[NA] Gluten Free. Rant?

For people who actually have Celiac disease, the attitudes expressed in the linked article and this topic are the biggest problem. It is most certainly common knowledge to people with Celiac disease that there are people running around claiming they have it who sit down at restaurants and order a beer or 3. (Beer contains gluten.) I must also point out that the article was written in 2012, and even in the four years since that article was written, there has been much discovered about it. Armchairing a discussion on a disease that is known to cause serious health problems in men and women is a little amateurish.

There are a number of fallacies in the article, namely that this is only an American problem, when in fact it has been known about for centuries overseas, including in the world pizza and pasta capital, Italy. Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the EU, Ireland, and the UK all join the ranks of countries where this is a known problem. And yes, apparently unbelievable to some, there are certain diseases which are more prevalent among certain races than others. For example, prostate cancer is 1.6 times more prevalent among black males than white males, and it leads to death in black males 2.6 times more than it does white males. The idea that we should be shocked about a disease having more prevalence among certain races than others is ludicrous. Race is a risk factor in almost every major disease known to man. Diseases do not seek racial equality.

To answer the question about how it is diagnosed, there are three primary ways. The first is through an antibody blood test. The main problem with it is people who go so far as to get this test probably have already stopped eating gluten, and the rates for false negatives are quite high. The second is through a biopsy of the small intestine, which contains villi responsible for food absorption. Those with celiac have damaged villi, and this is the most definitive test that can be done to diagnose it to date. A third test is a DNA test that looks for markers of Celiac disease, which is usually done as a result of symptoms associated with the disease being present.

There is a new upcoming test involving a blood sample, and while I hate to post a link to the same source which published the 2012 piece-of-trash article in the original post, I will anyway so that you may better understand what the blood test is about: http://www.science20.com/news_articles/celiac_disease_diagnosis_gets_simplified-157275

There is a much greater social implication for for people who have Celiac disease than what people might realize. Little things like visiting a friend's house where dinner is being cooked, and not being able to eat that dinner, are things someone without Celiac wouldn't think twice about. An evening out with friends or family must be carefully planned in advance to ensure there is something consumable. Then there are always people who get very offended when made aware that Mr. Celiac can't eat whatever is being served, even when Mr. Celiac is explicitly not demanding any substitute be made.

Also, one final point. Most people with Celiac or NCGS don't go out seeking replacements for gluten-containing foods, and instead rely on a grain-free diet consisting of meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy products, and so on. The diet itself is not very limiting.
 
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Funny thing is I fall in this category. I don't have full blown Celiac but I've had it since childhood and it runs in the family. If I eat one sandwich I'm okay. If I eat another sandwich, I get a rash, I swell up a little bit, and I'm irritable as as all hell and it lasts about two days. If my mom gets bread crumbs on her food or eats something with gluten in it without realizing (there is more than just gluten, btw that triggers Celiac) she goes in to anaphylactic shock and it's a trip to the ER for a shot of epinephrine before she suffocates. I don't have it that bad but some relatives are that bad.

Your mother appears to have a severe wheat allergy. Has she also been diagnosed with Celiac disease?
 
It's not that big of a deal. I'm thinner than the next guy because of it. I'm not a victim here.

Malnutrition is a very real factor in Celiac disease. I've read that you hit the gym a little obsessively/compulsively. That could be part of it, too! :D
 
The masses are mostly insane. Remember how ADD and ADHD were all the rage about a decade after spanking a naughty child was outlawed? Now the psych authorities have decided that the whole world is autistic. Just like Celiac/Crohn's/gluten intolerance are real things that have become the cool things to have, autism is the new cause of kids acting like little brats. Autism is real, but not nearly as common as society thinks.

ADD does not necessarily imply behavior issues, many times the only issue is inattentiveness. I have an ADD daughter, she has always gotten the highest marks for conduct. Her fourth grade teacher was the one who initiated the diagnosis. The only symptoms we could see is that she had started struggling with two of her subjects. After wrestling with different modes of treatment, we finally accepted that she should take Adderall,and in two months her math grade improved by 30 points.

Approximately 0.7 percent of the US population genuinely have Celiac disease, but some other people have a gluten sensitivity. Last summer, three of the four of us tried the Whole 30 diet, which consists of eating meat, fruit, and vegetables, with no additives or added sweeteners. I found the I'm not particularly sensitive to anything, but we found that my older daughter is sensitive to gluten. It upsets her stomach, and makes her face swell. After just a few days, her face was much slimmer. When she went back to eating gluten, both symptoms reoccurred. Since then, she's been off of gluten, her face is much slimmer, and she has lost 20 lbs. She has to deal with seasonal allergies in the spring, and this year, with being without gluten,her seasonal allergies were not nearly so severe.
 
