# The gluen-free craze



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Watched an interesting investigative show last night and the so called dangers of eating gluten free is manufacturing hype unless one has celiac disease. Gf doesn't cure anything despite the claims. It's hearsay, nothing documented. The problem with going gluten free is one is missing out on an important protein. Gluten free has become a billion dollar business because people are willing to pay $5 for a loaf of gf bread whereas regular whole wheat sells for around $2. Gf products are taking over the shelves. It's not about our health but about how well they can line their pockets.


----------



## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

Was the show produced by the Wheat producers?


----------



## OutOfTheLoop (Apr 1, 2012)

All I have to say is when I ate gluten/dairy free, I had none of my usual stomach issues and did not have to take my pain meds for my tendonitis . That has to count for something.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

One of the big things people miss when they go off on a rant about the "gluten-free craze" is that there are two levels where gluten can affect you - there is Celiac/other intestinal diseases where gluten causes a HUGE and immediate reaction, and then there is someone who may be sensitive to gluten, but not allergic. Think of someone you know who can eat hot peppers until the cows come home, and the person next to them who can barely touch a jalapeno to their tongue without needing to drink a gallon of water. 

You can be sensitive to something and not allergic. As well, wheat/gluten intolerances, like MANY other food intolerances, are also poorly understood at best by the medical community, simply because there is a wide range of reactions.

I eat a diet that, while not SPECIFICALLY gluten-free, is free of grains and grain by-products by design, and I notice a definite difference when I am "on" as opposed to "off" my eating plan. I use it to control my ADHD, my weight, and a raging food addiction that got me up to nearly 400 lbs at one point in my life. 

If someone feels better when not eating a food product, then by all means, have at.


----------



## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

I do believe that many people have convinced themselves they are gluten intolerant, when they do just fine with it. However, there are a multitude of reasons to avoid wheat, including and also beyond gluten.

The protein argument really gets my goat, because there is not 1 single protein that plants provide that can't be obtained from meat or animal protein. Additionally, animal proteins are far easier to digest for most people (note the most, we all have different epigenetics that effect our specific digestion).

For me, wheat is problematic due to the phytaic acid. Unless the product is fermented, the phytic acid binds to certain enzymatic proteins making them unavailable. For most people, the result is insignificant, but for some like myself, the body cannot deal with the slight disruption and begins to malfunction. For me, that is a big reason to avoid wheat (along with other foods). Gluten truly effects some in a similar manner.

I am also anti-cereal grain due to the farming practices involved in large monoculture operations that are required to produce an end product that is over all very nutrient-poor. I would much rather eat a diet that can be harvested and grown much more sustainably. I will add that not all farmers are irresponsible and most small scale producers do rotation and stubble grazing and other conservaton practices to minimize soil erosion, but I have run far too many RUSLE model runs to ignore the fact that modern cereal production goes way beyond the T factor of most soils. And the amount that is demanded in this country makes it so that so much land has to be put though the wringer every year to satisfy that demand.

So the whole anti-wheat, gf craze is WAY more multifaceted than everyone being duped into believing they have Celiac's.


----------



## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

As a person who has Celiacs and _cannot_ eat wheat/gluten and so forth, I LOVE this gluten-free craze.

I mean, I hate that I can't eat out because if you tell a restaurant "oh, this needs to be GF" they'll laugh at you and generally only take you half seriously - the food might GF in name, but they more than likely prepared it on the same cutting board/plate/etc as a wheat product and "infected" it with gluten.

But, in the three years I've been GF, GF food I can buy has become SO much better. It used to be that I could buy sandwich bread that had to be toasted to be edible and it cost $12, or I could make sandwich bread at home that really didn't have the texture of bread. Snack foods from the store were nonexistent and, if I wanted anything sweet, I had to make it myself - mixing 5 different types of flours and other products, then crossing my fingers that it'd be edible.
Pizza was impossible, homemade crust just can't hold up to more than a cheese crust.

I don't think you understand what a hassle mixing flour is until you've done it. My mom, who is an accomplished cook/baker, still won't even try. If she wants to make something for me, I mix the flour for her recipe, then she makes it.

Now we can buy pre-mixed, QUALITY, GF flour at the store. I can buy sandwich bread for $5 that actually tastes/feels like sandwich bread, for those weeks when the weekend was too short and the week is going to be long. I can get snacks at the store. I can get cookies without having to bake them myself. 
I can buy delicious mixes for cookies, cakes, pie crust, pizza crust, whatever.

