Gluten/wheat free, anyone?

[Bean Counter]

Anybody try cutting wheat and gluten out of their diet? I guess I haven't completely, but have reduced it by 95%+. Thing is, I don't feel much different. Do you only feel different once every ounce of gluten is purged? Maybe only people with a specific digestive intolerance need to do so? 

[Angry Perch]

I don't think there is any difference to be felt unless there is a specific underlying health issue.

[jackelope]

I have too much love for the town of Pomeroy, WA to eliminate gluten from my diet.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gluten-myths-embarrassed/story?id=23645211

[Sandberm]

My wife and I watch lots of food documentaries. That and just the general observations of my body contribute to my opinion on wheat/gluten.

I have no opinion on glutten unless you have celiacs, then you shouldnt have glutten.

I have discovered, not only do I feel better by cutting bread out of my diet but it is the single biggest contributor to helping me losing weight, hands down. I LOVE bread. PB & J sandwiches are probably my alltime favorite food followed by egg sandwiches.

Bread is addictive. Its filling so that feels good, but then a couple hours latter I start feeling tired and need another dose of bread. The carbs convert to sugar then you crash. Ive watched some food docs that talk about the addictive nature of bread and how it makes you feel. I had some real "Ohhhhh, thats why I feel the way I do"moments after watching some of these shows.

[7mmfan]

As has been said, gluten itself is not a problem unless you actually have an allergy to it. That being said, my wife and I have made significant progress in cutting most simple carbs out of our diets and pretty much eat meat and veggies/fruit. I do eat steel cut oats most mornings, and I am a sucker for chips and salsa, but that's about the extent of it. Now, if I could just lay off the damn Jelly Bellies...

[jackelope]

My wife and I watch lots of food documentaries. That and just the general observations of my body contribute to my opinion on wheat/gluten.

I have no opinion on glutten unless you have celiacs, then you shouldnt have glutten.

I have discovered, not only do I feel better by cutting bread out of my diet but it is the single biggest contributor to helping me losing weight, hands down. I LOVE bread. PB & J sandwiches are probably my alltime favorite food followed by egg sandwiches.

Bread is addictive. Its filling so that feels good, but then a couple hours latter I start feeling tired and need another dose of bread. The carbs convert to sugar then you crash. Ive watched some food docs that talk about the addictive nature of bread and how it makes you feel. I had some real "Ohhhhh, thats why I feel the way I do"moments after watching some of these shows.

I relate the love/addiction for breads to the carbs/sugars. Not the glutens.
The sugar is the addictive part, and the part that makes you fat and unhealthy.

[pianoman9701]

I went wheat-free for two years. The biggest thing i noticed was it was easier to lose weight - a constant battle. It also dropped my blood sugar about 15 points into the low 90s. But, I had originally done it to decrease joint pain - didn't work. After two years of it, I dropped the effort. I don't eat near as much as I used to and I also use a wheat flour substitute sometimes for breading things like oysters.

[Bean Counter]

I'm not exactly a hippie, but since I grew up in Seattle I have just enough lasting influence from my youth and young adulthood there that certain buzz words still catch my attention. I recently chatted with a G.I. doc and he sounded like he was on a warpath with wheat consumption, even if you're not gluten intolerant. "You'll live a lot longer" or something like that. He was even good with a large substitution of corn: corn tortillas, tortilla chips, popcorn, etc.

His contention was simply that wheat is so genetically modified and selectively bred from what it once was that its hardly to be considered real food anymore. I should have asked him for a book to read further on the subject, because it sounds like an interesting study. If I had to treat his professional opinion with a bit of skepticism I'd wonder if the fact that he simply sees the bunt end of people with leaky gut and celiac disease that he doesn't want anything to do with it. I'm sure there area  lot of rehab therapists that have no use for alcohol..

I've been eating a lot more brown rice, sweet potatoes/yams, and what not, but I have the opposite of Pianoman's problem. I mostly still fit clothes I wore in high school and I'm a big hangry from time to time eating less wheat. I'm sure these 'whole grains' are more nutrient dense than processed wheat and that's all well and good, but again--after a few months, I just don't feel all that different. 

