Wheat Belly diet

alyjb1121

I really want to see a couple of studies done.

Study 1) "gluten intolerance" rates among those on prescription meds, and those not on them.

2) "gluten intolerance" in those eating a nutritionally balanced diet vs non balanced.

3) "gluten intolerance" in those eating mass produced gluten containing products, vs those eating the same amount of gluten in home made or preservative free products.

I think the results would be eye opening.

But "cutting out gluten" you are also eliminating a lot of things. 1 is the most ready access to empty carbs we have in our diets. If you remove 500 or more calories a day of carbs, and substitute with other foods, you are going to notice a difference. and 2) huge amounts of preservatives and fillers that stabilize shelf life in mass produced products.

If it works for you, great! Have at. Just saying, cutting out "gluten" involves cutting out a lot more than just "gluten" for most people. BHA, BHT, HFCS, Mono and diglycerides, soy, and a whole host of other things occur in gluten bearing mass produced foods.

Add Gluten with GMOs vs Gluten without GMOs to that study list!
My cousin has celiac disease and after all the insane research her and her mother have done, they told me they believe GMOs are the intolerance factor building in most people today. IDK if it is right or wrong, but a study could help. Someone smarter than myself, get on it!

histora

We cut out gluten for a week for my son. He's had a touchy tummy and the doctor said Eh, you can try cutting out a few different things from time to time, give it a week or two, why not.

It was HELL.

You try telling a 6 year old whose favorite meal is chicken nuggets, yogurt with granola, and whole milk, that he can no longer have the solid parts of his meal. And no, his touchy tummy didn't magically become better, he didn't have better skin or decreased eczema, his growing pains didn't go away and his freckles stayed right where they are. It wasn't gluten. I personally think it was the multivit we were giving the kids, cause when we started another brand, he had less tummy issues pretty quickly.

But above all that, how the hell do y'all GF'ers afford to EAT????? All this Whole Foods/Trader Joes? SuperSnowflake market shopping, this fancy flour, those "ancient grains", this special "was never allowed near a wheat stalk lest it be made to feel inferior" specialty food...

...and y'know what? Eating GF meant we had WAY WAY more prepackaged foods than before.

I didn't feel any better, other than aggravated and pi$$ed at the crap in the closet I was letting go to waste, the cranky kid, the stupid grocery bills, and how much friggin time it took to make all this "alternative" food that tasted like chewy cardboard slathered in 8$/bottle sauce.

I find it suspect that 95% of the symptoms people tend to list when they complain about being GI are completely subjective. Joint pain, body heat, bloating, fatigue. Amazing.

campinbuff

two years ago I read the Wheat Belly book (after seeing it on Dr.Oz) I was astounded to see how much applied to my health issues, it was like the book was written about me. I emptied my pantry of anything with wheat and armed myself with knowledge of hidden gluten and started eating clean/paleo. Since then I have reversed my health issues and have lost 157lbs in the process. this book saved my life and I enjoy every minute now that I am healthy and can!!

kvankomen

...and y'know what? Eating GF meant we had WAY WAY more prepackaged foods than before.

I didn't feel any better, other than aggravated and pi$$ed at the crap in the closet I was letting go to waste, the cranky kid, the stupid grocery bills, and how much friggin time it took to make all this "alternative" food that tasted like chewy cardboard slathered in 8$/bottle sauce.

I find it suspect that 95% of the symptoms people tend to list when they complain about being GI are completely subjective. Joint pain, body heat, bloating, fatigue. Amazing.

GF doesn't mean you have to buy prepackaged foods.... I've been wheat free for about 3 weeks now as a test to how my body would do (it been amazing!) and have yet to go to trader joe's or whole foods and I haven't bought any "specialty" prepackage gluten free foods.

histora

When my options for grocery buying is Walmart, Target, and Sams Club, yeah, yeah it is. Also, try buying that crap on food stamps.

Good for you if it made you magically better. Must be the 1-5% of the population that actually has a problem.

I think the nearest trader's joe or whatever else trendy pretentious market is over four hours away?

