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by array_key_first 52 days ago
Gluten intolerance is a real thing but I don't think that necessarily means that your gut flora is damaged or whatever. Plenty of people are lactose intolerant, and their gut flora is fine, they're just lactose intolerant.

I don't think you could solve gluten intolerance but just improving your gut microbiome, so they're probably not related.
1 comments
onlypassingthru 52 days ago
Why not? A fecal transplant seems to work for C. difficile sufferers.
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array_key_first 52 days ago
A fecal transplant definitely doesn't work for celiac disease, which is the only gluten intolerance you have to worry about.

Other gluten intolerance is probably not gluten, gluten is just a close enough proxy. Could be FODMAP + IBS or maybe some other sensitivity.

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mint5 51 days ago
Why are you narrowly focusing on gluten intolerance when this line of comments appears to be denying whether gut biome is worth caring about due to having impacts on health?
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array_key_first 51 days ago
Because the parent used their anecdote of gluten intolerance to explain why caring about the gut microbiome matters. But traditional gluten intolerances are not related to the gut microbiome.

We also don't really understand why things like a FODMAP diet work. It's not that feeding your gut bacteria is bad, it's actually pretty good. But for some people it's bad, and they get symptoms they attribute to gluten intolerance.

Legumes, onions, whole grain etc that are high FODMAP are good for you. Fiber is good for you, it lowers your risk of metabolic diseases and helps your digestion. But, for some people, it's bad for their digestion. That's weird.

So all that is to say that, while gut bacteria matters, it varies person to person and we can't definitely say what food is good for the microbiome and what isn't.

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onlypassingthru 51 days ago
I think the interesting point as evidenced by the fecal transplant therapy is that it's not "the" microbiome, it's "your" microbiome. Maybe some people have bad (C. difficile) or incompatible (various E. coli strains) microbiomes and need a microbiome hard reboot.
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wasabi991011 51 days ago
> Could be FODMAP + IBS or maybe some other sensitivity.

Seems extremely unlikely. Of someone is eliminating gluten they from their diet they usually aren't also eliminating dairy, legumes, and other high-fodmap foods; gluten-free is restrictive enough already.

The only other sensitivity I could think of in which this makes sense is wheat sensitivity (but not other gluten containing grains which are less common).

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