--- title: Celiac Disease: A Pill Could Let Gluten-Free People Eat Pasta description: People with celiac disease may not need to pass on the pasta forever: scientists are developing a pill that would allow them to eat gluten. canonical: https://time.com/3969598/gluten-free-celiac-pill/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-23T15:01:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:26.555Z article:section: Health og:title: Scientists Developing Pill for Celiac Sufferers to Eat Gluten og:description: A trial is slated to begin within the year og:url: https://time.com/3969598/gluten-free-celiac-pill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b56f0df6cb6a10e/69885c2f524fc004c2df3b64/pasta1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3733 og:image:height: 2100 og:image:alt: Plate of sea food pappardelle with cherry tomatoes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Developing Pill for Celiac Sufferers to Eat Gluten twitter:description: A trial is slated to begin within the year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b56f0df6cb6a10e/69885c2f524fc004c2df3b64/pasta1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Developing Pill That Could Let Gluten-Free People Eat Pasta > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=59cdfe11-26f2-489a-988f-1fbfe87aa28b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Should You Adopt a Gluten-Free Diet? [Watch (HLS stream): Should You Adopt a Gluten-Free Diet?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xZZyXLYN.m3u8) (2:27)  _Published 2015-05-15. More people are avoiding foods that contain gluten, a protein in wheat, barley and rye. But is gluten really bad for most of us? Our Healthy Skeptic has the facts._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jul 23, 2015 3:01 PM UTC  Plate of sea food pappardelle with cherry tomatoes Plate of sea food pappardelle with cherry tomatoes Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jul 23, 2015 3:01 PM UTC People who suffer from [celiac disease](http://time.com/3854589/celiac-gluten-neuropathy/) may not need to avoid pasta forever: scientists are developing a pill that would allow them to eat gluten. Scientists at the University of Alberta are working on a pill made from chicken egg yolks that could help people with celiac disease digest gluten, [Quartz reports](http://qz.com/460135/a-pill-may-soon-allow-celiac-disease-sufferers-to-eat-bread-and-pasta/). Hoon Sunwoon, associate professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, who worked on the project, explained to Quartz how the pill works: “This supplement binds with gluten in the stomach and help to neutralize it, therefore providing defence \[sic\] to the small intestine, limiting the damage gliadin causes.” Gliadin is a component of gluten that causes digestive trouble for people with celiac; gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. But celiacs, don’t rejoice just yet: the drug is still in development. A trial is slated to begin within the year. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Know more. Live better. [ MUSIC ] My cousin told me about how she had gone gluten free and it really helped her. So, I decided I would try it, and it really made a difference in my life. If you, pay attention to food labels, you probably noticed the words gluten free showing up more and more. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, and a growing number of people say they're trying to avoid it. But for many of them, that may be unnecessary. [ MUSIC ] Gluten is in all kinds of foods, everything from beer and baloney to pasta and waffles. Going gluten- free is clearly beneficial for those who have a condition known as Celiac Disease. Disease. For them, gluten damages the lining of the small intestine, impairing the body's ability to absorb nutrients. The condition is diagnosed with a blood test and biopsy. It's estimated to affect a bit less than 1 % of the US population. But what about the remaining 99 % of us? Well some who don't have celiac disease, say they have trouble digesting gluten. While there's no standard medical test for this problem, going off gluten may make sense if it helps them feel better. As for claims that a gluten free diet is effective against arthritis, autism, diabetes or other conditions, there is little evidence. Nor is there proof that shunning gluten can help control your weight or make you healthier overall if you don't have Celiac disease. Still, a gluten- free diet can be beneficial if it forces you to cut back on refined carbs such as pastries, cookies and white bread and on calories over all. But read labels carefully on gluten free breads and other products Some can be higher in calories and lower in fiber and B vitamins than the conventional versions. Because gluten is in so many foods avoiding it takes lots of effort. Unless you absolutely have to stay away from gluten better to devote that time and energy to eating a healthful diet overall which includes lots of fruits and vegetables. And for that No label reading required. Helping you be a healthy skeptic, I'm Robert Davis. 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