Re: gluten intolerance, as recently as 3 years ago my GI specialist considered "non-celiac gluten intolerance" a real entity, despite a dearth of good science supporting it. Last I read, the dx has been discredited by more recent studies, so in all likelihood it is a "bandwagon" disease.
I will tell you without qualification that the "discrediting" is junk science. Reminds me of the neurosurgeon who testified "so I've been told" in a deposition in response to being asked whether there is such a thing as pain.

There is no question it has become a "bandwagon" disease and people are going on GF diets for no reason and seeing gluten hobgoblins in weird things. But that does not negate the existence of celiac disease and non-celiac gluten intolerance. By the same token, I can't imagine why anyone who wasn't sensitive would want to eat that crap.

Those of us who are gluten-intolerant will be forever thankful it became a bandwagon since the result was GF replacements for both celiacs and non-celiacs that, while still not great, at least suck less.
 
After wrestling with different modes of treatment, we finally accepted that she should take Adderall,and in two months her math grade improved by 30 points.
Okay I disagree here. Anyone on Adderall improves their grades (I don't take it) But in universities its illegally readily available and I'd say maybe 1/3rd of students (in engineering) use it to help. So is it either that:

A: A third of the population has ADD?
or B: Adderall tricks the human brain to do what we want.

You cant use the fact that adderall helps with grades as a diagnosis of ADD, it doesn't matter who you are it will end with the same result.

Regarding gluten sensitivity... IMHO it's all placebo effect.
Celiacs is real and my aunt had her Gall Bladder removed as a result of it (I think they're related?) But all these hipsters that claims it helps... just placebo.
 
If @SixPapaCharlie wants to keep all of the neighbors' kids away then he should get a can of this stuff.
Wheat/gluten? Check.
Soy? Check.
Peanuts? Check.
MSG? Check.
Fried? Check.
Sugar? Check.

aaaDSC_0498.jpg
 
When I bought a can of diced green chilis and noticed it said "Gluten Free" on the label, that was my breaking point. Are some folks so effing stupid they question whether a can of veggies might contain gluten? o_O

Now I find gluten-free beer on the shelves. Puh-leeze!
Wheat gluten usd to be added to allkinds ofmanufactured foods tocreat stickiness.

Some beers are made from wheat.
 
I'm "lactose intolerant" and I just made a boboli pizza with an entire thing of shredded mutz on it. I'll just fart like there's no tomorrow for 3 days straight. wait, if there's no tomorrow, eh nevermind. let me see if I can dig up a skit online about asking people if they eat gluten free, then they ask them wtf is gluten and nobody knows.
Haha, that's me, except oatmeal. Oatmeal gives me gas. I mean a lot of gas. But I love oatmeal bread, so sometimes I just eat it and fart. What the heck, at my age no one pays any attention to me anyway.
 
Funny thing is I fall in this category. I don't have full blown Celiac but I've had it since childhood and it runs in the family. If I eat one sandwich I'm okay. If I eat another sandwich, I get a rash, I swell up a little bit, and I'm irritable as as all hell and it lasts about two days. If my mom gets bread crumbs on her food or eats something with gluten in it without realizing (there is more than just gluten, btw that triggers Celiac) she goes in to anaphylactic shock and it's a trip to the ER for a shot of epinephrine before she suffocates. I don't have it that bad but some relatives are that bad.
I believe in these allergies and intolerances, I know people with them and they can get real sick if they are not careful, but where did they come from? When I was a kid, fifty or sixty years ago, everyone drank milk, ate peanut butter, and I don't think that gluten had been invented. But somewhere along the way it changed. Were we just ignorant of it? I don't think so, because I know a couple of people now who have to go the the ER if they get close to a peanut. That is pretty hard to ignore. Has your mother always been that way, or did it come on at some point in her life?
 
, but we found that my older daughter is sensitive to gluten. It upsets her stomach, and makes her face swell. After just a few days, her face was much slimmer. When she went back to eating gluten, both symptoms reoccurred. Since then, she's been off of gluten, her face is much slimmer, and she has lost 20 lbs. She has to deal with seasonal allergies in the spring, and this year, with being without gluten,her seasonal allergies were not nearly so severe.
In my case it was kind of funny. I was seeing doctors for a while because my stomach was always trashed. Ended up on a 30-day antibiotic by one MD who thought it might be a bug I picked up on a trip to Mexico. Second MD was going to set me up with a GI series. Company health plan changed and got a new primary.

He said before the GI, let's try some diet elimination. First to go was roughage, so I ate pasta for a week - you can imagine that well that went!
 
I believe in these allergies and intolerances, I know people with them and they can get real sick if they are not careful, but where did they come from? When I was a kid, fifty or sixty years ago, everyone drank milk, ate peanut butter, and I don't think that gluten had been invented. But somewhere along the way it changed. Were we just ignorant of it? I don't think so, because I know a couple of people now who have to go the the ER if they get close to a peanut. That is pretty hard to ignore. Has your mother always been that way, or did it come on at some point in her life?

