Seven years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This means that I can’t eat any gluten. While it might seem like an easy thing to avoid, mainly seeming to be in bread and pasta, but I soon realized it is much more than that. Soy sauce and some salad dressings often contain flour to thicken them and even one breadcrumb falling into my food can send me into incredible stomach pain. After being informed that a pill is coming out which will allow everyone with Celiac Disease to eat some gluten, I could not be more excited…or skeptical. It just sounds too good to be true.

One article explaining the pill says “NEW PILL WILL LET PEOPLE WITH CELIAC DISEASE EAT GLUTEN-FILLED MEALS OF THEIR DREAMS”. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where eating gluten attacks the small intestine and essentially tears it up. It causes terrible stomachaches and in some cases, headaches, migraines and cold soars. The new drug uses antibodies found in egg yolk to coat the gluten as it passes through the digestive track and therefore have it not set off the sensitive gluten receptors.

Another source explained the actual experiment that tested the new drug. In Finland, they found 41 participants who had been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and gave half of them a placebo and the other half the real pill. They then had each person consume 2 grams of gluten per day. The results showed that those who had taken the pill had better results then those with the placebo. While this is very exciting news for me, I can’t help but think that it’s an inhumane trial. It is seriously unhealthy for someone with Celiac Disease to eat gluten and could cause complications later on in life. The fact that they could ask people to do that while knowing that 50% of them are receiving absolutely nothing to protect the body from gluten is unethical.

An opposing opinion states that this pill could be very dangerous because we don’t know the long term effects. Glutendude.com explains “I am against it…100%. Our bodies are telling us gluten is poison and you want me to take a pill so I can do what exactly? Eat food that I KNOW by body rejects? I’m good…thanks.” The article also talks about the amazing improvement in celiac awareness by restaurants and food stores, which will lessen substantially now that there is a “cure”. This pill is not a cure, it’s rather an aid for those suffering with celiac. In addition, the drug has not yet been proved effective, only safe.

While I can see both sides of the argument, I believe that while it is still a while away, this pill is a huge break through and scientists will ensure its safety and effectiveness before putting it out on the market.