Early Dietary Treatment for Celiac Disease: The Banana Diet - Gluten Free Watchdog (2024)

FAQs

What is the banana diet for celiac? ›

This diet worked for those with celiac disease because it was unintentionally free of gluten, the protein ultimately found to cause celiac disease. Patients on the diet, mainly children, were prescribed to eat numerous bananas a day along with dairy products, meat and vegetables, while eliminating all starches.

A particularly interesting dietary treatment used during this time was the banana diet, made popular by physician Sidney Haas. This diet restricted both carbohydrates (with the exception of ripe bananas) and fat. In his famous paper, “The value of the banana in the treatment of celiac disease,” published in 1924, Dr.

Entero Therapeutics, Latiglutenase

Entero plans to initiate a phase 3 trial in the second half of 2024 to assess the drink-based study medication latiglutenase and its ability to relieve common symptoms suffered by celiac disease patients after accidental gluten exposure. Read more about Entero.

A gluten-free diet generally means not eating most grains, pasta, cereals, and processed foods. The reason is that they usually contain wheat, rye, and barley.

Gluten-free foods

Many foods, such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, rice, and potatoes, without additives or some seasonings, are naturally gluten-free. Flour made from gluten-free foods, such as potatoes, rice, corn, soy, nuts, cassava, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, or beans are safe to eat.

Currently, the only treatment for celiac disease is a lifelong gluten-free diet. Even small amounts of gluten can damage the intestine in those with celiac disease, so people with celiac disease don't have “cheat days.” A gluten-free diet means avoiding all foods that contain wheat, rye, and barley.

While there is currently no treatment for celiac disease, there are 24 potential therapies in various stages of development, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. Notably, the therapies being tested are designed to target different parts of the disease pathway, Fasano said.

“We don't know, but it's likely because we're derailing from evolution's plan in terms of having friendly interactions with the ecosystem — the soil, air, and water,” Fasano explains. “Chemical pollution and other factors impinge on our gut microbiome, which determines if, when, and why our genes are put into motion.”

Meats and eggs are naturally gluten-free and are safe to consume in their natural form, regardless of whether the source animal consumed gluten-containing grain. Gluten should not be present in properly handled meats. Processed meats such as deli meats could contain gluten, but it is not typical for gluten to be added.

What is surprisingly not gluten-free? ›

Celiac disease is caused by specific genes, eating gluten, and possibly by some other triggers such as childbirth, surgery, stress, or other autoimmune disorders. However, medical science is still working to understand the roles of these potential causal factors.

The banana diet consists of freely eating only bananas for breakfast, and then 15 to 30 minutes later, drinking room-temperature water or unsweetened tea. This diet was created in Japan in 2008 by a pharmacist who was also a preventative health specialist.

The GAPS diet eliminates all grains, sugars, and simple starches and is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which is used to treat celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis,4 and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Bananas (in their natural form) are 100% gluten-free. If you experience issues with eating bananas it may be because of a couple of proteins present in bananas – Marlow over at glutenhatesme.com has an excellent and detailed post on this issue so please head on over to her blog to read more.