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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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Food sensitivities exist. I'm a celiac who was lactose intolerant for quite a while. I have 3 kids who have been tested for celiac using only one test (all that is available to us). They all tested negative BUT 2 of them have obvious issues with gluten. Undeniable. My oldest has it affect energy, mood, and gets headaches. My youngest fails the toilet test. My middle son seems to be okay but I keep him GF. Gluten is not a source of protein he needs or would benefit from. We skip it.
I know people with corn sensitivities. That's a nasty one. It's in everything. It makes GF look easy.
I have a friend with msg issues. Not made up.
I have another friend who reversed an debilitating autoimmune disease by switching to whole, organic foods. She's sensitive to something there.
I agree with others who have said that there are people who avoid some foods that may not need to, but why judge? Perhaps they are trying a free-from that food trial? It can take months to see improvements of systems. When I went GF, I was still seeing improvements after an entire year. It takes about 6 months to be sure if a food was affecting you.
I dunno, I say good on people for trying to change their diet rather than just looking for a pill to improve the symptoms.16 -
I can't see my reply so apologies if I'm repeating myself.
Firstly diagnostic techniques have improved massively, so the increase could be real.
And if people do avoid it without diagnosis and feel better for it, good for them. No-one ever gave me a medical diagnosis not to eat mushrooms, but I know they make me sick.
If people avoid it because they feel like it and they feel psychologically better, good for them. We are surrounded by abundance and plenty of other things to eat.
Some people avoiding gluten if strictly speaking they don't medically need to doesn't harm coeliac sufferers. If anything, it's benefitted them by increasing the market, creating an incentive for product development, and therefore the variety available. My husband (coeliac) certainly appreciates the better bread, nicer pasta, and wider variety of biscuits.8 -
If products containing gluten are served as gluten free, that's a consumer and bad customer service issue NOT the fault of people who don't eat it.1
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Some people definitely don't understand real sensitivities and lay claim either because of junk science or just wanting a good excuse. On the other hand sensitivities really do exist. My husband, mother and several family members cannot enjoy a bowl if cereal with milk or an ice cream cone without suffering in the bathroom later. And I can't eat more than very small amounts of soy without having VERY painful stomach cramps for hours.1
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Thanks for all the thoughtful replies everyone. I received far more feedback on this thread than I could of hoped for.
I guess my key conclusions and takeaways on this subject based upon everything I have read are as follows:
1) NCGS might exist as a true medical reality. There is certianly not enough real data out there in the peer reviewed medical literature to say one way or another. The discoverer of the supposed condition has since recanted, as I highlighted previously.
2) If it does exist, it is an incredibly small percentage of the population. As a ballpark figure, for every 1 legitimate "sufferer" there are probably 50 that are either delusional or the victim of pop culture semantics and/or marketing and advertising.
3) Regardless of 1 and 2, there is some benefit to the phenomenon both in the form of economic development and product diversity available to the consumer.
I guess looking forward to the future, we are left to wonder "what's next"? Anyone have any thoughts? The whole GMO marketing seems to be gaining momentum, but I am sure it won't be long and there will be a new fad out there which manages to capture the public's imagination.
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SarahLascelles1 wrote: »If products containing gluten are served as gluten free, that's a consumer and bad customer service issue NOT the fault of people who don't eat it.
I never implied it was, but it is the fault of it being a fad blagged by gurus with a book to sell that people who don't need to eliminate it should eliminate it, and that in turn causes a somewhat casual attitude to labeling things "gluten free" sometimes.
People are easily misled by charlatans, and dishonest people take advantage of them, both the people perpetuating the fad, and the people supplying the goods that aren't up to snuff.1 -
supaflyrobby1 wrote: »Thanks for all the thoughtful replies everyone. I received far more feedback on this thread than I could of hoped for.
I guess my key conclusions and takeaways on this subject based upon everything I have read are as follows:
1) NCGS might exist as a true medical reality. There is certianly not enough real data out there in the peer reviewed medical literature to say one way or another. The discoverer of the supposed condition has since recanted, as I highlighted previously.
