You’ve probably seen the recent glut of sensational headlines in the media proclaiming that non-celiac gluten sensitivity is some kind of widespread collective delusion—simply a figment of the imagination of anyone who claims to experience it.
These stories point to a new study which found that a group of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were not sensitive to gluten. (1) The researchers who performed this study had previously published a paper showing that IBS patients were sensitive to wheat, and that removing wheat from their diet led to an improvement of symptoms.
Gluten sensitivity: real diagnosis or collective delusion? Read this to find out. #glutensensitivity #gluten #foodintolernance
However, in this new study, the authors specifically isolated gluten and found that there was no difference in symptoms between the patients eating high-gluten diets and those eating low-gluten diets.
Why This Study Doesn’t Disprove Gluten Sensitivity
First, this study examined the effects of gluten in a specific population: people with irritable bowel syndrome. Even if it is true that gluten sensitivity is no more common in people with IBS than in people without IBS (which is premature to conclude on the basis of a single study), it does not overturn the large body of evidence that links non-celiac gluten sensitivity to a variety of health problems ranging from allergies to schizophrenia to autism spectrum disorders. (2, 3, 4, 5)
Second, this study does not suggest that people with IBS—or anyone else with gluten sensitivity—should feel free to start chowing down on wheat. In fact, it suggests the opposite. For the first week of the trial, all patients were put on a gluten-free diet that was also low in FODMAPs (a class of carbohydrates present in wheat, as well as other foods).
After this lead-in period, the participants were assigned to one of three groups: a high-gluten diet, a low-gluten diet, and a placebo. Those on the high gluten diet were given 16 grams per day of purified wheat gluten; those on the low gluten diet were given 2 grams per day of purified wheat gluten plus 14 grams per day of whey protein isolate; and those on the placebo diet were given 16 grams per day of whey protein isolate.
The majority of participants experienced a significant improvement of symptoms during the 7-day gluten-free, low FODMAP lead-in period. But there was no difference in symptoms between the high gluten, low gluten, or placebo groups during the subsequent treatment period. In other words, patients did react adversely to wheat, but they did not react to isolated gluten.
This of course suggests that something other than gluten in the wheat was causing the problems patients experienced. We now know that there are several compounds in wheat other than gluten that could be to blame. These include not only FODMAPs, but also agglutinins (proteins that bind to sugar), prodynorphins (proteins involved with cellular communication), and additional proteins that are formed during the process of wheat digestion, such as deamidated gliadin and gliadorphins (aka gluteomorphins). (6)
However, it is certainly possible for people to react adversely to whey, and in my experience this is more common with patients with digestive problems. If some of the “placebo” and low-gluten patients were, in fact, sensitive to whey, then that would invalidate the results of the study.
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How to Find out If You’re Sensitive to Wheat, Gluten, or Both
This study showed that for people with IBS on a low FODMAP diet, eating isolated gluten does not cause symptoms. But one might ask: who cares? Do you eat isolated, purified gluten? Do you know anyone who does? I doubt it. People eat wheat—not gluten. And as both this study and numerous other studies have demonstrated, there are several components of wheat other than gluten that cause problems.
In practical terms, this study still supports the idea that patients with IBS should avoid wheat, because it contains FODMAPs and possibly other compounds that make them feel worse. What this study does tell us is that it’s possible that IBS patients may be able to tolerate other non-wheat products that contain gluten, presuming they are low in FODMAPs and other compounds that they may react to.
Here’s the best way to determine if this is true for you:
- Remove all gluten-containing foods and products from your diet for 60 days.
- At the end of the 60 day period, cook up a bowl of barley, eat it, and see what happens.
- A few days later, eat a piece of wheat bread.
Barley is a gluten-containing grain that is low in FODMAPs. If you react to it, that suggests you’re intolerant of gluten or other gluten-like compounds. If you don’t react to barley, but you do react to the wheat bread, that suggests you are intolerant to something in wheat specifically.