The onset was in the early teens. Typical of the relatives that have it.
 
Regarding any malady being a fad, I will say only this: it sure seems like a whole lot of Americans want some sort of diagnosis for something. Me? I'm happy to be healthy and glad that I don't have unexplained pain, weight gain, weight loss, night sweats, nausea, thinning hair, you get the picture. If I ate too much I know why I don't feel great. If I haven't eaten then I know that, too. If I don't exercise I'm aware that I'll probably feel lousy after a while. If I pedal too far and too hard I know it's gonna hurt. Life is full of greatness, and the only excuse that a lot of people have is that it's easy to be diagnosed with some silly thing, and take a pill for it. Yes, far too many illnesses are real and wreak havoc on people who don't deserve it. But many others long for an excuse.
 
There is
#1 celiac disease (with provable antibodies small bowel villus biopsy)
#2 non celiac gluten sensitivity
#3 wheat allergy (with IgE mediated sensitivity, e.g. face or tongue swelling, difficulty breathing

And then there is:
#4 little jonny is a special snowflake and I will use allergies/food intolerance as a tool to perpetuate my abnormal attachment issues with him.

I wish there was an easy test to tell them apart. A kid with true celiac disease wouldn't have shown up for a pool party without his own tupperware container containing a slice of gluten free pizza.
 
Oh, and sickle cell can cause you to live a miserable pain ridden life punctuated by an early death from conditions as entertaining as stroke or bacterial sepsis. It's not a choice and doesn't really make a good punchline for a joke.
 
I will tell you without qualification that the "discrediting" is junk science. Reminds me of the neurosurgeon who testified "so I've been told" in a deposition in response to being asked whether there is such a thing as pain.
This is the article I read, iirc, and there is also this one, with links to some of the literature. This research implicates FODMAPs, which are usually found in foods high in gluten, as the true culprit for most patients who believe themselves to be gluten-intolerant but test negative for celiac. Readers can judge for themselves whether this is "junk science".
 
You are ranting about other people's dietary choices?

No. Not at all, Just the frequency with which I hear this stuff makes it suspect and then I feel sorry for the kid when his mom says he cant eat x or y because he has "leaky gut syndrome". I think mom (in my possibly completely wrong opinion) may have a touch of munchausen by proxy.

I suspect this kid isn't sick but will think he is most of his life.

The leaky gut thing feels like scientology to me. There are a lot of people on the internet that think its real. That is all.
 
No. Not at all, Just the frequency with which I hear this stuff makes it suspect and then I feel sorry for the kid when his mom says he cant eat x or y because he has "leaky gut syndrome". I think mom (in my possibly completely wrong opinion) may have a touch of munchausen by proxy.

I suspect this kid isn't sick but will think he is most of his life.

The leaky gut thing feels like scientology to me. There are a lot of people on the internet that think its real. That is all.

A lot of people think the tooth faerie is real, too.
 
I am not kidding. I sat out side and ate with the kids and asked "What happens if you eat normal pizza?"
He said "I won't get out of bed all day because it hurts my stomach so bad. [pause] Or maybe it was my head. I forget which"
 
This is the article I read, iirc, and there is also this one, with links to some of the literature. This research implicates FODMAPs, which are usually found in foods high in gluten, as the true culprit for most patients who believe themselves to be gluten-intolerant but test negative for celiac. Readers can judge for themselves whether this is "junk science".

Ah, yes- FODMAPs. Without Googling (I promise!) I recall that they are varying levels of -saccharides, (di-, mono-, oligo-, poly-) most of which do not occur naturally in whole foods. (I could be wrong about FODMAPs, I will admit.) Here's my lecture, though: "Eat garbage, feel like garbage." Remember, you are what you eat.
 
Wheat gluten usd to be added to allkinds ofmanufactured foods tocreat stickiness.
This is correct, and it is why many manufacturers will simply label the food "gluten free" as an assurance to the customer that it has not come into contact with any gluten during the production process. It is not easily ascertainable whether certain foods are processed with gluten or not. Why certain people get into a tizzy over two words on a can of beans is beyond me.
 
My unscientific observation is that most of the health issues we are having today is due that mass produced food up and down the chain is no longer actually real food and screwing with all of us.

Before the food "revolution" cows did not eat corn and chickens took 90 days to mature before slaughter...today it is 30 days.

...but drugs will fix our problems.

Now excuse me while I go to Panda Express.
 
This is correct, and it is why many manufacturers will simply label the food "gluten free" as an assurance to the customer that it has not come into contact with any gluten during the production process. It is not easily ascertainable whether certain foods are processed with gluten or not. Why certain people get into a tizzy over two words on a can of beans is beyond me.

