Does gluten pass through into breast milk?

Question

We're pretty sure that our 2 month old baby suffers from a gluten intolerance but when we spoke to our doctor she claimed that it was impossible for babies to get gluten from the mother's breast milk. However the midwife did believe it was possible for babies to suffer from gluten intolerance from breast milk.

So are there any studies that show that gluten will pass through into the breast milk?

Answer 1

The first thing I would say is, What makes you think your baby has a Gluten Intolerance?

These symptoms listed as Symptoms of sensitivities to food/gluten in infants by The "Free From Gluten" (which is an online Gluten Free Grocery Store) are also symptoms for a host of other allergies/sensitivities as well:

• Rashes (as well as diaper rash)
• Hives
• Asthma
• Colic
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Itchy, red eyes
• Vomiting
• Acid Reflux
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
• Chronically spitting up
• Failure to thrive
• Sore bottom
• Ear infections
• Cold/flu like symptoms

My daughter had trouble with about six or seven of these (including GERD of which Chronically spitting up is a part) but has no problem with Wheat intolerance - she does, however, have a sensitivity to dairy.

A quick search on the internet will yield lots of resources containing the claim that Gluten shows up in milk, but they are often sites like this, where the creators are wanting to sell Gluten free products, or they are chat fora with unsubstantiated claims. What I read that did site any source for the claims at all often referred to This article, which does say that Gliadin, a component of Gluten can show up in breast milk, but correlations between intake and presence of the gliadin were inconclusive (because no correlation was found which means the Gliadin might be there even if you don't eat Gluten). Additionally, some professionals hypothesize that early exposure to antigens for something some one may later develop a sensitivity to are proving to actually aid as a protective or preventative device to developing allergies.

Before you force such a drastic dietary restriction on both mother and child (Gluten is in almost everything processed - even many vitamin capsules contain it), I'd suggest re-examining the issue with your doctor (or get a second opinion), confirm a sensitivity to gluten rather than something else first. If your child is confirmed as having Celiac's (with the help of a professional) or a sensitivity, see a specialist about your child's diet.