You may be able to safely consume gluten-containing products other than wheat—though it’s worth pointing out that many of these products (primarily grains and processed foods) would not be foods you should be consuming regularly anyways.
Is “Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity” a Better Label?
In fact, this distinction was originally proposed by researchers in response to another study which found no effects of gluten in patients on a low FODMAP diet. (7)
Please share this article with your friends if you think it might help clarify this issue for them.
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Tina
Why bother with barley? The main gluten-containing grains are wheat, barley and rye: there are other alternatives such as corn and rice. I highly recommend the website of the Whole Grains Council which has just persuaded me to try sourdough bread. I find spelt suits me much better than modern wheat.
Tina;
You are absolutely on the right track by switching to sour dough. However, it’s not just about the reduced gluten issue impacting those with celiac disease.
The glycemic index of sour dough is in the low 50’s compared to the 70’s (high) for white bread. So the benefit you are getting from sour dough may not be the reduced gluten impact, but you are now consuming calories that your digestive system can handle better.
I’m suggesting you might have the same favorable experience with low glycemic (true) whole grain breads. However, if you are a true celiac, that is a whole different conversation and may not be the case.
I’ve just come to realize that many digestive problems have gotten all lumped under the “gluten” flag and it’s not quite that simple. Glycemic Index is a much broader and healthier issue to dial in on.
Best
Steve
This just confirms what Ive been thinking all along. Barley is not the best for me, but it sure as hell beats wheat!
Tina. I’m glad your having a better general experience with barley than wheat, but I’m wondering if some of your symptoms have to do with the absence of the bran and the germ? There is an expanding conversation that “gluten” is being blamed for what is more of a “glycemic index” (carbs to “hot”) problem.
If you stick your toe in this water, it does no good if you’re consuming over processed whole grains that have the same high glycemic index as white flour products. I’ve enjoyed doing research on the Montignac Method that has been under development in Europe for years with the focus on the benefits of a lower glycemic index diet…that thankfully includes the consumption of whole grains. Might want to consider that.
Best..
Steve
Could we visit about Glycemic Index? “Gly” stands for “glucose” (sugar your body extracts from healthy foods you eat) that turns to “blood glucose” to run your body. “Cemic” stands for “in your body” and “index” is how “hot” the carbs your eating are. According to the Harvard Medical School, White Flour Bread has a GI of 71, that’s high. Whole Grain Flour Brad has a 51 which is low.
There is solid science supporting that a true whole grain bread product is healthier and I think the bad rap that white flour deserves has gotten to generalized and mislabeled as a “Gluten” issue. In fact, Gluten is a protein and not a carb!
A better way to tell if you are gluten sensitive is to take a DNA test. This will let you know if you are likely to develop celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. For example gluten sensitivity can be masked in over 200 auto-immune diseases- http://blog.trueglutenfree.com/gluten-sensitivity-symptoms
You can also order the DNA test here. Worth every penny!
https://peterosborne.infusionsoft.com/go/GTSPF/jgebbie/
I have been pretty strict Paleo for 8+ months and all of my digestive issues have drastically improved. My paleo diet has included a significant amount of asparagus, cabbage, okra, onions, blackberries, apples, watermelon, almonds, etc.
What do all of this have in common? They all appear to be high FODMAP foods and per this study should be avoided.
Obviously the safest thing would be to go on a low FODMAP and Paleo diet, but 1) That will make eating even tougher and really limit my choices and 2) Why did my symptoms all improve drastically even though I was eating high FODMAP fruits and veggies?
I suppose I will place a preference towards low FODMAP paleo foods but am sure I’ll continue consuming high foods as well providing I don’t start feeling sick again.
Thoughts on high FODMAP fruits and veggies in the context of a paleo diet? Maybe it’s safer b/c of the elimination of the other high FODMAPs like wheat?
In my practice, which is Multidimensional CranioSacral Therapy ( I know, it’s a mouthfull…), I see a lot of sensitive people. The way the MD part of the practice works is I get so see and feel what’s going on on the inside of people, and therefore get a lot of insights into the complexity of issues on the inside which produce certain outwardly felt or visible symptoms. However, there are a lot of them which are not yet visible or felt by the client.
