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I am one of the "lucky" few who react to ALL grains (and I do mean ALL -
this includes rice and corn which are often incorrectly classified as
"vegetables").     I think there is a reason for this.
 
At the time when I rapidly developed a severe acute celiac reaction I was
eating a wide variety of grains.  I think that this is directly responsible
for the wide array of grains to which I now react.   A possible
explaination (but not the only possible one for the link is this:   Suppose
the triggering event apparently necessary to iniate celiac is an infection
by either 1) a particular microorganism or 2) any of a group of
microorganisms or 3) a particular combination of microorganisms acting
synergystically.    Perhaps this/these may be present in the absence of
grains but not cause celiac without the additional presence of grains OR
perhaps this/these can ONLY be present if grains are eaten  (maybe either
1) there is some proteinenzyme produced only by grains that they require or
some other such element or 2) grains alter or help to maintain changes in
the intestinal environment that allow it/then to persist.   As the immune
system reacts to them,  because of similarities of antigens, it produces
antibodies that also attack the intestinal villi.     If this
microorganism(s) has/have the property (as some microorganisms are now know
to have (Borrelia burgdorferi  for example)  of incorporating antigens from
the cell walls of things that it infects, then it may incorporate some of
the antigens from 1) the grains it is ingesting and/or 2) from the cell
walls of the villi which it is invading   on its surface.   For that
reason,  when the immune system attacks this microorganism it produces
antibodies to the villi and/or the grains.   This would explain why there
is such variation in expression (time of onset, severity,  time to relapse
after going gluten free, etc. etc.) in celac.     That we have not yet
detected such an organism is not proof that it exists.   Many organisms,
PARTICULARLY ones that incorporate antigens from cells they invade and/or
ingest into their cellular membranes  and/or  that undergo antigenic
variation (Borrellia burgdorferi is again an example of this)   are
extremely difficult to detect.   (Borrellia b. is notoriously difficult to
detect and is know to have many false negative whether tested by urine
antigen, PCR, Western Blot or any other currently available test)    The
association of celiac with particular alleles in no way rules out this
possibility, in fact, because the alleles are *HLA* alleles, it strongly
suggests that this may be the case.
Such a mechanism would also explain the variations among celiacs as to
which grains other than wheat they reacted to.  (In my case, for example,
antigens that were common to many or all of the grains I was ingesting
would have been selected for by the immune system's clonal selection
process.  Because I was ingested a wide variety of grains that were NOT
closely related to each other, it would therefore, have been very probable
that an antigen common to most or even all grains would be selected.
 
I would be very interested in hearing from other celiacs who react to more
than the usual grains and knowing WHICH grains they react to and WHICH
grains they were eating during the perod of onset of their symptoms.   Also
I would like to know of any information that either tends to support or to
refute this theory.
 
Jim Barron
Chapel Hill NC
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PS   Please note that the fact that many celiacs go thru courses of
antibiotics (for whatever reason) without being "cured" of celiac does not
contradict this theory as organisms (again like Borrellia burgdorferi (Lyme
disease)) that incorporate antigens and/or undergo genetic variation are
notorious difficult to cure  (need I say AIDS?).     It nevertheless has
profound implications for celaic disease as it would mean that a genuine
cure would at least theoretically be possible (and without the necessity
for "gene" therapy, which is going to take a lot longer to develope than
current hype would suggest ).