AlliSteff

I read the book after my sister had lived with Celiac for a few years. Ultimately, I ended up being diagnosed with lupus and going *mostly* GF has really helped to limit my lupus flareups/ joint inflammation.

I do cook GF at home, and I really can't tell much of a difference in our grocery budget now vs. prior to cooking at home not GF. I would actually venture to say that since I don't buy as many snacky things (other than popcorn and some tortilla chips), that we spend about $30 less a week than we used to (for 2 people in Manhattan). I do purchase meats on sale and freeze them, etc...but dumping the cereal and all that has probably evened out

CrystalFlury

I personally wouldn't follow it. I only just read a summary of it on webmd. I might read a little more about it because it does, certainly, sound more like a "gluten free" diet. My problem with things like this is although the follower of this diet may lose lots of weight from it initially, it would seem to me it would only come back to bite them in the butt (gain the weight back) after slowing introducing grains back into their every day diet later. Short term, it looks good, but in the long term it may be a temporary fix, from a weight loss point of view.

This is all coming from a person who loves their starches and carbs, unfortunately, and I know it's not something *I* could sustain on a long term basis.

Good luck to you if you try it out and more power to you if you have the will power to maintain a grain free lifestyle!

Dragonwolf

When my options for grocery buying is Walmart, Target, and Sams Club, yeah, yeah it is. Also, try buying that crap on food stamps.

Good for you if it made you magically better. Must be the 1-5% of the population that actually has a problem.

I think the nearest trader's joe or whatever else trendy pretentious market is over four hours away?

My mom's income is at that weird spot where not going bankrupt is sketchy, but doesn't qualify for food stamps. She also lives where even the closest Wal-Mart is half an hour away. She still eats mostly whole foods and limits prepackaged foods (she doesn't explicitly try to be gluten free).

It can be done, even on a tight budget, but you might have to get creative. Even if all you have is Wal-Mart, then try to stick to the perimeter of the store. If you have to buy prepackaged food, go for rice, corn, or potato based stuff (or quinoa, if it's in your budget), or better yet, if possible, get the components and make it yourself.

Trying to replace gluten-containing items with gluten-free analogs is almost always a recipe for disaster. The solution? Don't try to make analogs. Instead, make different stuff. One of the nice things about some of the whole food based, gluten/grain free ways of eating is that they are more likely to use things like cheaper cuts of meat. So, instead of buying the $10/lb sirloin and feeding two people for one meal, you can buy the $2/lb chuck, shoulder, or brisket, and feed four people for three meals. (Even if all else fails, beans and rice are gluten free.)

Even if you don't follow them, specifically, check out recipe sites and books for things like Paleo or Vegan/Raw Vegan. They're more likely to have "snout to tail" recipes that use the cheaper and perfectly good, though less favored by the general public, parts of plants and animals.

Also, if you can spare any cash at all for your food budget, look into farms around you for things like meat, milk, and eggs. It's likely going to be far cheaper and better quality to get it straight from the farm than from a grocery store. That can also allow you to use your food stamps for other staples, potentially letting you get more and/or better quality food overall.

You try telling a 6 year old whose favorite meal is chicken nuggets, yogurt with granola, and whole milk, that he can no longer have the solid parts of his meal. And no, his touchy tummy didn't magically become better, he didn't have better skin or decreased eczema, his growing pains didn't go away and his freckles stayed right where they are. It wasn't gluten. I personally think it was the multivit we were giving the kids, cause when we started another brand, he had less tummy issues pretty quickly.

I find it suspect that 95% of the symptoms people tend to list when they complain about being GI are completely subjective. Joint pain, body heat, bloating, fatigue. Amazing.

To be fair, eczema takes far longer than a week to clear up. I have a relatively minor case, and it still takes a month of eating completely gluten free for it to clear up, and even a serving or two will bring it back again for several weeks.

Additionally, I wouldn't call going from taking the max amount of Ibuprofen or antacid daily to zero of either in a week or two to be "subjective," nor would cleared acne after nothing else under the sun worked. Unfortunately, it's attitudes like yours that keeps people from being able to get the medical help they need when there really is something wrong, especially for people who present atypical symptoms to even very serious conditions.