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Do you think that gluten, lactose, or {insert supposed food intolerance here} is really just a fad?

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  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Do you think it's possible to have a slight reaction to gluten? My wife seems to think her body just can't handle too much of it but it's fine in lower doses.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited January 2018
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    georgieamber2 wrote: »
    There's no such thing as "lactose intolerant" ... you're just not a baby cow and it's as simple as that. You can't consume a product not meant for your own species without repercussions. x

    Most people who have problems with cow's milk have problems with lactose. Those people would not be good with human milk (once they are weaned and have lost the ability that mammal babies generally have to digest lactose) either. Many humans, however, have genes that give them lactase persistence, the ability to digest lactose as adults. There are multiple different genes that provide for this, developing in different areas where dairy was helpful to survival. People from areas where dairy has been part of the diet for a long time tend not to be lactose intolerant, in quite high percentages (northern and western Europe is one such example).

    No foods are "meant for" one species or not. What does that even mean -- someone has to be intending that we eat a particular diet in such a case, so it is inherently theological in some way (which is fine with me, I'm religious, but it's not a scientific debate).

    Saying we are "meant to" consume eggs or meat or even broccoli or potatoes or the product of longstanding farming (like bananas and wheat and corn) and not dairy is illogical, IMO.

    I never drink cow's milk, but I am easily able to digest it and it is not something I am intolerant of at all, it gives me no problems. I just prefer not to consume it.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Roadie2000 wrote: »
    Do you think it's possible to have a slight reaction to gluten? My wife seems to think her body just can't handle too much of it but it's fine in lower doses.

    Severity of reaction can be different for effects, as well what other stresses body is handling.

    Pretty sure that's why some people go on extreme diet, stress out body, and then discover some sensitivities to food they didn't notice before, likely when eating more of it.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    anglyn1 wrote: »
    I'm celiac and I was overweight and an adult back when I was diagnosed (since it was implicated earlier that you must be thin to have it and diagnosed as a child).

    I do think to some people it's a fad but I'm not sure why it bothers everyone so badly. I try to order a gluten free meal and get looks or someone will be like oh no you're one of "those people". Nope but so what if I was??? I use stevia instead of sugar and I'm not diabetic. I sometimes make recipes with cashew or almond milk and I'm not vegan. If you are just a random, non diagnosed person who wants to pay extra for gluten free bread and pasta knock yourself out! It keeps more options available for those in need.

    My only real pet peeve is people who go to restaurants and make a big production of their entrée needing to be gluten free only to drink a gluten filled beer or treat themselves to a gluten filled dessert. That just makes servers think the issue isn't serious and not pay as much attention to requests from legit celiac customers.

    Nicely said. :)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Roadie2000 wrote: »
    Do you think it's possible to have a slight reaction to gluten? My wife seems to think her body just can't handle too much of it but it's fine in lower doses.

    Yes.

    I react more to gluten the more I have (I'm a celiac), but I also know people who are not celiacs who react violently to gluten in the short term - much worse than me.

    If I eat gluten, I get the obvious stomach ache. The gluten sensitive person I know gets nausea and the runs. We both get migraines... but these are the obvious symptoms.

    But after a few exposures I get arthralgias, vitamin deficiencies, my hair falls out, I get quite fatigued, my thyroid is affected, constipation, and the migraines last days rather than hours. I imagine my intestines get fairly damaged too.

    As a celiac, my symptoms after eating a bit are not that bad, but it is doing damage that may take some time to become apparent. It's often best to avoid something that causes problems... Think of it like a poison - why have a little bit just because it tastes good or is convenient. KWIM?
  • iowalinda
    iowalinda Posts: 354 Member
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    There are a lot of people who suffer from gastrointestinal problems nowadays, as evidenced by all the drugs being advertised currently for this issue. My thought regarding digestive problems with bread is that it could be ANYTHING in the bread, not just the gluten. They put many chemicals in our food. And the formulations are constantly changing. Also, a person could have a sensitivity to yeast. Let's not be so judgmental.
    And, on the off chance that someone is completely making it up so they can avoid certain foods or get sympathy, who cares? I certainly don't.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    harrietmaley wrote: »
    This is a really interesting discussion - I've had three people I know who haven't ever had an issue with gluten with diagnosed with an allergy against it, and avoid it on the orders of the doctors even though it didn't bother them before... A little odd.