Actually one word on a can of beans will get me in a tizzy. "Beans".
 
Ah, yes- FODMAPs. Without Googling (I promise!) I recall that they are varying levels of -saccharides, (di-, mono-, oligo-, poly-) most of which do not occur naturally in whole foods. (I could be wrong about FODMAPs, I will admit.) Here's my lecture, though: "Eat garbage, feel like garbage." Remember, you are what you eat.
This link has a list of foods high in FODMAPs. As far as I can tell, every food on that list is naturally occurring and need not be processed to contain the sugars that the gut flora love (and that ultimately cause gas and bloating as a by-product when they reach the colon).

But yes, anything with high-fructose corn syrup is supposed to be equally bad for people with this sensitivity.
 
My unscientific observation is that most of the health issues we are having today is due that mass produced food up and down the chain is no longer actually real food and screwing with all of us.

Before the food "revolution" cows did not eat corn and chickens took 90 days to mature before slaughter...today it is 30 days.

...but drugs will fix our problems.

Now excuse me while I go to Panda Express.

That's the essence of the Whole 30 plan. For 30 days you eat only foods that were available to our pre-agricultural ancestors, that way you find out which modern foods you body has trouble with. You eat meat, preferably organic or grass fed, vegetables, and fruit. You also eat quite well, like roast turkey with broccoli and Hollandaise sauce, and you eat until you're full. Oddly enough, the vast majority of people who do this lose weight during the 30 days. I found that I wasn't particularly sensitive to anything, but too much wheat gives me gas,and that I need to strictly limit any sweet drinks. That "hangry" phenomenon is from your blood sugar getting too low, and it's really fueled when your body is used to getting foods with refined sugar added on a regular basis, and drinks like soda or sweet tea are probably the worst for that.
 
My son also suffers from leaky gut. If he has gluten, we'll know about it - he'll revert back into tantrums, be unable to focus and fall back into learning difficulties. He's 7 years old, and his gut health has been a major issue for years that we've been working through - if you haven't had to care for a child with special dietary requirements, you wouldn't believe the constant effort every day required to find food and recipes that match both their requirements, and any other rules their school may have (e.g. in addition to my son being gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, his school has nut-free, egg-free policies as well). You can imagine how challenging birthday parties or halloween are - even though we'll send food with him, it's really sad to see him missing out on sharing a cake with his friends - and frankly I consider us lucky, I can barely imagine how hard it would be for families with children that have anaphylaxic reactions to certain foods.

Anyway it's a shame to see folks on this board who I normally look up to being so dismissive of real conditions that affect quality of life day-in / day-out. I assure you, there's nothing in the world that'd make our family happier than to see him off his special diet.
 
Some beers are made from wheat.

Yup, I'm aware. My point was that some folks are so hung-up on their gluten-free-ness that there's actually market for "gluten-free" beer. Some people take their gluten-free diet so seriously that they'd forgo a single, cold beer because it may have tiny amounts of gluten in it. It's just silly to me.
 
My son also suffers from leaky gut. If he has gluten, we'll know about it - he'll revert back into tantrums, be unable to focus and fall back into learning difficulties. He's 7 years old, and his gut health has been a major issue for years that we've been working through - if you haven't had to care for a child with special dietary requirements, you wouldn't believe the constant effort every day required to find food and recipes that match both their requirements, and any other rules their school may have (e.g. in addition to my son being gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, his school has nut-free, egg-free policies as well). You can imagine how challenging birthday parties or halloween are - even though we'll send food with him, it's really sad to see him missing out on sharing a cake with his friends - and frankly I consider us lucky, I can barely imagine how hard it would be for families with children that have anaphylaxic reactions to certain foods.

Anyway it's a shame to see folks on this board who I normally look up to being so dismissive of real conditions that affect quality of life day-in / day-out. I assure you, there's nothing in the world that'd make our family happier than to see him off his special diet.
I agree with you. I am lucky enough to be able to eat sugar, salt, gluten, fats, etc. without any noticeable effect, so it sometime seems strange to me when people are restrictive in their food choices. But I have no doubt that food affects people differently according to their individual physiology. The one substance which affects me physically is injested alcohol, and it's a completely different effect than for most people because I lack the enzyme to metabolize it. But I have found that people have problems believing this.
 
Yup, I'm aware. My point was that some folks are so hung-up on their gluten-free-ness that there's actually market for "gluten-free" beer. Some people take their gluten-free diet so seriously that they'd forgo a single, cold beer because it may have tiny amounts of gluten in it. It's just silly to me.
It's silly to you because you don't really understand it. I am grateful for being able to have a beer with dinner that doesn't make me feel horrible, I had to do without for quite a long time.
 
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