Can a little flour make THAT much difference??

heathernz

I had an interesting experience tonight - and I wonder whether it's happened to anyone else...

Firstly, I've been doing paleo/primal since January 5. Absolutely no wheat, no sugar (except for an occasional piece of very dark chocolate), only a little milk in coffee, no other dairy, no grains/ rice / pasta - you know the drill...

Tonight with dinner I cooked the kids some oven fries, and did myself some sweet potato fries. What I didn't realise until I started eating them is that they had a very light coating - silly me for not reading the packet. I usually buy what we in New Zealand call Kumara fries - they have no coating.

Less than half an hour after eating dinner (pork strips, courgette, onion, tomato and the sweet potato fries), my stomach hurt and I just felt kinda unwell, two hours later my stomach still feels kinda blah, and (excuse the TMI) I have had more wind than since before I changed to eating this way.

I checkd the packet and sure enough, the second ingredient was wheat flour. Learned my lesson, read packets more carefully - don't assume!!

Could just a little wheat flour make such a big difference? Has this happened to anyone else??

mehaugen

Yes if you are gluten intolerant. A gluten protein is microscopic.

chammich

Yes it can..sounds like you have an allergy to wheat.

concerto3

If I eat anything with wheat/gluten in it, I get a reaction within the hour, nausea, bad gas pains, stomach bloating, and definitely some bad digestive side effects the next day. uck. No amount, not even a little is worth it for me to eat now. Even the teeniest bit sends my body to war with itself.

heathernz

My head struggles with this a bit - I love eating this way and I feel great and I really don't miss much. What my head struggles with is such a pronounced reaction when I have eaten tonnes of wheat / grains / sugar all my life! (Up to 3.5 weeks ago).

Makes me wonder what I've been doing to myself, and what I'll feel like after six / twelve months of eating like this...

Another boost in motivation!!

jamk1446

My head struggles with this a bit - I love eating this way and I feel great and I really don't miss much. What my head struggles with is such a pronounced reaction when I have eaten tonnes of wheat / grains / sugar all my life! (Up to 3.5 weeks ago).

Makes me wonder what I've been doing to myself, and what I'll feel like after six / twelve months of eating like this...

Another boost in motivation!!

It's understandable to find this confusing. I use the analogy of allegy shot treatments. Say you have a pollen allergy that's pretty severe. You begin immunotherapy (allergy shots) that introduces a small amount of the allergen into your body on a daily basis. Your body builds up antibodies toward the allergen to keep from having a severe reaction and you gradually build up to the amount of allergen you are exposed to. (You do still have a low-grade reaction that most people don't think about though.) Eating gluten/ grain regularly is the same thing as the allergy shots, you are exposing yourself to an allergen. When you stop, your body doesn't circulate the level of antibody that it did previously and you will have a stronger reaction when you do ingest it. By clearing it out of your system, long term, your body isn't working all the time to maintain that level of protection and you will likely continue to feel better and better.

granolagrl85

So when everyone else goes from eating primal/paleo to eating something with flour they do not have these symptoms? I've long suspected I was allergic to wheat since I'm allergic to grasses of many types. I ate some pizza the other night and really noticed the tummy reaction and got a headache and felt blah.

heathernz

Oh my goodness - I never thought of that - I had allergy tests many years ago - I don't remember if they tested for wheat but grasses had a strong reaction, particularly Rye grass...

I have noticed that since I switched to primal I have had much clearer sinuses and have not needed the anti histamines that I usually take about every second or third day...

This is a really fascinating journey! And I was just wanting eat better and lose some weight!!

jamk1446

So when everyone else goes from eating primal/paleo to eating something with flour they do not have these symptoms? I've long suspected I was allergic to wheat since I'm allergic to grasses of many types. I ate some pizza the other night and really noticed the tummy reaction and got a headache and felt blah.

Some people do, some don't. I don't have any formal statistics but it seems most people I talk to do notice they feel off in some way after eating wheat, some more severely than others.

Anathama

I've been wondering about this as well. I've been doing this diet for 3 weeks so far, and the hardest thing is beer. Especially because I work on a youtube channel doing craft beer reviews and help educate restaurants in craft beer.