2) If it does exist, it is an incredibly small percentage of the population. As a ballpark figure, for every 1 legitimate "sufferer" there are probably 50 that are either delusional or the victim of pop culture semantics and/or marketing and advertising.
3) Regardless of 1 and 2, there is some benefit to the phenomenon both in the form of economic development and product diversity available to the consumer.
I guess looking forward to the future, we are left to wonder "what's next"? Anyone have any thoughts? The whole GMO marketing seems to be gaining momentum, but I am sure it won't be long and there will be a new fad out there which manages to capture the public's imagination.
I really disagree with this conclusion. The people I know who have food sensitivities, and eat GF or dairy free or whatever, do so because they must. I don't know anyone who tried a restrictive diet to see if it improved their health, and then chose to continue with it when it did nothing for them. If it did nothing, they dropped it.
My husband had a health issue that might have been diet related. He went GF and dairy free for half a year. His health issue improved quite a bit and then he decided to re-introduce dairy to see whether that was one of the changed factors that had helped. It wasn't. After 2 months of dairy he is unchanged, so he continues eating dairy. Logical... I can't imagine going back to dairy free if it wasn't needed.5 -
No, of course they're not fads. Some people may be paranoid and think they're intolerant without seeing a doctor, but I spent many years seeing a variety of the best Gastroenterologists (not due to the topic, but for ulcers and GERD) and when they started testing me for food allergies and asking about intolerance I was like "Well I've never had them before, sooo why are we wasting time with this".
They told me that most people don't realize you can *literally* wake up one day with food allergies and/or intolerances even if you were fine yesterday. Due to the delicate balance of the GI as your body's 2nd but equally-important "brain". Similarly, they can suddenly go away come back, get new ones, etc. It can happen to anyone at any time no matter how healthy they are. And that mostly everyone is somewhat intolerant to something. It's just a matter of whether it's enough to cause symptoms.
But dumb things like "wheat belly" are what create this paranoia among healthy people who have no intolerance....but act like certain foods are poison.5 -
I've been presenting for quite a while now with symptoms pointing to intolerances (have been lactose intolerant since I was about 12) of various foods. Visible bloating, ridiculous pain (can't stand up straight), toilet issues.
Tested by doctor for celiac; came back negative. Currently being tested for IBS/IBD through a gastroenterologist. As a part of that, I have been avoiding gluten as well as a plethora of other delicious things (onions, garlic, apples, most stoned fruits, cruciferous veggies, legumes, pulses, most dairy [though I already limit my dairy consumption as I previously pointed out my lactose intolerance], soy etc)
Celiac and allergies are NOT the only conditions which cause issues for people. My GP herself pointed out that the idea that we can all eat all the same things is ridiculous; everyone's gut bacteria are different and everybody's bodies work in different ways.5 -
I think there is a common pattern with these subjects. The increases in the number of reported "cases" is partly due to increased awareness of the condition--which leads to improved identification of existing cases, and partly due to auto suggestion by people who have vague symptoms and think this new syndrome might be the explanation.1
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I am gluten intolerant, was checked for celiac 3 years ago, tested high but not high enough to go for more testing, and that was after being taken off gluten 3 weeks before my blood tests. I am not interested in taking another test as I know what makes me ill, and I know how much better I feel now I have eliminated gluten.
So this is how this FAD affects me: within hours I am so bloated I look like I am 7 months pregnant, only my tracksuit bottoms fits me. Then comes the cramping, headache, nausea, bone pains and then comes the bathroom visits. Trust me, having the Niagara falls coming out of your backside is no fun. On a really bad day, 30+ visits, on a better day 8-10.
Then comes that wonderful wind, that bloating has to come out sometime. I can make a grown man proud. I am ill for 3-5 days.
I can track my imaginary intolerance back in my medical records for 35 years. So yes, sure, I am on the gluten intolerance bandwagon, because gluten intolerance does not exist, and btw an intolerance and an allergy are two different things. I am not allergic to gluten.
If you had been to my doctors, they'd have done further testing given your other symptoms, because I tested like you did.
