Is being Gluten Free a Fad or .....?!?!?!?!

13»

Replies

  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    Unless you need to go gluten free, you don't need to go gluten free.

    Apparently lots of people had this problem, but nobody really knew what it was until they discovered the culprit was gluten. Now, lots of people are finding out gluten is the cause and its why so many people are gluten free.


    Of course, there are those who just feel like jumping on the band wagon!

    My homeopathic chiropractor had so many clients who had problems with gluten, and his wife needed to be gluten free too, so he and his daughter also eat that way. This way he won't have to worry about it :D
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
    It has become a 'fad' its the new 'organic' or 'clean diet' and some people do find it better to follow gluten free but as an above poster says some people HAVE to follow gluten free like me, i have celiacs disease and so cannot eat gluten/wheat/oats/rhy/barley etc i have had this since I was 6 years old so we celiacs have no choice

    This! For those who have celiac or a legitimately diagnosed gluten allergy, it is a necessity.

    For the rest of the population who have no legitimate medical reason to avoid it, it's a fad.
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    Unless you need to go gluten free, you don't need to go gluten free.

    Apparently lots of people had this problem, but nobody really knew what it was until they discovered the culprit was gluten. Now, lots of people are finding out gluten is the cause and its why so many people are gluten free.


    Of course, there are those who just feel like jumping on the band wagon!

    My homeopathic chiropractor had so many clients who had problems with gluten, and his wife needed to be gluten free too, so he and his daughter also eat that way. This way he won't have to worry about it :D
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    While there are people who need to be gluten free...I have friends who went gluten free because they THOUGHT it would help with weight loss. All it is doing is making them have to travel 50-100 miles to find stores that sell gluten free foods ( corn pastas, gluten free bread, ect)

    I wonder why they feel the need to travel 100 miles to buy gluten free food? they like the bread and pasta that much? why not just cut it out entirely?

    Now that I cut grains, I am seeing just how many varied and tasty foods are out there that I wouldnt normally have tried.
  • StarvingDiva
    StarvingDiva Posts: 1,107 Member
    While there are people who need to be gluten free...I have friends who went gluten free because they THOUGHT it would help with weight loss. All it is doing is making them have to travel 50-100 miles to find stores that sell gluten free foods ( corn pastas, gluten free bread, ect)

    100 miles? really, where do they live? there are gluten free foods right in the grocery store 3 miles from my house.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
    People who have celiac's disease really suffer. My friend's body lost the ability to absorb protein. The doctors were clueless until an intestinal biopsy brought in the verdict. I don't have celiacs, but I notice that bread has a really adverse effect on my weight. The book Wheat Belly points out that wheat has been so hybridized over the past 50 years that the sugar content has really gone up and is negatively affecting the insulin levels of the body. I've been cutting back because of that. But wheat is in everything: it is used as a filler in ground spices, and all kinds of products have it without listing it on the ingredients. So, unless you are advised by a nutritionist as to what is safe, you probably end up eating a lot more of it than you think.

    About 10% of Europeans have Celiac's. It was an Italian doctor who immigrated to New York and who wondered how come so few Americans were diagnosed with the disease, and started finding it in his patients because he know what to look for who blew the whistle and alerted the medical establishment. Sso if you are of European stock, it is worth while being aware of it as something that might affect you.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
    Not a fad.

    Wheat/Gluten intolerance, and food allergies in general, have skyrocketed in the last decade. Look at the peanut allergy…it has doubled!

    With all the constant changes in our environments it is no surprise that our immune systems are acting out. There are so many unnatural products in our foods… I once read a study that showed that people who live in large cities and eat lots of fast foods are more likely to get allergies. Those that live on farms or in rural communities are more protected. It has to do with the foods that we are eating… If we keep feeding our bodies junk then our bodies are going to start fighting back, naturally.
  • caiconCristi
    caiconCristi Posts: 255 Member
    I would never have gone GF if I didn't have to!

    I break out in hives, itch like mad, get swollen terribly achy joints and amazingly horrible stomachaches from eating: wheat, buckwheat, rye, oats, gluten free oats (seriously pisses me off), and occasionally, I will react to corn. I can eat brown rice and white rice with no issues.

    Once I was diagnosed, I started reading labels of absolutely EVERYTHING - and that horrifying experience has led me to go to buying organic, local veggies, grass fed beef, organic eggs, and local farm raised organic pork and chicken. Oh, and wild caught fish.

    I also - during the 20 million blood tests - found that I'm insulin resistant, so I had to cut out sugar as well. (good times, that)

    It's a personal choice to go this far, and it's also taken me a very long time to get here.

    But damn, I miss pizza! And Taco Bell!


    Same with me. If I didn't get sick, have rashes etc....I would be eating it!!! It has also taken me a while to get here. The only thing that forced me to do it was the pain of being sick. Love my philly cheesesteaks, pizza etc...wish it was a fad I could get off of. Good news is that I'm grateful not to be in pain anymore.
  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
    I have a few celiac friends-- there's no question that the disease exists. Ingesting gluten does bad, bad things to them.

    However, it seems to be one of those things people love to self-diagnose (I know several of them, as well) and I'm not sure why. Maybe they just want that much to feel special?? *shrug*
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    Wheat is the most genetically modified plant on the planet today. Nothing in it is good for you in it's current state unfortunately. It is modified to yield more, be resistant to insects and fungus, make a whiter pastier flour, there are more I don't remember them all right now.

