548293 Wed Aug 13 09:36:08 -0700 2008 23 29 Not About Food 0 3953351 Can someone please explain this to me? I understand that some people are gluten intolerant (what causes this?), but why is it that half the foodie world seems to be touting their edibles as especially gluten-free lately? Do they think that it's healthier to avoid gluten? Or are there just a lot of people that can't have gluten? Is gluten intolerance something that's always been around, but we've just now come up with a name for it? Wed Aug 13 09:36:10 -0700 2008 175330 Halie 1 3953420 Don't know. No. Yes. Yes. If you google "celiac sprue" .... well, here's a link: http://www.celiaccentral.org/What_is_Celiac_/13/gclid__CKeqz6ehi5UCFQMLswodEFuYrQ/ It is a disease and as such, has probably been around for quite sometime - altho as the food we eat becomes more and more refined, our bodies may be less able to handle certain food properties, so..... relatively speaking, perhaps celiac is a somewhat "new" disease. My dad was dx'd with celiac 10 + years ago. It's unimaginable what a pain it is to find things that are gluten free. ex: He has to purchase special mustard made only with apple cider vinegar. Based on processing, other vinegars comtain some type of gluten. A can of Campbell's Tomato Soup contains flour. It's more than just avoiding "wheat" based items - So I think it's great that restaurants are considering special need diets. And gluten free doesn't mean "tastes bad". Wed Aug 13 09:52:02 -0700 2008 3953351 216999 CocoaNut 2 3953537 You might want to look into the research over the last 5 years or so. Regular vinegar is acceptable due to the distillation process. From the U of Chicago CD Website: "Distilled white vinegar is safe to consume on the gluten-free diet. Distilled vinegars are gluten-free because the distillation process filters out the large gluten proteins so that they do not pass through to the end product. Therefore, the finished liquid is gluten-free. Patients with celiac disease should not be concerned about distilled white vinegar or foods such as pickles, which may contain it. The exception to this rule is MALT VINEGAR, which is not distilled, and therefore is not safe to consume." http://www.celiacdisease.net/gluten-free-diet Wed Aug 13 10:18:13 -0700 2008 3953420 21849 basachs 1 3953517 There are plenty of great websites that detail this. Go to www.celiac.org or even http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease Most people that eat gluten free have celiac disease, which is an auto-immune disorder where the protein gliadin (found in wheat, barley, rye, etc) causes an inflammatory reaction in the intestines of an affected person, detroying the villi in the intestines and blocing nutrient absorbtion. A reason for the explosion in foods labeled gluten free is much better knowledge about the disease. If you were diagnosed even 10 years ago, you did not have many options. There is not medicine or vaccines avaialble although they are in the works. The only treatment is a gluten free diet. Sophisticated and accurate tests have been developed to determine if a person has disthe disorder. Before, doctors often said a person had IBS when they came to them with the celiac symptoms. What they have found is that a lot more people have it than previously though which has led to the prevalence of gluten free foods. There have been studies thats a gluten free diet helps a lot of autistic children as well, in addition to the normal fad dieters that believe gluten free is the way to go. Gluten intolerance has always been around, but we did not just come up with a name. Celiac or Coeliac disease has been around a long time as well. Wed Aug 13 10:14:10 -0700 2008 3953351 21849 basachs 2 5090050 Disagree that most people who go gluten-free have celiac disease. It's just not as wide-spread as the plethora of products indicate. I forget the numbers but it's only a very small percentage of the population that has it. (It's most common among people of Irish descent, I'm told). Also, I know or have encountered dozens of people who don't have celiac (a very serious disease over the long term) but have eliminated gluten. The latter is anecdotal I know. Thu Oct 08 20:24:12 -0700 2009 3953517 1093156 cinnamon girl 3 5140664 2.2 million people in the US have it alone. And that was from a study published on '03 so you can be sure more have it. My wife has it an she is not from Irish stock. As for you disagreeing...ok. Thu Oct 29 11:27:42 -0700 2009 5090050 21849 basachs 4 5155176 Ya I wasn't sure abt the Irish thing which is why I framed it w qualifiers. It wasn't suggested to me that everyone who had celiac disease was necessarily from Irish stock - just that it was common among the Irish. I'm just saying there are a lot of people out there who don't eat gluten but don't have celiac. I'm sympathetic to both but