Gluten isn't bad for healthy people

Dr Emma Halmos (L) & Prof Peter Gibson

Unless you have been medically diagnosed with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity, a rigorous new study shows that eating foods containing gluten will cause you no harm, and avoiding these proteins in your diet isn't necessary.

Professor Peter Gibson and Dr Emma Halmos, Monash Department of Gastroenterology, write an editorial accompanying this new study publication in the journal Gastroenterology. See the full story at  Science Alert.

Congratulations to Gastroenterology for NHMRC '10 of the best' 2015

The National Health and Medical Research Council has announced its pick for 2015 research in its "Ten of the Best".
Congratulations to Peter Gibson and his team for their research on the actual effect of gluten in IBS being chosen as one of the ten. The document quotes Prof Gibson as saying:
“We demonstrated that gluten, without FODMAPs, did not specifically induce symptoms in patients who believed they were gluten intolerant.
“Indeed, all patients experienced reduced gut symptoms in the run-in period when they, for the first time, restricted all FODMAPs in their diet.
“We found no changes in the physiology of the gut in response to gluten.”
Link: 
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/nhmrc_-10-of-the-best-2015_0.pdf

Gluten doesn't deserve its villainous reputation: Professor Peter Gibson on Radio NZ National

Photo: AFP / Sofie Delauw / Cultura Creative

Professor Peter Gibson, Head, Department of Gastroenterology, explains why gluten is not "the villain of the food world" and why he believes most of those following a gluten free diet may be doing themselves more harm than good.
26/02/2015 Radio New Zealand National: "Is gluten the devil in your food?"

Is gluten linked to depression?

A recent pilot study completed by Monash University and Alfred researchers has found that many patients with self reported non coeliac gluten sensitivity continued to suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms on a gluten free diet, but had an improved mental state. Prof Peter Gibson, who co-authored the study said that the results were surprising. "We found that gluten ingestion was associated with significantly higher depression scores compared to a placebo diet," Prof Gibson said. A larger study, currently in its recruitment phase, will further examine these results. See pilot study

Is gluten a cause of gastrointestinal symptoms in people without celiac disease?

Gluten: appears not to affect
non-celiac IBS sufferers

The avoidance of wheat- and gluten-containing products is a worldwide phenomenon. While celiac disease is a well-established entity, the evidence base for gluten as a trigger of symptoms in patients without celiac disease (so-called ‘non-celiac gluten sensitivity’ or NCGS) is limited. Department of Gastroenterology (DoG) researchers review the evidence and conclude that, "On current evidence the existence of the entity of NCGS remains unsubstantiated." See full text of article.

Rome Foundation prize for research on relationship between gluten andgastrointestinal symptoms

Dr Jessica Biesiekierski recently graduated, having completed her PhD with the Department of Gastroenterology. The Rome Foundation Board selected her paper entitled “Gluten causes gastrointestinal symptoms in subjects without celiac disease: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial” to receive the Rome Foundation Ray Clouse Prize for the Paper Most Cited on Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders, 2011. The prize was awarded on 18 May.