Gluten intolerance

We all see a lot more gluten-free options in the stores, and hear a lot more about it than we used to. This isn't because people used to die from it and not be noticed thereafter.

A close family member developed gluten intolerance recently, after several serious bouts over several years with GI infections. It isn't a matter of better diagnosis--the symptoms are pretty dramatic and we could not have missed that sort of thing.

With physical problems whose frequency grows that fast, we think of infections with an odd side effect. So I looked around.

From back in 2010, some of the genes linked to susceptibility turn out to be associated with the immune system, not the gut (that we know of), suggesting that something that exercises those genes (like an infection) turns on something it shouldn't. Some epidemiological studies suggest that celiac disease (not the same as gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy) has small epidemics and some seasonal variation, which may be linked to infections in early childhood.

And, as noted above, we have anecdotal evidence that sensitivity can be induced (we hope just temporarily).

Another thing to add to the list of topics to watch.