They never biopsied you? Unreal.
You have all the symptoms and should act as if you have celiac.
As I said - for anyone with real gluten issues, the bathroom tells the story.
Getting tested in the U.K. Is not that straight forwards, more like an uphill struggle. I am just glad I feel better! I cannot even think of ever reintroducing it.0 -
i think a lot of the a-type 'professionals' that i've heard this gluten thing from have no clue, sure.
do i draw the same conclusions about them and their lifestyle/character/intelligence as you? well, no. i tend to just cut people off at the knees when they start trying to tell me tmi stuff i don't give a good damn about.
so i guess i don't feel very driven to make up alternative interpretations for whatever troubles they tell me avoiding gluten has cured.0 -
supaflyrobby1 wrote: »I do not discount at all those who have legitimate medical issues, but I would still contend that the majority of people who have a gluten fixation in 2017 are simply impressionable, attention-seeking rubes who follows silly marketing trends and are buying into the hype. The same type of people that bought a Lance Armstrong bracelet and would of been a prime candidate for purchasing a pet rock when that was trendy.
This extremely annoying girl that works in HR at my company told me a few weeks ago she thought she was allergic to gluten. She blathered on endlessly about how she always felt run-down and crabby, had a waning sex drive, dry skin and hair, etc .Must be gluten! Yeah, that's the obvious culprit. Because at 25 years old, it couldn’t possibly be a result of the two packs of cigarettes per day and handle of rum she consumes every weekend. She probably got the idea from some stupid magazine article that she is always reading.
Again, I fully appreciate people who have Celiac disease. This is an autoimmune disorder that occurs in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine and tons of pain. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, their body mounts an immune response that literally causes the body to attack itself. This has to suck, and these folks have my sympathy.
The guy who "discovered" gluten sensitivity was an Aussie by the name of Peter Gibson. Peter is a professor of gastroenterology at Monash University and director of the GI Unit at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. His original research yielded results which were not replaceable (a key concept in the scientific method) by other labs . So like any good scientist, he re-launched a far more extensive series of trials and concluded that non-Celiac gluten sensitivity is nonsense. Peter's lab is hardly alone in this conclusion either. Check Medline or PubMed.
So unless you actually have Celiac disease, gluten has almost ZERO practical effect on you. And when you have Celiac disease, you KNOW you have it very early on in life most of the time. Just because you get sleepy after you eat seven slices of pizza doesn’t mean you’re allergic to gluten. Feeling bloated after plowing through that plate of Fettuccine Alfredo? You should, but not for the reasons you try to delude yourself into believing.
That said, this level of stupidity does have some economic benefit. $12.5 billion dollars worth of gluten-free products sold in the year 2016. So I guess indirectly it is supplying jobs and an economic boost. Ironically enough, in my day job I work for an ad agency, and this is hardly the only time pure nonsense is able to capture both the minds and wallets of the impressionable public.
Lol this is very true. This is common behavior for a lot of people (especially young, impressionable teens) so I can totally see where they'd think there is a correlation rather than 'hmm, maybe I shouldn't eat this much of x'0 -
Aside from those people who think going gluten free will help them lose weight, there are a lot of around who have sensitivity to gluten as well as celiac. I remember being ill as a child after eating certain things, pretty sure that wasn't a fad. After dropping a lot of weight, and being extremely ill with a flare up 25 years ago, I finally went to a gastroenterologist, and the best suggestion that they could come up with was to take huge doses of metamucil to slow down the rate food went through me and to add wheat bran of all things to all my food. One doctor actually told me that my symptoms were a result of my nervousness. With more awareness of gluten intolerance and celiac disease and more information available my new gp and I finally figured out what was wrong with me. After being on a gluten free diet for 3 years I am finally able to get more than 20 feet away from a bathroom, don't have to arrange my life around mealtimes and the following consequences. I don't have to go hungry but be afraid to eat because I know I have to go somewhere because I finally know what I can eat and what I should avoid. I am very sure that there are a lot of people out there like me who have spent decades being misdiagnosed but have now pretty well figured it out because of the internet, etc. Only downside is that i have given up on writing my guide on how to find a bathroom (or available bush) under 2 minutes10
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »The problem is that the people providing gluten free food don't always take them seriously and the people truly relying on gluten free products can't always rely that products touted as being gluten free are going to be meticulously prepared since some people aren't taking this all that seriously thinking that they're just accommodating people following a fad, not people who have a disease. It's troubling.
