your diet for two weeks.

This includes not only plainly evident wheat-containing foods like bread, pasta, and cakes, but also stuff like soy sauce and beverages made from barley squash.

After these two weeks, if your symptoms go away, you can try the four-day gluten test to confirm that your intolerance is truly caused by gluten.

The major goal is to sneakily reintroduce gluten-containing foods into your diet.

For up to four days, have a friend or family member include your test food – either a slice of wheat bread or a placebo – in their diet.

Day 1: Begin your meal with a piece of the test food (you won’t know which one it is).

Day 2: Look for any signs. If you do, wait a few days until they stop, then repeat the test with half the amount of the test food. Add two pieces to your meal even if you are symptom-free.

Day 3: Reevaluate your symptoms. If you experience any symptoms, wait until they pass, then switch to different test food and repeat Day 1’s procedures. Add three portions of the test food if you are symptom-free.

Day 4: Evaluate your symptoms. If you experience any symptoms, wait a few days until they diminish and then repeat Day 1’s methods with the other test food. Change to the second test food (wheat bread or placebo) for another four days if you do not have symptoms.

When you’re done with both foods, ask the person helping you to tell you which one had gluten.

You can be fairly positive that your intolerance is not to wheat or gluten if you experienced no symptoms after eating wheat bread.

If you experienced any symptoms after consuming wheat bread, try it again with two tablespoons of onion or half a clove of garlic in a meal to rule out the possibility that your issue is with fructans, a substance found in wheat bread.

If not gluten intolerance, what else could you possibly have?

If your symptoms don’t go away after two weeks of not eating gluten, it’s best to bring gluten back into your diet and talk to a doctor or dietitian.

It is preferable to get tested for coeliac disease first if you experience symptoms including persistent fatigue, anemia, unexplained weight loss, and mouth ulcers, or if you have Type 1 diabetes, thyroid disease, or IBS.

A quick blood test can determine whether you have coeliac disease, an autoimmune illness that harms the intestines.

While it’s imperative to consume gluten for at least six weeks before the test to allow for the detection of celiac antibodies, patients with coeliac disease should avoid gluten at all costs because even a small crumb can cause significant harm.

It is best to contact a dietician if you do not have celiac disease but still experience problems with gluten.

Since there is currently no blood test for gluten sensitivity, Dr. Megan Rossi’s double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge offers a viable alternative.

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