    As for Lactose, I used to love all things dairy but don't touch the stuff now because it's just not something I want to put in my body knowing certain things I do (I lead a plant based diet), but supposedly 70% of the world is lactose intolerant - it raises the question are we meant to actually be digesting these things that everyone is becoming allergic to?

    It gives us food for though (pardon the pun!).

    Not trying to be snarky at all, but I think that in general allergies (or at least, their diagnosis) have risen significantly in recent decades. Before asking whether we're meant to be digesting dairy, maybe we should be asking it of peanuts, tree nuts, citrus, etc.

    I will definitely agree that someone who is lactose intolerant should not be digesting dairy (although if they really want some ice cream and lactase tablets will allow them to enjoy it without repercussions, more power to them), just like I'd never suggest a classic Snickers bar to someone with a peanut allergy*. But for those of us who can handle dairy just fine? No issues.


    *Excluding the Snickers Almond bar...
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    harrietmaley wrote: »
    This is a really interesting discussion - I've had three people I know who haven't ever had an issue with gluten with diagnosed with an allergy against it, and avoid it on the orders of the doctors even though it didn't bother them before... A little odd.

    As for Lactose, I used to love all things dairy but don't touch the stuff now because it's just not something I want to put in my body knowing certain things I do (I lead a plant based diet), but supposedly 70% of the world is lactose intolerant - it raises the question are we meant to actually be digesting these things that everyone is becoming allergic to?

    It gives us food for though (pardon the pun!).

    What things do you know? ... and did you learn about them in "What the Health?" ;)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    harrietmaley wrote: »
    but supposedly 70% of the world is lactose intolerant - it raises the question are we meant to actually be digesting these things that everyone is becoming allergic to?

    This is a misunderstanding of what those stats mean.

    Humans originally tended to be lactose intolerant after childhood (like most animals who did not consume milk subsequently). We did have occasional milk (we'd eat all parts of an animal killed and if the animal was lactating we'd get milk). Eventually, people in some areas (probably areas where other foods were less available at certain times of year, who knows) and at some point AFTER we started domesticating animals for other purposes, decided to make dairy a stable dietary source. This probably started with things like fermented milk which pose less of an issue, but some humans had mutations that gave them lactase persistence (lactase being the enzyme that allows infants to digest lactose in milk), but developed into milk being part of the diet.

    Humans from areas where dairy is longstanding almost all are able to consume lactose (have lactase persistence -- these are genes we can test for). Interestingly (to me, anyway), the specific genes are different in different areas (specifically in Europe vs. parts of Africa where milk is consumed), probably due to different mutations being more common and being selected for.

    70% is not "everyone becoming allergic" -- it's because in some populous parts of the world (like East Asia, including China, about half of India, and parts of the Middle East and Africa) almost everyone is lactose intolerant. To contrast, people from northern, western, and central Europe are extremely unlikely to be lactose intolerant, the numbers are traditionally something like 5% in the UK, Sweden, so on, although they are getting more common as the populations become more diverse. (The traditional diet of Ireland pre potato was very heavily dairy based, for one example.) You can look at in-between areas and see the increasing numbers of people who are or are not as you go from one to the other.

    I don't drink milk, but I know it doesn't bother me, and I think the fact that I have the mutation is kind of cool, and know my family likely comes from a long line of people for whom dairy was an important dietary resource. I think we can make choices not to consume milk or dairy for whatever reason without spreading misinformation about it.
  • easyvegan
    easyvegan Posts: 23 Member
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    I never thought about it that way, that is quite cool - I was confused as to why supposed 70% were meant to be yet I only know 1 person with an intolerance to lactose. Evolution in black and white.

    Also @jseams1234 I haven't seen it! I keep getting told to though - its on my list, although I fear I'll never be able to have a cheeky dairy milk if I do...
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    harrietmaley wrote: »
    I never thought about it that way, that is quite cool - I was confused as to why supposed 70% were meant to be yet I only know 1 person with an intolerance to lactose. Evolution in black and white.

    Also @jseams1234 I haven't seen it! I keep getting told to though - its on my list, although I fear I'll never be able to have a cheeky dairy milk if I do...