Most of my clients are sensitive and highly sensitive individuals (which, according to studies done by others, equals roughly 50% of the population in most countries), and the number of sensitives is definitely on the rise,
Being a sensitive doesn’t just entail sensitivity to food, it’s also being sensitive to your environment, other people, your life situation, highly affecting the integrity of your energy field and ability to maintain an energetic midline (which in the physical body translates mostly as two midlines: the spine and the gastrointestinal tract).
Physical, emotional and mental events happening in the sensitive’s life or in the lives of people close to them will affect the sensitive directly in their field, midline and physical systems, mostly Central nervous system, spine and periferal nervous system, gastrointestinal tract and fascia system. Many of these disturbances will show up in the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous systems as food sensitivity, not only for scientificly provable reasons like gluten or agglutanine, but also for background energy reasons such as the degree of denaturing which has happened to wheat over the many years it has been manipulated to create bigger yields and many more energy related issues.
Purely from my own findings and not taken from any official studies most, if not all, sensitives will be somewhere on the reactive scale from slightly sensitive to highly intolerant to wheat, whereas far fewer are sensitive to gluten, the ratios being roughly 60-87% of populations in Europe, Australia and USA (in that order) sensitivite to wheat and only about 10-15% of those sensitive to gluten. The number of sensitives to other grain (outside of wheat) sitting somewhere in between on 40-50%.
Slight sensitivity may mean that you have insignificant symptoms, which increase with the amount of food you take in, which you are sensitive to, over a certain period of time. Wheat or gluten may be the most obvious of things you
are sensitive to, but your reaction and symptoms will be much stronger and widespread if you also consume other foods, which you are slightly sensitive to. The reaction is cumulative and if you also add stress, not enough sleep, unclean water and deficiencies because your gut doesn’t take up nutrients well because it has been compromised, you end up with even more and stronger reactions.
So glad you did a detailed analysis of the study and helped clarify for us what it actually means. It is truly difficult to determine sometimes what a particular study “proves” – scientific analysis and study is not something most news outlets even attempt to do.
Anyway, in my own experiences, I became extremely gluten sensitive about 4 years ago, I’ve had Crohn’s disease for about 30 and yet I do not test positive using any of the tests (even the newer DNA tests) for having Celiac’s. I can not tolerate even a tiny bit of wheat without immediate gastric symptoms.
Luckily I also discovered the Paleo diet this year and after 7 months on the diet, I am reducing my Crohn’s medicine and feeling healthier than I ever have. I even avoided a bad flare-up with the diet – I started it after it had gotten started and after a couple months, I was in remission – without steroids or other medicines – a first in my 30 year history.
This could be a typical article written by a simple housedoctor or even many of the so called `specialists”. We need them for emergency situations, but NOT for health. Both did not had an education on health, but solely on symptoms and medicine.
Everything they do not know is for them imagination.
I can tell from my own experience, that I had a misty cloud in my head for my whole life, untill my daugther was born. Then we found out she had gluten problem. And the doctor, naturopathic, told us to check ourselves as well.
I was in highest scale of gluten(no coeliakie). I stopped gluten completly, and within few weeks(only then I realized that misty cloud,what I did not even know I had, but do know I had problems with thinking)
the misty cloud/thinking was gone. Now when I eat gluten, I almost lift off the ground, gassss and belly pain.
My daughter ate for the first few years of year life no gluten. Then, at age around 10, she wanted to join children in eating everything. So now she eats sometimes gluten. Within a day she has brown circles below her yeas.
My wife, when she was young, had a lot of problems with intestinals and all kinds of problems with periods. The so called specialists did not know anything. In the end they told her(she was 15 years old) to go to psychologist.