I totally get this. I recently discovered a really great little bakery that specializes in gluten-free selections, but they also serve regular breads and cookies. I was pretty happy to share this find, but my friend with celiac is afraid to eat there because she's concerned about cross-contamination because everything is prepared in the same kitchen.0 -
As the mother of 3 coeliacs I am happy to see so many people on the gluten free /gluten intolerant fad. It means way way more options and choices for Coeliacs. The more people demanding GF foods, the more companies will stump up.
OTOH it's annoying to hear a gluten intolerant person blabbing on about how hard it is to live GF then watch them gobble down a piece of cake because "a little bit won't hurt". Maybe it won't hurt you bit it would put my kid in the hospital for a week and even worse chefs, cooks and wait staff take coeliacs less seriously when they see this kind of behavior.10 -
As the mother of 3 coeliacs I am happy to see so many people on the gluten free /gluten intolerant fad. It means way way more options and choices for Coeliacs. The more people demanding GF foods, the more companies will stump up.
OTOH it's annoying to hear a gluten intolerant person blabbing on about how hard it is to live GF then watch them gobble down a piece of cake because "a little bit won't hurt". Maybe it won't hurt you bit it would put my kid in the hospital for a week and even worse chefs, cooks and wait staff take coeliacs less seriously when they see this kind of behavior.
I think this as a problem. I know a lot of people that treat gluten as the new fat so I can't take a lot of the food allergies seriously especially if a person has not been diagnosed by a doctor. one of my good friends has celiac so I know its tough if you are really having the disease and I am not talking about people that have real issues. but I think a lot of people follow this without having a problem. the good thing is that like this the lactose free or gluten free food is available at a better price but I think its bad for people that are actually sick because they are not taken seriously. if you think you have an intolerance for gluten get tested for both wheat and gluten because you can just be allergic against wheat and not gluten in general. please'seek medical advice before'self diagnosing or at least let a doctor check your self diagnosis is right.0 -
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There is a kid I know (around 7-8 years old) and she was always tiny when both her parents and sisters were tall. They took her to the doctor since she was also looking very underweight and it turns out she can't eat gluten anymore. Also her other sister got the same diagnosis so it must run in their family.
Now if I start cutting gluten I won't even refer to it as gluten socially. I'll just say "I cut out the breads and pitas so I lose weight"
As for lactose intolerance, it's common in Greece and I don't think all these people and kids are saying this so people can excuse them for not drinking milk.
Before I had my gallbladder removed I would also have terrible stomach aches and puke whenever I ate eggs and avocados and peppers! My doctor told me that there are specific foods that would cause discomfort (fats mostly) and also personal foods. My great grandmother also couldn't tolerate peppers. Now 7 months since I had the surgery I eat eggs and peppers without problems. I thought I couldn't tolerate these foods and I couldn't until I removed my gallbladder and time passed.2 -
Can't speak for the other things but lactose intolerant is definitely a real thing and you'll know if you have it, because you'll live in the bathroom One of my kid is lactose intolerant and we ended up having a full food allergy scratch test done because when she ate most times she'd have horrible stomach cramps, massive bathroom issues-to the point where she was being sent home from school. The allergist labeled her lactose intolerant and after making adjustments to her diet/having her take lactaid pills she hasn't had any issues for several years now, except for one time when she had an Arby's shake to celebrate her birthday and we ended up having to cancel her birthday party because she had to spend hours in the bathroom an utter wreck (total mom fail for letting her have the shake without a lactaid pill
).