I have had a couple of beers each week, but I can't say they have made me feel bad, or upset my stomach so far. I am curious how much of my good I'm undoing with these beers however.

monkeydharma

Well, here's my experience....

Last night, after several months of eating paleo/primal, my wife and I went on a, "epicurean discovery" event our local Chamber of Commerce put on - a progressive dinner where we had one course each at four of the best restaurants in our town. Sue and I both decided that it would be a 'night off the reservation' and would enjoy the delicacies, even though they weren't primal. So, there was a lot of bread, sugar, dairy and so on - even though the dishes were exquisitely prepared.

When we got home, we both felt so overloaded that when we sat down on the couch, we promptly crashed and slept for a couple of hours, and woke up feeling bloated and dehydrated. Today, I started having abdominal cramps when last nights meal was seeking to make a 'reappearance'.

There's no doubt in my mind that my gastric distress today was a result of the food I ate last night. It was a lesson. I'm not likely soon to repeat it.

KMAMinx13

When I eat wheat products or drink beer (black ale), I can almost 'feel' myself bloating....and don't forget those lovely cramps when it's time for those entities to depart my body. ; (

ahjenny

I had some crab cakes with a bread crumb coating about two weeks ago. They made me feel crummy for a day and a half! Made me wonder how I could go for so long eating that stuff!

monkeydharma

I had some crab cakes with a bread crumb coating about two weeks ago. They made me feel crummy for a day and a half! Made me wonder how I could go for so long eating that stuff!

It's kinda like being a cigarette smoker. You feel 'normal' when you do, and feel off when you haven't had one in a while. But once you quit and stay off of them for a while - try one. Man, they're nasty.

kkarrolle

I am still suffering from 4 days off primal while away for a long weekend. After 3 days, it started Saturday night, bloated, tummy aches, stupidly I did another day. Bloating and tummy aches continue along with feeling the need to go to the toilet but not about 4 or 5 days a day, kind of like having diarrhea without passing much (sorry too much info). There has been blood, not sure if due to straining or something else.

Been back primal since Monday (now Wednesday morning), and if issues cleared up by Friday, I will have to check with doctor just in case blood in something else due to history of bowel cancer in family and pre cancerous polyps in the immediate family.

Not that I ever needed convincing that primal was right for me, but I am now definitely convinced.

granolagrl85

What color was the blood? Was it red or black?

kkarrolle

Granola, it was red...that and the stomach upset seems to have cleared up now thankly, but I will keep an eye on the situation, as I am fairly cautious when it comes to that area, due to the family history already mentioned.

GalaxyDuck

I've been wondering about this as well. I've been doing this diet for 3 weeks so far, and the hardest thing is beer. Especially because I work on a youtube channel doing craft beer reviews and help educate restaurants in craft beer.

I have had a couple of beers each week, but I can't say they have made me feel bad, or upset my stomach so far. I am curious how much of my good I'm undoing with these beers however.

Unless you've been drinking gluten-free beers, you're undoing much of the good of this way of eating. Even a little bit of gluten can irritate your gut lining and that gut lining damage remains for up to 2 weeks. So if you have yet to cut out beer, you should really consider it. The whole point of eliminating grains is to heal your gut lining. Try to be strict about it for 30 days, no beer. Then have a beer. You might find yourself considering red wine pretty quick!

Edited to add: Also if you've been having a couple of beers each week, that is why you haven't noticed them making you feel bad, or bloated, or upset your stomach. You haven't even given your gut lining the time it needs to heal. The allergy-shot example above is a great way of explaining it.

hpsnickers1

Granola, it was red...that and the stomach upset seems to have cleared up now thankly, but I will keep an eye on the situation, as I am fairly cautious when it comes to that area, due to the family history already mentioned.

If it was red (I've dealt with both) my guess is some bleeding hemorrhoids. I use to get them right on "the edge" from straining when I was dealing with IBS. They went away with Primal. Since then I've only seen it when I have fallen off the wagon.

hpsnickers1

I've been wondering about this as well. I've been doing this diet for 3 weeks so far, and the hardest thing is beer. Especially because I work on a youtube channel doing craft beer reviews and help educate restaurants in craft beer.

I have had a couple of beers each week, but I can't say they have made me feel bad, or upset my stomach so far. I am curious how much of my good I'm undoing with these beers however.