Now she has Graves disease. 3 years ago she got readioactive jodium, to destroy her thyroid. And still those specialist can not balance her hormones! And now only 1 year ago I found out, after reading(you should do the same Chris)
a lot of books, pubmed articles, the Graves is because of GLUTEN! What the fuck, why do our “”specialists”” do not know such a things. Imagination my a…
Since 3 years my mother(78years old) has got ALZHEIMER. After reading all those books(in where they write the cause could be gluten!) we tested her on gluten.
WTF, 9 times above the maximum on the different gliadines! Her whole life she has got all kinds of problems the “”specialists”” did not know what to do about it.
And still her housedoctor does not want to know anything about it, although we tested her in the same lab as were lot of housedoctors in Netherlands do lab-tests.
I can tell a very lot more experiences I have with friends-family-neighboors-etc.
I suggest you read a little before you suggest all this is imagination. Check for example the site of GreatPlainsLaboratories, the books of Dr.Perlmutter(GrainBrain) and the book The side Effect of Dr. Eric Braverman. The book of Novak-Djokovic, WTP number 1.
GAPS diet, etc,etc.
Thank you.
This is pretty much what I’ve been trying to tell people, who started trumpeting how it was “all in the patient’s head” as soon as this study came out.
How you can use a “placebo” or “control” reliably, when there are previous studies that show that diagnosed celiac patients have a 10-30% (depending on study) cross-reactivity to cow milk proteins (whey and casein both, although casein tends to be worse because it’s less denatured by heat), I don’t know. But it’s a critical flaw, in my opinion, in the study that effectively invalidates it. Of course, being much more violently allergic to whey protein isolate (and soy protein) than I am gluten-containing products probably makes me more suspicious of any study trying to claim whey protein is non-reactive.
Are there some people who improve when they remove most of the items listed in the FODMAP items? Yeah. That’s not news by a long shot. But trying to claim that anyone who has ever said they’re gluten intolerant can’t be is grossly overstating the less-than-stellar or convincing results of the study.
Hey Chris, thank you for yet another informative article. Love this so much. I definitely agree that changing the label is important to avoid arguments that are simple based on semantics. Facts are facts. The evidence that clearly shows that gluten can cause a whole range of issues for seemingly healthy people is piling up. Whether we choose to ignore it, is completely up to us, right?
You said it: stop eating gluten for 60 days (even 30 will do!) and see how you feel.
I’m so glad you responded to these recent articles. Another contribution I feel compelled to make on this topic is related to healthcare costs in the U.S., which make getting diagnosed with Celiac quite burdensome financially. When I was in graduate school, I had decent insurance coverage through my university. Labwork and a colonoscopy (at 25) ruled out Crohn’s Disease, H. pylori, and ulcerative colitis. I also, classically, got a negative blood test for Celiac. Even with insurance, those tests cost me thousands of dollars. I then tried acupuncture, a macrobiotic diet (which certainly made my problems worse!), probiotic supplements, and eventually just resolved to consume the max dosage of Imodium on a daily basis for the rest of my life. I finally just gave the gluten-free diet a go, and voila! Quality of life returned. Have I actually been diagnosed with Celiac? No, and my $5,000 deductible precludes further testing at this point in my life. Going gluten-free, while not inexpensive, is infinitely cheaper, and my quality of life is much more important than a formal label.
I’m a senior citizen. In my 60s, I developed IBS, mostly from stress.The IBS is annoying in that we lose a lot of good electrolites and nutrients, and I was interested in “curing it by quitting wheat”.But the chief lure was something I read saying completely UNRELATED side effects may come from gluten sensitivity.Among the list: SINUS INFECTIONS>
!!!!!
I have had a lifetime of sinus problems!
There was NEVER , for me, just a simple cold.NO! It ALWAYS went to sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia.Winter and summer I was attacked by these “sinus colds”I was hospitalized 4 times for pneumonia, in adulthood.”Viral” pneumonia.Or bronchitis, or sinusitis.
So I immediately began a test of eating zero gluten.My test was for avoiding it for a month.