particularly to people with celiac as it can be so damaging to the health. While it's futile to argue anecdotally, I know at least a dozen people who are gluten intolerant . . . but in the past decade have only met 2 w celiac. You prob meet more people w celiac b/c of your wife. We'd also have to know the percentage of people who are just intolerant to come to make a valid comparison. Also, what's the American population? What percentage is 2.2 million? dunno Wed Nov 04 09:31:09 -0800 2009 5140664 1093156 cinnamon girl 5 5160006 People can be gluten intolerant and still get very sick from gluten, without a celiac diagnosis, and/OR without celiac. I wish I could track down the video presentation I saw by nutritionist Tom Malterre on the web--if you can find one, he's studying some fascinating research. Someone who is gluten sensitive/intolerant who eats gluten has a starkly increased risk of cancer and a multitude of other problems. Some of us aren't doing this to be trendy--we're being proactive. I assure you I wasn't keen on giving up my bagel habit! And I feel and look hugely better for it. Besides which, to confirm celiac via typical Western medicine, I'd have to start eating gluten again AND get a gut biopsy. To heck with that. A lot of us 1) can't afford that, 2) don't have a lot of incentive to get diagnosed medically when there's nothing a doctor can do for us, and 3) don't know that their IBS/dairy issue/dermatology issue/etc issue is remotely related to gluten, so they never seek the diagnosis. From what I've read, Italy is another gluten-aware country. Interesting stuff. Thu Nov 05 21:05:05 -0800 2009 5155176 64882 Vetter 6 5160034 Oh no - I wasn't implying that at all (that it's just a trend); I have a gluten intolerant friend who has definite symptoms if she has gluten. So I'm quite meticulous abt the desserts I make in her case. Yes, diagnosis of celiac sounds onerous so you have to wonder how many people w gluten intol do have celiac. (Not that the former isn't as serious a problem.) That's interesting about Italy. Some of us (including this friend) had toyed w the idea of going to Italy a few years ago. We had a whole discussion about what she would eat - in the casual places that is . . . there would be lots of choices in proper restos but cafes etc looked like they could be a challenge. Coincidentally, I read today that it's most common in northern European countries and is so common in Finland that that even chains like McDonalds offer gluten-free buns! Also I learned that diagnosis of celiac over there is not the nightmare it is here. Good luck with it all Vetter. Thu Nov 05 21:21:56 -0800 2009 5160006 1093156 cinnamon girl 1 3955282 I was never diagnosed with celiac but went gluten-free a number of years ago and feel better enough that I avoid gluten even though it can be a hassle. It is becoming easier with greater awareness and better labeling. My husband and I are also vegan which makes it even more of a challenge but our health is worth it. Wed Aug 13 18:31:59 -0700 2008 3953351 169792 lgss 1 3955289 In my case it was most likely metal toxicity (mercury and arsenic poisoning: mercury from dental fillings, vaccines, tuna, what I inherited from my ancestors, etc and arsenic from pesticides, etc) that caused my digestive system to get messed up. Wed Aug 13 18:34:24 -0700 2008 3953351 169792 lgss 1 3955459 Wow, thanks for all of the information. It's good to know. For people that don't have medical problems like Celiac disease, autism or metal toxicity like lgss described, what is the allure of going gluten-free? Wed Aug 13 19:41:00 -0700 2008 3953351 175330 Halie 2 3955581 You don't need to have celiac, autism or metal toxicity to have issues with gluten. I don't have any of the above and am sensitive to it. However, I had no idea that I had issues with gluten until I did an elimination diet several years ago. If I avoid gluten for a long time and have a little bit at a later point, I get diarrhea, stomach cramps and swell up. As I don't want to follow 100% gluten-free diet, I just have it in small doses from time to time to desensitize myself towards it. But I don't have eat a lot of it as it's not the best thing for me. And a lot of people I know are gluten sensitive even though they don't have any of the above issues you mention. DH never did an elimination diet, but noticed that he has an easier problem digesting rice pasta over wheat pasta. Wheat pasta doesn't give him major problems but he feels slightly bloated. Never has that issue with rice pasta. He's also noticed the same thing when he eats bread. So we seldom eat wheat-based stuff in our apartment (majority of our meals), but will have it when we go out to eat. Wed Aug 13 20:45:19 -0700 2008 3955459 10763 Miss Needle 3 3956006 Miss Needle, Have you considered using enzymes from Houston Enzymes for the times you do