I love baking and I do it constantly, but I also have a full time job and plenty of other responsibilities beyond keeping my horse at home. I simply do not have the time to make everything I need to eat to survive. 

This GF craze, while annoying and silly, has given me SO many more options and made eating so much more enjoyable for me.

It's hard to imagine having no option but to eat things that melt into sand in you mouth, but that was my life for 2 years. 
It was disgusting, but I literally had no choice. Now that there are so many more GF products on the market, my life is so much more delicious and eating is no longer just because I have to.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

My father has has Celiac Disease since 1991. At that time, it actually took them 5 years to diagnose it because it was so unheard of at the time. It was very difficult back then because nothing was labeled as gluten free, and no restaurants had ever heard of such a thing. It has made life a lot easier for my parents, with the "gluten free craze".

The only thing that really, really bothers me about the gluten-free craze is the people who are going gluten free but have no idea why they are going gluten free. They're only explanation is that they have "heard" that gluten is bad for you. 

THAT is what really grinds my gears. 

If you are noticing health benefits for going gluten free and understand how it works in your body (and have educated yourself), more power to ya. No different that someone choosing to do Atkins, or Paleo, or Vegan or whatever else. 

But don't choose a diet plan because it's the new fad and you have no clue about it.:evil:


----------



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Wallaby, the problem with fads is that they're generally short lived, so enjoy it while you can. 

The 'low fat, low carb' stuff was all over the grocery stores for a few years, now you can barely find any of it. Unfortunately for those of you who really do have gluten intolerances, the GF products will also become few and far between soon enough.


----------



## gssw5 (Jul 30, 2013)

For those who are truly allergic or sensitive to wheat it is not hype.

My husband has a sensitivity to wheat/gluten he cannot even eat gluten free bread so there is something else in the wheat that causes him problems. He also is sensitive to corn and cannot have dairy products at all.

It makes cooking/eating easy we eat fresh vegetables, fresh meat, and rice. I love the large variety of rice pasta that is available. I have learned to make breads, gravies, and cobbler crust out of wheat free flours, the texture is never the same but he appreciates the effort.


----------



## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

You know what is GF and will never be taken away? Fresh fruits and veggies and good meat cooked in healthy animal fat  THAT is a good, safe diet (I'll get off my soap-box now)


----------



## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

gssw5 said:


> For those who are truly allergic or sensitive to wheat it is not hype.
> 
> My husband has a sensitivity to wheat/gluten he cannot even eat gluten free bread so there is something else in the wheat that causes him problems. He also is sensitive to corn and cannot have dairy products at all.
> 
> It makes cooking/eating easy we eat fresh vegetables, fresh meat, and rice. I love the large variety of rice pasta that is available. I have learned to make breads, gravies, and cobbler crust out of wheat free flours, the texture is never the same but he appreciates the effort.


Sounds like me and my diet! Does he do ok, or not as bad on fermented wheat products like beer or true sourdough? If so, he may be reacting to phytates. Corn is extremely high in it, so that is what makes me wonder.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I would guess that the fact that folks who eat gluten free often eat a lot more fruits and vegetables than those that do not concern themselves with it at all has more to do with the general 'good feeling of health" that they have. it's more what you DO eat, than what you DONT eat.

this is for folks who are not actually truly allergic to wheat.

human beings have survived on the calories of grains for thousands of years. there is not way that we can feed this earth's population on some kind of ATkins or Paleo diet. that is only for the very rich. it takes WAY more energy, land, pollution to create 100 calories of beef than 100 calories of grain. grain is absolutely essential to feeding people. even "fruits and vegetables" cannot take the place of it. you cannot grow many vegetables on land that will grow rice, or oats, or . . wheat.


----------



## SummerShy (Aug 3, 2014)

I don't get all the hatred against wheat. Bread is amazing. Delicious, filling, timeless (you know what I mean) and so much to be done with it. 

If you can't eat it or don't like it, don't eat it. But don't be knocking it saying something else is BETTER just because you like it more. Poo poo on you too!

I do feel for those who are limited by a true health concern. That's something else entirely.


----------



## HorsesAreLife190 (Mar 10, 2014)

I started eating gluten free and dairy free awhile back now and I have felt MUCH better. My stumache pains are gone, bloating is gone and migraine headaches have vanished. Also the acne that has plagued me since high school disappeared too. Has to count for something!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

Summer, I am not knocking those who eat wheat! I just think people are blissfully unaware of where their food comes from, and I mean ALL food. 