[pianoman9701]

I'm not exactly a hippie, but since I grew up in Seattle I have just enough lasting influence from my youth and young adulthood there that certain buzz words still catch my attention. I recently chatted with a G.I. doc and he sounded like he was on a warpath with wheat consumption, even if you're not gluten intolerant. "You'll live a lot longer" or something like that. He was even good with a large substitution of corn: corn tortillas, tortilla chips, popcorn, etc.

His contention was simply that wheat is so genetically modified and selectively bred from what it once was that its hardly to be considered real food anymore. I should have asked him for a book to read further on the subject, because it sounds like an interesting study. If I had to treat his professional opinion with a bit of skepticism I'd wonder if the fact that he simply sees the bunt end of people with leaky gut and celiac disease that he doesn't want anything to do with it. I'm sure there area  lot of rehab therapists that have no use for alcohol..

I've been eating a lot more brown rice, sweet potatoes/yams, and what not, but I have the opposite of Pianoman's problem. I mostly still fit clothes I wore in high school and I'm a big hangry from time to time eating less wheat. I'm sure these 'whole grains' are more nutrient dense than processed wheat and that's all well and good, but again--after a few months, I just don't feel all that different. 

I started it because of the book Wheat Belly. Since then, the book has been largely debunked as mock science. The book talks a lot about dwarf wheat, pesticides and herbicides used to grow modern production wheat. But since I've read several papers which dispute many of the principles on which the author relied.

[Bean Counter]

Yeah, that kind of stuff.

[DOUBLELUNG]

My wife has gluten intolerance (probably celiac, opted against biopsy confirmation due to blood clotting disorder).  She is as knowledgeable about nutrition as anyone I know, she is adamant that anyone who doesn't have it is crazy to give up wheat.  As for feeling different, it does require 100% elimination IF you have intolerance/celiac. 

[Special T]

My mother is a celiac with bad gut problems and I have not been diagnosed but do not eat wheat or wheat gluten and I feel much better for it.
The best I've ever felt was whole on the Atkins diet. I love fresh and cooked vegetables and meat.  I'm of the opinion that  the more processed the food the less it is like what your body is designed to consume.

A lot of the Gluten-free hype stems from the fact that there is a larger understanding of autoimmune diseases like Celiac, Renouds, diabetes, astma, ceria sis  and such.  When we eat simple foods it is much easier for our bodies to tell us there is a problem. For a long time Corn and Rice checks had wheat Gluten as the binder in them for no other reason than it was what was readily available. Who would of thought that?

A buddy of mines family was having issues with food allergies and such. The book "eat right for your type" helped them. I have not read it yet but from my basic understanding it's based off of ethnicity/blood type and some how ties into biblical history... dunno need to get it.

[Special T]

The ONLY thing I really miss is good beer.  All light GF beer is horrible. I have had some good IPA and Dark beers. There has been quite a bit of improvement in this area, but according to the Germans it's not really beer anymore. I had the Pleasure of attending October fest in Munich  before I figured it out... my God the beer was fantastic!

[jackelope]

The ONLY thing I really miss is good beer.  All light GF beer is horrible. I have had some good IPA and Dark beers. There has been quite a bit of improvement in this area, but according to the Germans it's not really beer anymore. I had the Pleasure of attending October fest in Munich  before I figured it out... my God the beer was fantastic!

Omission beers are really good from what I've heard. I think I've had the pale ale but don't recall what I thought about it. It's made by Widmer, they sell it in the grocery stores and there's a few different versions....pale ale, IPA, a lager I think.

[Special T]

I've had Omission. It's real beer that has something added to it to make the gluten fall to the bottom. A few are ok for me but anyone who is a celiac shouldn't drink them. They get all but 2% or so out.

Some one who is Gluten intolerant has the Villi in your intestines inflamed when you ingest wheat/gluten. If you catch it when you are young enough small amounts like what is in Omission beer or soy sauce  won't make you too uncomfortable.  The irritation has a cumulative effect on you if you do not allow your Villi to heal. Most people who are Celiac didn't figure it out until thier intestines were scared from constant inflammation. They have NO tollarance for the Gluten because they can not heal up.

