Researchers discovered gluten was an environmental cause of celiac disease 60 years ago.

In a study, 244 people with celiac disease in Australia and the United Kingdom ate bread, rye muffins or boiled barley over three days. About a week later, blood samples were taken to measure the strength of their immune responses.

The findings could be used to develop a treatment, known as peptide-based immunotherapy. It involves injecting people with celiac disease with the toxic peptides to gradually build up their tolerance.

It would be a “miracle” if people with celiac disease could stop worrying about accidentally eating gluten, said Geraldine Georgeou, a dietitian on the board of Australia’s Gut Foundation. “That could be quite a way off unfortunately,” said Georgeou, who has celiac disease herself.