I respectfully disagree that grains are the only sustainable way to feed the human population, because I have seen acres and acres of land that have been destroyed by it and now supports nothing but rotational grazing. 
Also, beef is not the only protein source. If we really want to feed the population, more of the Western world needs to eat sustainable protein, such as insects. Agriculture around the world already has the ability to produce enough food for the whole human population, however the distribution is more unequal now than ever (kind of like the horrid wealth gap we have.)

And while I agree that wheat and grains have been part of some human's diets for millenia, not all societies ate that way and it is a ridiculous assumption to think ALL humans have the same ancestral diet or the same epigenetic tendancies. The grains that were wild harvested back then are also so different than the varieties of grain we grow now, even the non GMO varieties have still gone through selective breeding.

Sorry, this is a really touchy subject for me, personally and professionally. I am tired of livestock getting bashed, and blamed for things that they can actually help reverse, while cereal grain gets looked at as an angel and it is far more destructive on the whole. Ecologically speaking. Everyone has a different gut, so some of both do need to be available so everyone can get the nutrition they need.


----------



## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

SummerShy, it's not that people "hate" bread. I *love* bread, cake, cookies, the whole 9 yards, but I've come to realize after trial and error that it is just not good for me, and affects my health in ways that I don't like. I find that my ADHD is horrible and my anxiety becomes unbearable when I'm "off the wagon" so to speak. I have a harder time sleeping, and in general I just feel like...well, poo.

High levels of carbohydrates are, to me, like being an alcoholic in some ways. Everyone around you is drinking, and telling you to drink "in moderation" - which for you, does not exist, and the presence of this item in your body means a loss of control over your ability to moderate yourself and your consumption. You can't stop at one, because one becomes 10, 10 becomes 15, and so on. So, better to just stay away from it.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> dangers of eating gluten free is manufacturing hype unless one has celiac disease.


 ah, but there is no test that is accurate for gluten sensitivity, and the test for celiac is notoriously inaccurate and invasive. Additionally, the average time for a conclusive celiac diagnosis is 12 years, from onset to diagnosis. 12 years is a good chunk of someone's life. If you feel crappy on wheat, in order to be diagnosed celiac you have to keep eating it until they finish blood tests and biopsies. if you stop eating wheat the test will not be accurate.

I was reading about this in the doctors office, and I had a discussion with him about it. According the pamphlet, celiac can manifest in a myriad of ways, which accounts for its frequent misdiagnosis, like migraines, mood swings, poor immune system function, poor digestion and nutrient absorption, resulting in weight loss an malnutrition, repeated miscarriages, the list went on. My doctor was frustrated because of how much testing they were doing for the disease and how few people were actually positive for it, even with text book symptoms.

My cousin was vitamin and mineral deficient, suffering from violent mood swings and her weight had plummeted. At 20 she went from a size 8 to a size 0, looking like a walking skeleton, despite eating twice the food I was. She was exhausted constantly. The doctors were at a loss. She started noticing that after a wheat free meal, she tended to have less mood swings. So she cut off wheat as an experiment. Her mood stabilized, her energy increased, she gained weight. The doctors tested for celiac, and said she most definitely not.

I have inflammation issues, pretty serious ones. Cutting out any form of refined food, especially wheat, helps a lot.

so fine, maybe this is a 'craze', but with celiac and gluten sensitivity being so poorly under stood, who can blame people for attempting to feel better? I'm not a fan of blindly following a craze, but I do think there is some thing behind it.

by the way, I LOVE bread, cake, etc. I'm not giving them up for 'fun' or to follow some idiotic craze. Nor do I think all grains are bad. What I do know for a certainty is that all processed foods are bad for our bodies, and should be eaten only with extreme moderation.


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

most people that have 'gluten' problems are actually somewhat allergic to wheat etc. 

get an allergy test series done. Its SOOO fun. get 100 little scratches on your back, and what ever you are allergic to swells huge and itches for days. 

Eating foods that you are sensitive to , or even slightly allergic to will cause a lot of stomach problems. 

You can have an allergy, but not be deathly allergic to something.


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I've bee on the Celiac's diet since March. I had the 2 cheaper tests done for Celiac's 3 years ago because I have had horrible, horrible health problems for years, and they thought maybe I was a celiac. Negative. So I assumed I wasn't allergic, and kept eating wheat because honestly, bread is my FAVORITE. Especially biscuits, pizza, and rolls. But I kept getting sicker and sicker. My gallbladder stopped functioning and had to be removed, I went from a mostly healthy weight of 90 lbs (4'11) to 74 lbs, I started malabsorbing to the point of extreme malnutrition, I started becoming sensitive to new foods constantly, I vomited 2+ times a week, I was always nauseated, I ran the the bathroom constantly, and I had daily migraines...all day. 