    Don't waste your time. Pretty much everyone - including/especially vegans, just not those directly involved in the film - who have seen it recognize it for the huge pile of horse manure it is.
  • RonwynAngel
    RonwynAngel Posts: 15 Member
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    I presume I have a gluten sensitivity at this stage. My mother was diagnosed medically as celiac after years of gut problems. We turned to a fully gluten-free diet for the household and suddenly I was no longer jet propelling myself out of a chair or having to open up the house from the smell. I found that if I ate non-GF food outside the house I was soon heading for the closest toilet. Unfortunately, since she died I can no longer afford GF products on my income so the problems are coming back. My tested blood levels, when checked, showed that I could end up celiac as I get older so will keep an eye on it. I have a friend who is lactose intolerant and she would wish the full effects on you if you told her it was all in her mind. Some people do it because though they don't have a diagnosis they just feel much better when they eat that way. It is your body so why not make it feel as good as it can. Sorry, but adulterated GM food was not good for the test animals why would you think humans would be any different. Natural selection makes sure it dies out if it works the wrong way through no-one using it. GM is done for patents and profit, nothing else.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited January 2018
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    Steven Gundry, MD, has a book out. I've not read it but according to Gundry, the "70% of the world is allergic to dairy" means they are allergic to a certain type of dairy protein. According to Gundry, US cows are different than European cows. Europe's cows are "A2" protein producing cows exclusively. It's hypothetically thought that this is why the French eat more cheese than anywhere in the world yet have less heart disease (but more cancer because they smoke like chimneys!).

    American Dairy is A1/A2. Our cows have the spots on them. The fact that the cows have the spots is the sign (typically) that they are A1 and A2 both. We react (again according to Gundry) from the A1 proteins. This is why many people that are lactose intolerant have no issues with sheep/goat milk. Sheep/goat milk is A2 proteins exclusively too.

    There is now available (in most grocery stores) A2 milk. It's more expensive but only the A2 variety proteins (from the same types of cows in Europe). There's a yogurt company in OH that is now producing exclusively A2 yogurt from grass fed cows.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Sorry not all European cows are a2, some are. Herds which are designated a2 are now identified by testing. There are 4 caseins in milk. Generally bovine is type 1 dominant, as you say sheep and goat is type 2 dominant, there are also types 3 and 4 in much less significant a presence in milks.

    It can make a significant change to a person if they change milks, usually if all milk is totally avoided for 48 hours one will have experienced significant improvements, if it applies to yourself. Unfortunately it can take up to 6 months for someone to experience benefits when removing gluten from the diet.

    Many people acquire problems and think, I've done this for a life time, its not that, but it can be.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    shaumom wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    LowCarb4Me2016 wrote: »
    I think its more important to ask one's self why the eating habits of others are so upsetting. Someone doesn't want to eat gluten and they're not Celiac - so what? Who or what are they harming by cutting out gluten? Considering the foods gluten is found in, they're probably cutting out a ton of calories void of any vitamins or minerals and, if doing things correctly, adding in more fruits and veggies. No one needs bread and cookies to survive. You may want them, sure, but that is not a need. Cutting out gluten (or carbs, or sugar, or fat, or whatever) is not the same thing as jumping on the latest diet pill craze and to equate the two is ludicrous. In my experience the people cutting out foods without a medical reason eventually revert back to eating whatever they were cutting out. Is it annoying when family does it? Sure, but those folks tend to be annoying anyway.

    I don't think anyone cares if certain individuals want to cut gluten from their diet. The conflict (when it happens) usually arises when they use inaccurate or pseudoscientific reasoning to attempt to convince others to do the same.

    That has not matched my experience at all, honestly. Both myself and my daughter are celiacs, diagnosed 8 years back. We don't care what other people eat. We're not trying to 'convert' anyone to our diet, you know? But I have been surprised by the number of people who get irritated our dietary choices.

    We have been at restaurants, potlucks, picnics, and so on. All we have had to do to get a negative reaction is refuse a dish that contains gluten, usually with a smile and a quick, 'Thank you, it looks great, but we can't have gluten.'

    Most of the time, people behave about how we would, which is no reaction at all, because seriously, how does someone else's food choice affect THEIR life, you know?

    But then there are those folks who roll their eyes ostentatiously, or have snide, not-quite-under-their-breath comments about fad diets or people being ridiculous or stupid diet choices, or folks who will then proceed to tell us outright that we are following a fad diet and we're going to hurt our health and so on and so forth. And then there are those who react as though our comment on our diet was some kind of accusation/criticism of the wrongness their own diet and they start going on some defensive, odd discussion of why their diet is better and NOT unhealthy, and they lose TONS of weight on their diet.

    Seriously, it's really weird. You would honestly think, as you mentioned, that no one cares. But for whatever reason, people quite frequently do.

    I'm really sorry you have that experience, but I appreciate you sharing it with me.

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