Going Gluten Free: Yay or Nay?

[Veritas0Aequitas]

It's late and I don't feel like typing out a long reply but here's the abridged version.

I have a very serious case of Crohn's disease. I also had asthma for 20 years. Once I eliminated gluten from my diet, not only did my Crohn's symptoms improve drastically but my asthma completely disappeared. I was tested for "Celiac's disease" and did not test positive for a gluten allergy. So yeah, just because you do not have Celiac's disease does not mean you are just OK to eat gluten. I have seen many of my friends and family eliminate it from their diet and (or went to a more Paleo diet), not only did they lose weight, they weren't bloated, they had more energy, were clearer headed, didn't get sick as much and overall felt just better. It's not a placebo, it's reality.

Bomm I don't think you're an ignorant guy, but making a blanket statement that anyone who does not have Celiac's disease should not eat gluten is in fact ignorant. There is a lot we don't know about foods (especially processed foods for that matter) or the real long term effect that food has on our body. Even through different generations. Science and nutrition have a long way to go.

Just something to think about.

[Veritas0Aequitas]

Double f****** post.

[Bomm Bastic]

It's late and I don't feel like typing out a long reply but here's the abridged version.

I have a very serious case of Crohn's disease. I also had asthma for 20 years. Once I eliminated gluten from my diet, not only did my Crohn's symptoms improve drastically but my asthma completely disappeared. I was tested for "Celiac's disease" and did not test positive for a gluten allergy. So yeah, just because you do not have Celiac's disease does not mean you are just OK to eat gluten. I have seen many of my friends and family eliminate it from their diet and (or went to a more Paleo diet), not only did they lose weight, they weren't bloated, they had more energy, were clearer headed, didn't get sick as much and overall felt just better. It's not a placebo, it's reality.

Bomm I don't think you're an ignorant guy, but making a blanket statement that anyone who does not have Celiac's disease should not eat gluten is in fact ignorant. There is a lot we don't know about foods (especially processed foods for that matter) or the real long term effect that food has on our body. Even through different generations. Science and nutrition have a long way to go.

Just something to think about.

Very sorry. I'll rephrase.

Unless you have celiacs or crohns, there's no need.

The rest of what you said is pure speculation. Not to mention anecdotal.

[doulos]

VA,

My mom has Crohn's and if this is true I would love to help her out. Do you have scientific studies that have connected gluten free diets and Crohn's?

[Ross The Boss Palmer]

I had serious lung congestion 3 years ago, was in tip top shape from varsity sports just prior, but couldn't shake this congestion I got from a cold for months. I tried everything I could, antioxidants, vitamins, and antibiotics. Nothing worked. At the time I lived in a place similar to Animal House, and even my very unhealthy roommates were seriously concerned. Into the 4th month, a nurse suggested that I go gluten free. I was cleared up in less than a month.


Gluten is Latin for glue. It is what allows bread dough to be sticky and stretchy, and the reason why bread houses all those little air bubbles as it bakes. Our North American wheat is larger and more rough than it's European and other counterparts. This difference in grain size and composition is thought to be why many North Americans have an issue processing wheat.

[Bomm Bastic]

VA,

My mom has Crohn's and if this is true I would love to help her out. Do you have scientific studies that have connected gluten free diets and Crohn's?

Not sure why I capitulated on the crohn's point. Just trying to be nice and it was very early in the morning - on the can. That's what happens when I am vulnerable.

[doulos]

Ross,

These are all good stories and glad you are feeling better. I don't deny that you feeling better corresponded with a change in your diet. Unfortunately it actually proves nothing at all. That's why studies are done up, to validate claims like that.

Maybe you had a sensitivity to gluten that was undiagnosed. Maybe there was another food in your diet (that also contained gluten) that you had an allergy/sensitivity to, but the gluten was not the issue. Maybe it was pure coincidence (happens a lot!). Maybe you actually just started feeling better due to a placebo effect. The list goes on.

Basically because you experienced change doesn't mean it was due to gluten - although maybe it was. Without controlling for variables there is no way of knowing.

[Bomm Bastic]

doulos has really summed it all up quite nicely, but if I may piggyback on what he has already stated and elaborate...

For those on a strict GF, you may indeed be feeling better. On this I have no doubt because you are by design eliminating cakes, pies, processed foods, starches such as french fries and gravies, BEER, pasta etc....

In other words you are effectively cutting out a shit ton (not to be confused with a metric ton) of sugar and hydrogenated oils.