But then my boss suggested in march that I try the gluten free diet despite the blood test showing nothing. I really didn't want to because it was more work and I ate huge amounts of saltine crackers to 'buffer my stomach' on days when I felt horrible, and couldnt eat anything else that day. At that point I felt so sick that I would try anything. It took 3 weeks, but slowly some of my symptoms disappeared. My mograins went away and I stopped having to take NSAIDS every since day. My GI problems improved so much that I actually stopped taking my 3 medications. I stopped vomiting, and I gained back even more weight to be a very healthy 93 lbs. Now, I didn't only take out gluten, I am allergic to many other things too, but gluten was the main factor. I still gave some of my problems like malabsorption and organ problems due to having 3 other autoimmune disorders, but over all I feel WAY better than I did this time last year...even though the celiacs blood test was negative.

I wish I wasn't t a celiac. It is super frustrating at times because I am also sensitive to nuts, dairy, many fruits, beans, and fatty meats. But I can't argue with how much better I feel. With my AI diseases it makes sense to follow the diet that I do, because wheat is inflammatory anyways, so I have multiple reasons to eat the way I do. You have no idea what having daily constant headaches and constant stomach pain is like....I had literally started to lose my will to live.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

There is some question now of these food issues being the result of what is called leaky gut syndrome. Who hasn't been on antibiotics or anti-inflammatories? These are possible causes, depending on how often they are ingested.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> Human beings have survived on the calories of grains for thousands of years


 yes, non GMO, non pesticide laden grains. They also didn't eat meat that was raised on hormones and antibiotics, or vegetables that had been sprayed, irradiated and shipped across a continent. I have no problem eating quinoa, amaranth, teff, rice, oat, buckwheat or barley, but I don't feel right on wheat.

coincidentally, I don't like tomatoes that contain fish genetics to protect against disease, or that are sprayed with chemicals so bad you wear a suit and respirator to apply it.

but anyways, lots of the people that feel gross on wheat (not celiac with a proven gluten intolerance)can eat the heritage, non gmo, organically raised wheat(like emmer) no problem. That to me says something is up with modern wheat.


----------



## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

BlueSpark said:


> yes, non GMO, non pesticide laden grains. They also didn't eat meat that was raised on hormones and antibiotics, or vegetables that had been sprayed, irradiated and shipped across a continent. I have no problem eating quinoa, amaranth, teff, rice, oat, buckwheat or barley, but I don't feel right on wheat.
> 
> coincidentally, I don't like tomatoes that contain fish genetics to protect against disease, or that are sprayed with chemicals so bad you wear a suit and respirator to apply it.
> 
> but anyways, lots of the people that feel gross on wheat (not celiac with a proven gluten intolerance)can eat the heritage, non gmo, organically raised wheat(like emmer) no problem. That to me says something is up with modern wheat.


Forget "like," where's "LOVE" you need it?!!


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

BlueSpark said:


> yes, non GMO, non pesticide laden grains. They also didn't eat meat that was raised on hormones and antibiotics, or vegetables that had been sprayed, irradiated and shipped across a continent. I have no problem eating quinoa, amaranth, teff, rice, oat, buckwheat or barley, but I don't feel right on wheat.
> 
> coincidentally, I don't like tomatoes that contain fish genetics to protect against disease, or that are sprayed with chemicals so bad you wear a suit and respirator to apply it.
> 
> but anyways, lots of the people that feel gross on wheat (not celiac with a proven gluten intolerance)can eat the heritage, non gmo, organically raised wheat(like emmer) no problem. That to me says something is up with modern wheat.


Modern wheat is an abomination, developed and selected to grow fat and fast, with the help of may sprays and a heck of a lot of fertilizer. I'm a wheat farmer, we try to grow as ethically as possible, but my original insistence on GMO free, and older varieties nearly broke us, as in on the very edge of bankruptcy. Now we do what we have to do to try and make a living, while still helping to feed the world.

I am not gluten intolerant, but I have just in the last couple of days cut the wheat from my diet again, and I feel so much better already, no bloated feeling, no food cravings, more energy. Wheat is for sure bad for me in so many ways, even though I love the products that it makes.

Food isn't what it used to be, that's for sure..I could write pages, but I better not


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Interesting again, having been so busy on the farm over the last few weeks, meals tend to be sandwiches at lunch, and often bread or rolls with some sort of crockpot stew for supper.

I felt fat, bloated and just so heavy. I eventually plucked up courage to stand on the scales at the start of the week and was horrified at what they said:shock::evil: So I made one simple change, cut the wheat out of my diet. 