And before the month was out, I realized that although my IBS was not improved, I hadnt had 1 cold, or even sinus headache.
OMG! I feel free! Like all the other boys & girls, I dont have to dread winter lest I contract inflamed sinus troubles!
This has been going on for 3+ years, and it is no psychological happening! My IBS comes & goes with various stressors, but my sinus is fine!
I’m enjoying my new freedom too much to tinker and “try eating some sprouted wheat bread”.I understand from comments to my original read that reaction to re-introducing gluten doesnt come bang zap! The reaction builds back up sneakily.And dont want bread(altho I DREAM of pizza crust-delicious, stretchy pizza crust..) enough to make me risk going back to those feverish, cant-pick-your-head-up days & weeks.
So-for this resource and a few other excellent ones, I say THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Anyone who has ever suffered from sinusitis knows.We DONT want to go there ever again!Not eating gluten is a small price!
Want to add in a geniological way:
My parents are from France.There wasnt much gluten served at home when I was growing up.NO cakes, pies,cookies.NO soft white bread you can mold into little shapes.Occasionally a piece of crusty baguette and that was the size of it.
It wasnt until the 80s–“Cut out fat, and eat carbs” that my problems started.Insidiously.
Although my older daughter had a full-blown allergic reaction to Cream of Wheat as a small child.Rash and stomach upset were chief symptoms.LOL-I never fed her that again!
And both my kids naturally disliked bread! (When we moved & the movers pulled the bookcase away from the wall, “a million” dessicated old PB& J sandwiches fell out!)
My younger child spent a whole summer”living on” hotdogs and blueberries.
Too bad I didnt follow up on these eating patterns.
I wish I could say the same. Were your sinus issues due to pollen or ragweed allergies? I’ve had terrible allergies and sinus issues since I was a kid, but a gluten-free diet hasn’t helped. My allergies are as bad as ever this year – two sinus infections and a cold since March. So frustrating. Have you cut out dairy, too? I’m thinking about doing that…
Aww, sorry Kely.I wish it would be the same for you, too.
Actually, my allergies are the same as ever.Sneezing & etc from tree pollen, early & late, from Feb thru you name it.
But my sinus issues werent related to allergy.I could tell because they never went anywhere-just a lot of sneezing & coughing.But no fever or that HORRIBLE sinus headache.
For you, I’d agree that a try of dropping dairy could be wonderful.”Milk is mucus-producing”.
I’m dairy-free because I hate milk & it hates me.Has always given me tummy trouble.Hint for your test period: COCONUT MILK(& coconut ICE CREAM! Utterly DREAMY!) And good for us.
Nut milks are good too.Before coconut, I drank almond milk very successfully.
I hope you’re a lucky one who can keep eating gluten, and just has to drink nut milks & butters instead of dairy!) Good luck!
My asthma, joint pains, bloating and constipation, sinus problems, nose drippings and headaches went away by eliminating gluten and dairy. This spring I did the GAPS-introduction diet (only 4 weeks) and my pollen allergy is gone too!
This book is for autism/ADHD etc., but everybody with allergy and eczema could benefit greatly too by healing their gut and get rid of their symptoms:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gut-Psychology-Syndrome-Depression-Schizophrenia/dp/0954852028/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401089079&sr=1-1&keywords=gaps+diet
I have been told by many friends my gluten intolerance is all in my head. But as sick as I got when I tried wheat after 21 days free convinced me. I will still eat gluten free. Hoping my anxiety goes away as a result of gluten free. Still can’t figure that out.
Rita? Rita? Her comment appeared in my email inbox. Where did you go Rita?