The confounds to which doulos refers comes from the direct physiological effects this diet change reaps. Lower sugar? Now the body is burning fat (instead of the sugar) thereby causing weight loss. Less sugar + lower weight/BMI = lower blood pressure. Exercising a bit more or generally more active? This too lowers stress, promotes healthy endorphins which in-turn promotes better rest. All this has a direct effect on illness (colds, flu, etc...)

These fad diets like Paleo, South Beach, Atkins etc. aren't any mystery. They all have underlying commonalities (1) portion control (that's a biggee), (2) freshly prepared foods containing fresh ingredients, (3) promote healthy ACTIVE lifestyles.

That's it. Pinning it all on gluten per se, gives gluten way too much credit.

Hope that's not all beyond ignorant.

[hawkdog]

Very sorry. I'll rephrase.

Unless you have celiacs or crohns, there's no need.

The rest of what you said is pure speculation. Not to mention anecdotal.

Wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten_sensitivity
http://www.celiaccentral.org/non-cel...n-sensitivity/


My wife has neither disease, but more of an intolerance. So we cut back on wheat. She feels way better and now actually gets a bit of a rash when she eats wheat now. She however refuses to give up Sleeman's Pale ale.


I also play hockey with the a guy who lost 70 pounds by cutting wheat out of his diet.

[hawkdog]

doulos has really summed it all up quite nicely, but if I may piggyback on what he has already stated and elaborate...

For those on a strict GF, you may indeed be feeling better. On this I have no doubt because you are by design eliminating cakes, pies, processed foods, starches such as french fries and gravies, BEER, pasta etc....

In other words you are effectively cutting out a shit ton (not to be confused with a metric ton) of sugar and hydrogenated oils.

That's it. Pinning it all on gluten per se, gives gluten way too much credit.

Hope that's not all beyond ignorant.

I am sure this makes sense to you but your list of foods is wrong.
You do not eliminate cakes, pies, pasta.
You simply switch to rice based pasta, rice flour cakes and pie crust.
I posted a link here yesterday to Cloud nine bakery in Vancouver, check out their cakes and cookies.
Why would you cut out fries? No gluten in potatoes.

Its not fad, wheat is being genetically modified so it is harder for the body to process.

[Ross The Boss Palmer]

I am a kinesiologist by study, and a cook by profession (among other things) at the moment.

At that time in question, I simply cut out beer (still drank) and greatly reduced my bread and pasta intake, although I still consumed both fairly regularly. I was in much worse shape than I was when I originally became congested, and my diet was actually overall worse (less fruits and vegetables, more meat). I should have been more descriptive, the nurse suggested I cut out gluten, but I simply cut down my intake.

To treat the knowledge at present in scientific community as the be all and end all for this topic does not do it justice. We all like to argue, and we all are used to winning said arguments. To deem there is no link between gluten and lung congestion because your body of scientific knowledge knows not of one is a fallacy in judgement. A simple search of google scholar will provide just as many, if not more, arguments for a connection between gluten and lung congestion in absence of a defined sensitivity. The scientific community has been calling for a new definition of gluten sensitivity for 20 years because literary reviews deemed the definition greatly outdated in 1992. I generally agree with both of your line of reasoning, but I do not in this instance. There is much on the topic that is to be discovered, studied, and understood.

It has only been in the past 10 years that the scientific community has accepted the brain's plasticity and have begun looking at it in the same sense as a muscle. There are corporations that are improperly utilizing this information for profit (Lumosity for example) just like people are with gluten and diets. However, it is not far fetched in my mind that a word that literally translates to "glue" in Latin, would have some connection to lung congestion.

[hawkdog]

Wheat is NA is being engineered to have more gluten in it so it is better for baking etc.

Similar to pot in BC has a high THC level cause thats what the growers are selecting for.

[Bomm Bastic]

I am sure this makes sense to you but your list of foods is wrong.
You do not eliminate cakes, pies, pasta.
You simply switch to rice based pasta, rice flour cakes and pie crust.
I posted a link here yesterday to Cloud nine bakery in Vancouver, check out their cakes and cookies.
Why would you cut out fries? No gluten in potatoes.

Its not fad, wheat is being genetically modified so it is harder for the body to process.

It is a fad diet.

Prepackaged fries contain gluten. Processed foods generally (including meats and cheeses) contain gluten as a binding agent.

Ice cream sales are positively correlated with crime rates. Perhaps we should ban ice cream?

[hawkdog]

No cure for stupid.

[Bomm Bastic]

No cure for stupid.

On that, we agree.