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WendyLeigh1119 wrote: »No, of course they're not fads. Some people may be paranoid and think they're intolerant without seeing a doctor, but I spent many years seeing a variety of the best Gastroenterologists (not due to the topic, but for ulcers and GERD) and when they started testing me for food allergies and asking about intolerance I was like "Well I've never had them before, sooo why are we wasting time with this".
They told me that most people don't realize you can *literally* wake up one day with food allergies and/or intolerances even if you were fine yesterday. Due to the delicate balance of the GI as your body's 2nd but equally-important "brain". Similarly, they can suddenly go away come back, get new ones, etc. It can happen to anyone at any time no matter how healthy they are. And that mostly everyone is somewhat intolerant to something. It's just a matter of whether it's enough to cause symptoms.
But dumb things like "wheat belly" are what create this paranoia among healthy people who have no intolerance....but act like certain foods are poison.
This happened with a family member-totally fine with all foods into her 20s and then she started having really bad reactions-started with a gastro, who then referred her to an allergist and come to find out she was allergic to several foods that she'd eaten her whole life with no problems. She cut them out and instantly eliminated all her symptoms.0 -
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There are some very real sensitivities and allergies but I think a lot of people are just jumping on a bandwagon. And I say that as someone who is gluten free due to a wheat germ allergy (yes I can have barley and rye I just don't because usually they are mixed with wheat flour). Also, my husband is extremely lactose intolerant. I had never seen a person get so sick from a scoop of ice cream before he and I lived together.
It annoys the crap out of me when people tell me they are gluten intolerant and then eat it occasionally. One of my oldest friends and my own dad both do this. When I changed my diet after a medical diagnosis they both claimed they were feeling sick and had to eat like I do now. Neither have ever been to a doctor for it and both still eat gluten and wheat when it suits them.
It makes it so much harder for people, like myself, who really can't eat it to be taken seriously when we eat out.
My reaction is not like someone with Celiac. I get painfully backed up and bloated with a burning rash when I ingest wheat germ. This includes the gluten free wheat grass and buck wheat. This lasts up to 3 days but usually only 1-2.
When my husband eats lactose/dairy he is up all night violently vomiting with sharp cramps. Two of his 3 siblings are the same.2 -
I personally think non-celliac gluten sensitivity might exist for some percentage of the population, but is not nearly as widespread as the number of people on a gf diet. https://nutritionfacts.org/2016/02/18/gluten-sensitivity-put-to-the-test/1
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As the mother of 3 coeliacs I am happy to see so many people on the gluten free /gluten intolerant fad. It means way way more options and choices for Coeliacs. The more people demanding GF foods, the more companies will stump up.
OTOH it's annoying to hear a gluten intolerant person blabbing on about how hard it is to live GF then watch them gobble down a piece of cake because "a little bit won't hurt". Maybe it won't hurt you bit it would put my kid in the hospital for a week and even worse chefs, cooks and wait staff take coeliacs less seriously when they see this kind of behavior.
That annoys me too. Hugely. That isn't gluten-free. It's gluten-light. Big difference.3 -
Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.4
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I don't think I've ever heard of the body actually having a physiological need for gluten. What specifically does the body actually need that protein for?BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.
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BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.
As far as I am aware, the human body does not need gluten to function. I think you might be confusing the proteins in gluten - glutenin and glianins - with the two non-essential amino acids glutamic acid (also responsible for the umami flavor) and glutamine. Both amino acids are found in various food items besides gluten.
Non-essential amino acid means the body can synthesize the amino acid from other constituents if not ingested directly from a food source.
I believe the names of all of them are derived from the Latin for "glue," but they are not the same chemicals.7 -
BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.
As far as I am aware, the human body does not need gluten to function. I think you might be confusing the proteins in gluten - glutenin and glianins - with the two non-essential amino acids glutamic acid (also responsible for the umami flavor) and glutamine. Both amino acids are found in various food items besides gluten.
Non-essential amino acid means the body can synthesize the amino acid from other constituents if not ingested directly from a food source.
I believe the names of all of them are derived from the Latin for "glue," but they are not the same chemicals.
Exactly! If your body needed gluten to function, those of us with celiac disease would be sol and dead
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