Confusing carbohydrates with glucose? The carbohydrates enter your mouth as food and are converted to glucose in your stomach and small intestine so they can enter the blood stream. If I’m correct, the glucose is converted to Pyruvic Acid in the Liver so that it can enter the cells for being metabolized for energy… In the blood all carbohydrates are glucose, no matter what form they took outside of your body…. In Mexico Diabetes is called sugar. “I’m sorry, I can’t eat that because I have sugar.” Too bad they don’t also say, “I’m sorry, I can’t drink that because I have alcohol”… or “I can’t eat that because I have white bread or pasta or corn tortillas or or or”… Glucose, Fructose, Galactose, Sucrose, Carbohydrates, Starches, Vodka, Tequila, Beer, Whisky, Coca Cola, Orange Juice, French Bread, Flour Tortillas, Fritos, Fried or steamed dumplings (without the pork fillings)… in your blood stream they are GLUCOSE… It seems that most people don’t understand this (as did not I 3 months ago); very convenient for the pharmaceutical companies and the food industry and the endocrinologists and cardiologists… Very complicated, especially with the modern buying and eating and socializing “traditions” within which we grew up and that evolved with us; our great grandparents lived a totally different tradition/experience, meaning that we don’t have to be faithful to this incredibly unhealthy trend.
Ignorance is not the innocent state of lacking information. It is the conscientious act of ignoring. You may not know something at this moment. That does not make you ignorant. It is when you intentional ignore the information when you put yourself in the position of being labeled something offensive. But, why be offended if you chose to be ignorant? This last statement is hypothetical and directed at a general “you”…
Ross
Thank you for bringing a bit of philosophical thinking into this interminable conversation.
Hi Fiona. Thanks for appreciating a slight change of pace… Sometimes all we truly have is our minds or our spirits beyond all of the rest of the material and socio-political constructs such as gender and accomplishments (status/prestige/education) and birth rights and nationality, class, religion, socially/commercially determined evaluation of attractiveness (which also determines many rights). Maybe we can’t truly have our health (physical and mental). But, I’ll be darned if a “monkey” in a doctor’s uniform or a pharmicist’s uniform or a investor’s suit or a politician’s suit determines (has the first and last word) the limits of my health and subsequent suffering. I wish that could come out clearer… And, that’s not to say that all doctors or pharmicists or politicians or investors are poor intentioned. However, considering that we learn from others all that we understand, hopefully using our minds the best we can for truly “reading between the lines”, it is more probable that the doctor or the pharmacist is misinformed and will direct us within the limits of their system of misinformation. In the end, all professionals must protect their careers, which guarantee their family income and all connected. So, why expect them to do something unpopular and, probably un-costeffective or better worded; illogical for incrementing income…?
It is very rare that people, even those you would consider thinking and conscientious human beings, respond to what I write… which subsequently helps maintain my cynicism towards true human tendency and social movements…
Ross
I can divide my life into two parts – before I stopped eating gluten-containing foods and after. Before I stopped, I had had half a lung removed and adenoids removed and had chronic asthma for which I was prescribed an inhaler. I caught the flu twice a year and always it got into my lungs so I needed antibiotics. The doctors told my parents I wouldn’t live beyond 30.
My dentist said I needed a root canal which I couldn’t afford. I had chronic fatigue syndrome and felt like I was in a fog all the time. Couldn’t sleep well, had arthritis coming on so bad that my neck crunched, I had to stop knitting and stooped over when I got out of a chair till the pain went away. I was 42. My breasts were full of cycts
When I took gluten out of my diet, ALL THESE SYMPTOMS WENT AWAY!!! And I never had any bowel symptoms, I was astounded! People ask me if I’m celiac and I say “No, just gluten sensetive.”
So now I’m 63 and have half of one lung because the medical profession did not consider diet and just cut, cut cut. I am beyond angry since there’s nothing I can do about it. I have endured countless X-rays, two bronchiograms and many courses of antibiotics and scarring of my lungs as well as emphysema, the result of 42 years of wrong treatment.
