If you’re someone with celiac disease who still craves pizza, bread, and beer, we have some good news for you.
And, no, it’s not a ‘gluten-free’ alternative, it’s the real deal.
Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed a pill that may allow those with celiac disease to mow down on bread, pasta, and cupcakes without the accompanying headaches and digestion problems.
The solution is a dream come true for those with actual celiac disease (as opposed to those who “can’t eat gluten because they definitely have celiac, but no they don’t need to get a test done”), and could vastly improve quality of life.
Ten years in the making, the pill is the creation of Hoon Sunwoo, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the university. The pill allows gluten to pass through the body free of harm by coating it with egg yolk antibodies.
The idea isn’t to position the pill as a magical cure for celiac disease, rather, as something to improve quality of life when socializing with friends over beer, pizza, and backyard burgers.
It’s by no means a long term solution, cautions Sunwoo, but more of a management solution for those with celiac.
The pill would be taken 5 minutes before consuming gluten, and allow the user to enjoy all the gluten-filled goodness that would normally make them ill, for up to two hours.
Users are expected to still adhere to a gluten-free diet as much as possible.
The pill has completed safety clinical trials and is expected to begin efficacy clinical trials next year.
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