Unless you've been drinking gluten-free beers, you're undoing much of the good of this way of eating. Even a little bit of gluten can irritate your gut lining and that gut lining damage remains for up to 2 weeks. So if you have yet to cut out beer, you should really consider it. The whole point of eliminating grains is to heal your gut lining. Try to be strict about it for 30 days, no beer. Then have a beer. You might find yourself considering red wine pretty quick!

Edited to add: Also if you've been having a couple of beers each week, that is why you haven't noticed them making you feel bad, or bloated, or upset your stomach. You haven't even given your gut lining the time it needs to heal. The allergy-shot example above is a great way of explaining it.

I have actually developed a taste and a liking to red wine since going Primal. Never really liked beer and despised wine - especially red - I was a shot taker. Now I love the stuff. In fact, I have to be careful because I enjoy having it every evening and have to force myself to take a break (can't be replacing sugar with alcohol - not good).

GalaxyDuck

I've been wondering about this as well. I've been doing this diet for 3 weeks so far, and the hardest thing is beer. Especially because I work on a youtube channel doing craft beer reviews and help educate restaurants in craft beer.

I have had a couple of beers each week, but I can't say they have made me feel bad, or upset my stomach so far. I am curious how much of my good I'm undoing with these beers however.

Unless you've been drinking gluten-free beers, you're undoing much of the good of this way of eating. Even a little bit of gluten can irritate your gut lining and that gut lining damage remains for up to 2 weeks. So if you have yet to cut out beer, you should really consider it. The whole point of eliminating grains is to heal your gut lining. Try to be strict about it for 30 days, no beer. Then have a beer. You might find yourself considering red wine pretty quick!

Edited to add: Also if you've been having a couple of beers each week, that is why you haven't noticed them making you feel bad, or bloated, or upset your stomach. You haven't even given your gut lining the time it needs to heal. The allergy-shot example above is a great way of explaining it.

I have actually developed a taste and a liking to red wine since going Primal. Never really liked beer and despised wine - especially red - I was a shot taker. Now I love the stuff. In fact, I have to be careful because I enjoy having it every evening and have to force myself to take a break (can't be replacing sugar with alcohol - not good).

I know what you mean! I was always a beer drinker. I managed to cut back significantly on that during my weight loss journey. I'd have an occasional glass of wine, usually white, when visiting family but never something I picked up on my own. Since going paleo/primal, I've developed quite a liking of red wine. It's not something I indulge in often, but when I do it's always enjoyable. I remembered it being nasty when I was younger, but that seems to have disappeared.

Not feeling bloated and having burps from beer is also nice

mjslazak

Wow, very interesting seeing all of these experiences! Thank you for sharing!

My own story: I just finished the Whole 30 challenge earlier this week ,and have "experimented" with some of the previously-banned foods every couple of days so far. Tuesday, for example, we went out for sushi for dinner, and it was the first time having rice in more than a month (I'd been cutting back on grains before the challenge). That night and especially the next day, I felt rather off: my stomach was "gurgly" and my stools a bit loose. 1st thought: the little rice I ate on the sushi! Then I passed it off, thinking it might have just been an "off" meal, but said I'd try again at some point to test the theory. This thread has given me pause to think it was indeed the rice!

Also noticed some gas after having a serving of cheese yesterday. Admittedly, I'll be bummed if I can't have cheese any longer as well, but it's something worth considering for the benefits I've already seen.

Thankfully, wine is ok! :-)

monkeydharma

Also noticed some gas after having a serving of cheese yesterday. Admittedly, I'll be bummed if I can't have cheese any longer as well, but it's something worth considering for the benefits I've already seen.

Before you give up cheese entirely, test some goat and sheep cheeses. A lot of people who have problems with cow dairy have little or no issues with goat/sheep. In our household, we use goat and sheep cheeses, goat butter and goat yogurt - and we're very happy with them.

If you do try goat cheese, try several different types, styles and brands. Chevre (fresh goat cheese) is a lot like cream cheese, but noticeably sharper. They are also making 'aged' cheese from goat, like cheddar, jack, etc. and the flavor profile can vary depending on the brand. Sheep cheeses are usually mild.

Goat yogurt is thicker (like greek yogurt) and milder than cow yogurt - it's almost like a sour cream.