[Special T]

There is a good GF beer maker in Oregon, Farm Time beer? Has a tractor on it. Best GF and local beer I've had. Hands down the best GF beer is Greens out of Belgium... at $8 a pint from the grocery store I don't drink many of those.

[sumpnz]

Wife has celiacs, as does the vast majority of her mom's side of the family out to 1st cousins.  We assume the kids do too, though we're going a wheat trial to see for sure.

The thing about gluten free diets is that unless you have celiacs it is often less healthy than a regular wheat-inclusive diet.  It has to do with the types of carbs contained in gluten-free wheat replacement flours.  IIRC my wife said they're higher glycemic index carbs than wheat.

Beyond that, eating GF starchy foods is hideously expensive.  If you don't need to be GF you'll save a ton of money by not buying GF substitutes for gluten containing food you normally eat.

[jackelope]

Here you go, Special T...

http://thebeerdiaries.tv/beer-guide/gluten-free-guide/

The Beer Diaries Gluten Free guide.

[Special T]

Here you go, Special T...

http://thebeerdiaries.tv/beer-guide/gluten-free-guide/

The Beer Diaries Gluten Free guide.

Great resource. I'm surprised the Greens Endeavor  didn't score as well as I like it. Harvester is the Oregon company that is good and has good reviews.

I had a Spanish light beer that was as close as I've ever had to acceptable a while back. Redbridge by AHB is so bad  I won't drink it. Most light beers have a funny finish to them similar to a saint beers like sapuro. It's my opinion that the IPA and Dark beers do a better job of covering for the off/strange finish due to the no wheat.

It's no surprise that the beers that separate the gluten out review much better.... because they actually use wheat.

Part of the issue, at least for me, is that if I'm having a "beer" it had better taste like one. If it doesn't I'll just have a cocktail. I've had many of the hard ciders and some of them are pretty good. The hardest part is when you have a hankering for a beer and there is only trash to be had.

I'll use that guide for a couple of new purchases.

[Antlershed]

My wife and I watch lots of food documentaries. That and just the general observations of my body contribute to my opinion on wheat/gluten.

I have no opinion on glutten unless you have celiacs, then you shouldnt have glutten.

I have discovered, not only do I feel better by cutting bread out of my diet but it is the single biggest contributor to helping me losing weight, hands down. I LOVE bread. PB & J sandwiches are probably my alltime favorite food followed by egg sandwiches.

Bread is addictive. Its filling so that feels good, but then a couple hours latter I start feeling tired and need another dose of bread. The carbs convert to sugar then you crash. Ive watched some food docs that talk about the addictive nature of bread and how it makes you feel. I had some real "Ohhhhh, thats why I feel the way I do"moments after watching some of these shows.

I relate the love/addiction for breads to the carbs/sugars. Not the glutens.
The sugar is the addictive part, and the part that makes you fat and unhealthy.

8 years ago I lost 40lbs, all while eating bread every single day! I ate the 45 cal/slice stuff, but I eliminated all other non-natural sugars from my diet. 

[steen]

I've read that the main reason so many people are gluten intolerant Is because It is sprayed with roundup three days before harvest to get that perfect color and dryness just before harvest.  The roundup is not all gone out of the wheat yet. It needs to be left for longer but if they do that the wheat loses it's crisp dry texture. Don't remember much of the article anymore but it was interesting.

[Boss .300 winmag]

I've read that the main reason so many people are gluten intolerant Is because It is sprayed with roundup three days before harvest to get that perfect color and dryness just before harvest.  The roundup is not all gone out of the wheat yet. It needs to be left for longer but if they do that the wheat loses it's crisp dry texture. Don't remember much of the article anymore but it was interesting.

I have a hard time believing that one, cost plus crop damage from tractors, plus to expensive to crop dust it, and not enough crop duster to achieve this.

[hogslayer]

I hate to say it but i am Gluten and Dairy free.  Trust me it isn't a choice.  I feel like such a lame asking about it when i go out.  Amazingly it happened when i quite doing drugs a little over 7 years ago.  Got clean and realized real quick that i could melt paint with some of the stuff that happened when i ate the wrong things.  It seems that a lot of people my age (30) have/ are having problems with it.  I do believe that over processed and chemicals have something to do with it.  It's a growing trend and illness for lots of people.