I’ve been gluten-free for three months now, but my symptoms (leg pains and foot cramps, headaches, sinus issues, chronic cough, mild depression) have not improved. Should I conclude that gluten is not my issue? I’m wondering if I should reintroduce gluten and try eliminating dairy instead…
Hi Kelly
Try eliminate BOTH gluten and dairy… I eliminated gluten 2 years ago and got a lot better but still had sinus problems, nose drippings and headaches. Cut out dairy too… and all the problems are gone! I have read that the proteins in gluten and dairy are very similar: If you have problems with gluten, you might have with dairy too…. Try it ♥
My allergies are terrible right now, so I’m trying to be dairy-free as well as gluten-free. Will give it 2 weeks. Can I still eat goat cheese, since it’s not from a cow? Can I still eat a gluten-free muffin (for example) if there are a couple tablespoons of butter in the recipe?
I actually stopped drinking cow’s milk a couple months ago but have still been eating cheese and yogurt. I know there are soy and coconut yogurts and ice creams out there, but what kind of substitutes are there for cheese? I love cheese…:-(
Hi Kelly,a lot of my clients who are wheat and a few other things sensitive also react badly to soy. Most of their symtoms from sensitivity to soy are congested sinuses, with swollen mucous membranes making the whole sinus system thick and gluggy, so including nasal passages, forehead and sphenoid (sinus cavities between the eyes, closer to the middle of the head, and for some also reactions in the throat and down the front midline all the way to the diaphragm.
Substituting dairy with soy milk isn’t necessarily the right thing to do. You may just exchange one set of reactions for another, and in my experience, the head-throat-sinus symptoms of dairy sensitivity are nearly the same with soy sensitivity.
Thanks; I will keep that in mind. I can eliminate soy milk right away but will avoid tofu and edamame only as a last resort – I used to live in Japan and ate those things all the time, and I was never healthier than I was in Japan. For now, I plan to start the Paleo diet this weekend (which will also be hard, as a Japanese food lover).
Whole wheat lectins are at least as problematic for some people as gluten, especially for Type O blood.
I agree with you Carol, for myself and a certain percentage of my clients, whole any-grain seems to make issues worse, not just in the gut but also in other reactions in the body.
Can you point me in the direction of anything written about that? i would love to know more.
All this nit picking. I had problems. I quit eating wheat and gluten. My problems went away. End of story for me. People who don’t like that I gave up wheat and gluten and got healthier can just deal with it. You can’t complain if you don’t experience it. I was a bread hound and now I could care less if I ever even smell the stuff. Yawn. Funny, not eating it took away my jonesing for it. LOL. What’s the problem some of you? Bread is easy to get. If you want it. Eat it. If you are too afraid to give up a few lousy pieces of bread and see what happens for even a week, then leave me alone and deal. Feeling like crap made me do something. What about some of the rest of you? I say if you can’t try it then you have been had and bought and sold by Big Food. I will not be fooled again.
I have been trying every diet under the sun to get my cholesterol and triglycerides under control. Vegan, vegetarian, then my daughter wanted me to try gluten free. My doctor wanted me on statins–I said no. He said mine was the heredity kind of cholesterol and no diet would help. Three months later my numbers were down. I was shocked-so was he. I mean my triglycerides were cut more than half. This isn’t scientific, but on the vegan diet my numbers actually went up. I have been vegetarian most of my life. Plus gut issues that I have had since having my gall bladder removed have cleared up. I am a believer now, I wasn’t before. Will not go back to eating gluten.
I believe the people with the PhDs and science backgrounds. Sensitivity to gluten is make-believe.
Rick, from your comment I’m guessing you don’t personally have any problems consuming wheat or gluten products. That’s great, you’re lucky.
If you read through the comments on this page, you’ll find lots of anecdotes from people who simply trust their own gut (literally). Plus there are many people who find wheat unnecessary in their diet–in the latter case strict avoidance may not be necessary, but that doesn’t mean it should be a staple in our diets.
Science is useful, but it’s also very incomplete in the area of nutrition and disease. The findings we have so far cannot be used to conclude wheat/gluten are absolutely safe or not (for non-Celiac patients). I like science too, and I would advocate further study. Regardless of what we prove there are sure to be more interesting and valuable findings.
Keep in mind too that the experts have been known to steer us wrong–just look at the saturated fat controversy for an example.