Some people have terrible trouble with canker sores, technically known as aphthous ulcers. They get recurrent sores that can make it painful to eat. Now researchers report that such patients should be screened for celiac disease. Although only a minority of them tests positive for the condition, those who do fare much better with a gluten-free diet. Apparently up to 5 percent of people with celiac disease have recurrent mouth sores as their only symptom of this intolerance to the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.
[BMC Gastroenterology, online, June 29, 2009]http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-230X/9/44/abstract
