Are you already avoiding gluten?
The tests for coeliac disease work because they are looking at how the body is responding to eating gluten. This is why following a gluten-free diet, or reducing the amount of gluten you eat before being tested, is likely to cause a false negative result for both the blood test and the gut biopsy.
How much gluten should I eat to get tested?
If you've already cut gluten out of your diet, you will need to reintroduce it to ensure the tests for coeliac disease are meaningful.
Deciding to get tested for coeliac disease may involve making a conscious effort to include more gluten containing foods in your diet.
It's difficult to say for sure for everyone how much gluten you need to eat and for how long to ensure a positive test for coeliac disease. This is because the reaction to eating gluten varies between individuals.
As a general guideline, it's recommend that you eat the equivalent of 4 'servings' of gluten containing foods a day (e.g. 4 slices of bread) for a minimum of 6 weeks before getting tested.
What is a 'serving' of gluten?
To ensure there is enough gluten in your diet, you will need to eat about 4 servings of gluten containing foods per day. Below are some examples of foods which count as a serving:
- 1 slice of bread
- 1 portion of wheat based cereal e.g. Weetabix ™ or Shredded Wheat ™
- 2 rusks or digestive biscuits
- 4 tablespoons of pasta
For children you can mix wheat flour into foods such as yoghurt or baked beans to add more gluten into their diet.
How will I be able to manage my symptoms?
Eating gluten when you have coeliac disease can cause severe symptoms in some people. If you are reintroducing gluten into your diet, you should discuss how best to manage your symptoms with your doctor. Your doctor will be able to arrange a coeliac test as soon as is appropriate.
I don't want to eat gluten to get tested. What else can I do?
Coeliac UK understands the huge difficulty in getting coeliac disease diagnosed once a gluten-free diet has been started.
Obtaining a medical diagnosis is important to ensure you get the medical follow-up and support that is recommended for people with coeliac disease. Read more about this here.
Unfortunately, there are no other tests that can diagnose coeliac disease other than the antibody blood test and the gut biopsy.
The best thing to do is to discuss with your doctor about the best way forward for you.
People who do not have a medical diagnosis of coeliac disease can subscribe to Coeliac UK in order to access our services and resources. Read more about the services we offer here.