    Would you have a dog that was genetically modified not to bark, shed or poop on your lawn and destroy it? The only drawback is he would smell bad all the time and had 3 heads and no tail to wag?

    It's the same thing with wheat, it's so genetically modified that it really isn't wheat anymore.
    So? Dogs are wolves that are so genetically modified that they aren't really wolves anymore.

    By the way, scientists now think that wheat domesticated humans. That is, humans first settled down and formed civilizations after wild wheat evolved for the grains not to fall off unless the plant was harvested, thereby requiring humans to stay in one place and take care of the wheat in order to eat it.
  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
    I once read a study that showed that people who live in large cities and eat lots of fast foods are more likely to get allergies. Those that live on farms or in rural communities are more protected. It has to do with the foods that we are eating… If we keep feeding our bodies junk then our bodies are going to start fighting back, naturally.

    I read a similar study but the focus was not on food allergies but environmental, and the farm-preference had more to do with exposure (to grass, cats, hay, etc.).
  • Bunnybadwife
    Bunnybadwife Posts: 3 Member
    Coeliac disease is not a fad. Both my mother and son have it.
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
    Not a fad.

    Wheat/Gluten intolerance, and food allergies in general, have skyrocketed in the last decade. Look at the peanut allergy…it has doubled!

    With all the constant changes in our environments it is no surprise that our immune systems are acting out. There are so many unnatural products in our foods… I once read a study that showed that people who live in large cities and eat lots of fast foods are more likely to get allergies. Those that live on farms or in rural communities are more protected. It has to do with the foods that we are eating… If we keep feeding our bodies junk then our bodies are going to start fighting back, naturally.

    There is also a case to be made that we set ourselves and our children up for allergies (more environmental than food) by the completely sterile, anti-bac environment. Once upon a time, people were outdoors and in the dirt from an early age - even babies. And therefore they developed the necessary stuff to combat allergic reactions. As we've moved more and more inside and more and more towards completely sterile environments, our bodies don't get the chance to develop those defenses.

    While not directly related, food allergies can be a part of this as the body can't fight allergens in general. The majority of the food issues are largely due to all the genetic tinkering that goes on with things.
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
    Coeliac disease is not a fad. Both my mother and son have it.

    No one is saying celiac is a fad. What we're saying is there are people jumping on gluten-free for absolutely no reason. In that case then yes it is a fad as those people (NOT the ones who have celiac disease) have no medical reason to go gluten free. Those with celiac and allergies, not a fad.
  • rcthale
    rcthale Posts: 141
    Gluten-free diets should address allergy issues, not general nutrition. Gluten is the type of protein in grains. You don't gain any benefits by missing out on that valuable protein, unless you have the allergy.
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 445 Member
    I was just tested and came back that I have a gluten intolrence (no celiac disease) I have been put on a restricted gluten diet and I feel 100% better then I have in years! Bloating and constipation gone! I dont know if its a fad but I feel better!

    New research is showing that many everyday inconveniences (bloating, swelling, joint pain, dry skin) are associated with gluten.
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 445 Member
    Wheat is the most genetically modified plant on the planet today. Nothing in it is good for you in it's current state unfortunately.

    Doesn't wheat contain B vitamins and various minerals?

    From what I've read, it does CONTAIN these things, but our body doesn't absorb it. The nutrition stay in the fiber and we crap it out with no benefit.
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 445 Member
    Unless you need to go gluten free, you don't need to go gluten free.

    Nice blanket statement. Where is your Phd from?
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    I was just tested and came back that I have a gluten intolrence (no celiac disease) I have been put on a restricted gluten diet and I feel 100% better then I have in years! Bloating and constipation gone! I dont know if its a fad but I feel better!

    Curious what kind of tests they did. My cousins doctor just suggested she might be gluten intolerant, but she did not testing of any sort, it was just based on my cousin's description of her symptoms.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    The fad did good in a sense that it alerted many people to an allergy/sensitivity they really have.

    But it is a fad, with a lot of unnecesary adherants, that often sound like tools more than anything else. Gluten-free has become the miracle cure of the 2010's, able to rid the world of all its ailments, you can find someone offering gluten-free as a remedy to practically every malady that exists. It also created a very unhealthy skepticism of doctors, a little is a good thing, but many noways take it to the doctor hater extreme, assuming everything that comes out of a doctor's mouth is wrong.
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    I don't know why anyone would do it just to do it. In my case I have an intolerance.

    In my son's case....Allergy. Spent a week in the hospital at 6 months old, over 1 tablespoon of cereal with wheat. Have made repeat trips to the ER from accidentally ingesting wheat or gluten containing foods. Not fun!

    And in my son's case VERY dangerous!
  • ajelove
    ajelove Posts: 97 Member
    In my personal opinion it is a fad HOWEVER there are people who have a very legitimate reason (EDIT: Celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivty) to go gluten free and for these people it is in their best interest to do so. In that regard, I'd say it's a fad but I'd put a little asterisk by it.
    This.
    And there are plenty of gluten free snacks that are not healthy at all. It's only good for people with sensitivities.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    if it is a fad, does that make it bad? Maybe some fads are actually a good thing?

Categories