Still eating the same stuff, but just not opting for bread, or cookies, but everything else the same, full fat everything, beer in the evening, handful of roast nuts if peckish, and I have dropped 6 pounds in 5 days....just, I believe, from getting the wheat out of my diet, one little change...


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

the non gmo.. well, the grains that existed 20 or 30 years ago have all been modified. 
the yellow corn seeds planted today, are not the seeds from the native americans and new world time. I don't think I want my veggies immune to weed killers, but some modifications are going to help , some by natural selection and some by man. 
Many plants make themselves unattractive to insects by scent or thorns etc, I found that interesting and science could use that as an advantage, so long as they dont make frankenstein plants..


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> I don't think I want my veggies immune to weed killers, but some modifications are going to help , some by natural selection and some by man.


 there is a big difference between a natural adaptation of a plant variety, and a human scientist tampering with a plant using genetics that were never meant to be together and no really knowledge of how GMO varieties differ from the original realistically. They know they are bigger, higher yield, disease and round up resistant/proof, but what effect does that have on the creatures consuming it? they don't know.

They have added animal dna to plants, and even talked about using human DNA in specific circumstances, but ruled it out. How does that sound like a good idea?

anyhow, I do think GMO is having a big effect on what we eat, especially wheat. Its really frustrating that farmers that want to avoid GMO really don't have a choice if they want to pay the bills.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

BlueSpark said:


> ?
> 
> anyhow, I do think GMO is having a big effect on what we eat, especially wheat. Its really frustrating that farmers that want to avoid GMO really don't have a choice if they want to pay the bills.


What is also frustrating is that the GMO plants escape, it is very hard to avoid them. Canola is becoming more of a noxious weed as it spreads, and.....no threatening to get political here........yes there are some advantages to selective breeding and cross breeding, same as there is in teh animal world, but what we are doing to plants is kind of scary.

Again, it is also very scary how little 'food' is in our food products, my grocery shopping has changed a lot this year, trying to reduce the chemical load we take in, more organic, more fresh veggies and fruit, meat and fish, very few ready meals, and less 'manufactured' things.


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

"They have added animal dna to plants, and even talked about using human DNA in specific circumstances, but ruled it out. How does that sound like a good idea?"
Well, I would say that comes under the title Frankenstein plant.


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

tinyliny said:


> human beings have survived on the calories of grains for thousands of years. there is not way that we can feed this earth's population on some kind of ATkins or Paleo diet. that is only for the very rich. it takes WAY more energy, land, pollution to create 100 calories of beef than 100 calories of grain. grain is absolutely essential to feeding people. even "fruits and vegetables" cannot take the place of it. you cannot grow many vegetables on land that will grow rice, or oats, or . . wheat.


Actually, the farming of animals is an indispensable part of truly sustainable agriculture, just as animals cannot be removed from general ecosystems either because of how food chains and nutrient recycling work. Of course, modern industrial meat production is not sustainable at all. But, not all land suits cropping, plus cropping is generally harder on the land than perennial pastures, and has higher fossil fuel and labour inputs, so grass-fed (as opposed to grain-fed), actually grazing animals will always make sense ecologically.

Nevertheless, the West can certainly eat less animal products.


----------



## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Anyone here grow heritage variety vegetables? If you're from Australia, you can get seeds here:

Plants Online And Seeds Online - Vegetables, Herbs, Flowers, Trees - The Diggers Club


If you're not, you can still click on the links just to drool over the beautiful heritage varieties that look and taste superb, and are all open pollinated instead of hybrid or GM. Also lots of educational articles!

We gave Turks Turbans pumpkins a go and were most impressed! 










In the foreground is a Pennsylvania Crookneck, the ancestor of the Australian Butternut (in middle), but looks much cooler and tastes just as nice, plus less seed cavity! The bright yellow things are Spaghetti squashes, the flesh forms long thread and can be served as substitute "spaghetti" with sauce if you want to avoid wheat! The bright orange small pumpkins are Potimarron, and taste like roasted chestnuts: Totally delicious.

We grow pumpkins on the compost from our compost toilets, to close the nutrient loop. It's a shame that most of the nutrients from food in the West are thrown down the sewers and end up polluting waterways and oceans instead of growing more food. There are safe ways to re-use those nutrients.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

SueC said:


> Actually, the farming of animals is an indispensable part of truly sustainable agriculture


When the farm my husband managed in the UK converted to organic, it was required that you kept livestock, to maintain the fertility of the grain land.


----------