have gluten? I ended up having to call to place an order recently since they haven't works all the kinks out of their new website. Thu Aug 14 05:25:16 -0700 2008 3955581 169792 lgss 4 3956269 Thanks for the info. But with the way I eat gluten now, I don't have any problems with it. It's only when I avoid gluten 100% for a long time and then have a bit where my body reacts to it because it gets supersensitive. And if I have it on a daily basis, I tend to feel bloated. I seemed to have found the appropriate balance that is right for me. Thu Aug 14 07:08:33 -0700 2008 3956006 10763 Miss Needle 5 3956836 Did you ever get tested for celiac? Thu Aug 14 10:01:27 -0700 2008 3956269 21849 basachs 6 3956870 Of course, as you can't self-diagnose celiac. Thu Aug 14 10:11:32 -0700 2008 3956836 10763 Miss Needle 7 3959334 You would be amazed at how many people do though :) Also prevalent are people that eliminate gluten from their diet before the test, causing a false negative. Fri Aug 15 06:29:04 -0700 2008 3956870 21849 basachs 8 3959784 Very true. Even though I was avoiding gluten for some time, I had to force myself to eat it for a while every day. I was so happy to go back to my usual regimen. Fri Aug 15 09:02:47 -0700 2008 3959334 10763 Miss Needle 1 3958888 Just wanted to mention that glutenfreeda.com finally did away with its subscription system. So now everybody has access to its recipes. Thu Aug 14 22:43:46 -0700 2008 3953351 10763 Miss Needle 1 3959041 I never encountered anyone with this problem before I moved to England five years ago. Now I know three people who have celiac disease, and another two or three who have problems similar to what others here have described. Having worked in a sandwich shop for a spell, I know that there are a lot of people who will say "I can't have bread" when what they really mean is "I don't want to eat bread." I always chalked that up to the trendiness of the quasi-Atkins diet. I also know one guy who goes on about his "wheat problem" but then eats the sandwich if he thinks it looks good. I can only imagine that these people test the tolerance of servers in restaurants and sandwich places, and make it more difficult for people who really do have serious gluten intolerance. Fri Aug 15 01:58:02 -0700 2008 3953351 14139 Kagey 1 4625202 I can partly explain the male female thing. I have young male friends who are celiac, and they don't seem to mind packing a lunch everywhere and eating the same boring thing over and over again. They know what's safe, and stick to it. Or they just don't bother going out to restaurants. I need variety, and if I'm out at a hotel or restaurant, and paying good money, then I'm going to ask them what's on their menu that I can possibly eat. It also can be frustrating when I get the eye roll or oh, are you on the gluten free bandwagon too? My father and sister are full blown celiac, I just break out in hives, get a swollen tongue, and a bad rash and acne on my face and arms for a few weeks. Plus I feel like crap and have no energy. Oh yes, even though my dad gets bad stomach problems and digestive problems after eating wheat, and even had a scope that showed his celia were flattened right out, he still has a hard time believing that it's wheat that's causing all his gastrointestinal problems. Some men just don't want to give up eating regular food even though they'd feel so much better if they did! p.s. my family is Native Canadian who are indigenous to the West Coast and find the best foods for our bodies are from the area, seafood, seaweed, simple greens and just a bit of carbs. Fri Apr 24 10:23:21 -0700 2009 3953351 285831 indigenousgirl 2 5090203 Yikes, that's a "just"? I just had gut issues and didn't even realize I rashed out (it was just my norm). Lucky us. My family seems to have a few GF folks who won't quit gluten. One eats "less," but if my nutritionist is right, "less" doesn't mean less damage/cancer risk for some folks. I dunno. I wish they'd bite the bullet. I did and dang, am I healthier now. I get so frustrated when I'm conflated with the Atkins people. Anymore, I tell every server that cross contact makes me sick (eg. don't you dare just pull the bread or croutons off!) Thu Oct 08 21:54:15 -0700 2009 4625202 64882 Vetter 1 5142515 I read a very interesting article recently in Scientific American about Celiac and the research being done on the disease. The article stated that they are close to testing several treatments, and how the symptoms are often seen as separate syndroms and mis-diagnosed. For example, people frequently get intestinal issues as well as joint pain. They may be diagnosed with IBS and Fibromyalgia, as a friend of mine currently is. unfortunately, I cannot post a link to the article b/c it's only available if you have an online subscription to SA. :( Fri Oct 30 07:01:56 -0700 2009 3953351 65780 jujuthomas