Gluten is the Devil

Thank you for having the courage to open your mind, put aside the "wheat is healthy" propaganda and TRY something different. The people that argue hardest against gluten free/paleo/primal/low carb have never tried it, didn't try it long enough, or were not being 100% compliant with eliminating grain. Everyone that I have ever met that has tried it for at least two weeks (usually it only takes a few days, such as in your case and mine) noticed a dramatic improvement in health. Of course, not all of them stick with it. Neither did I; I had to finally get sick of being sick.

Most grains do not like to be consumed and have chemical strategies to try to deter consumption, that's why they make us sick. The gov't agencies, etc aren't going to stop pushing grains anytime soon. There's NO WAY they want everyone to stop consuming wheat, corn, and soy. The profit machine loves monocultures.

And I love your presentation... I almost didn't get to the good part because I thought you were just another person who was going to try to tell me that my many, many health improvements have all been imaginary and not due to my diet. I get a little tired of my personal experience being discredited especially when I am genuinely trying to help others.

Maybe you felt better because it was in your head that you were doing a good thing? I don't believe gluten is a bad thing and if I don't have a medical reason, I see no reason to cut it from my diet personally. Until I do, if I do, I won't be gutting it out. I don't eat much pasta or breads anymore because of it being high in carbs and all, I wish I felt better from doing so, but I don't. To each his own.

Yup, it's all in our heads, diet can't possibly affect health. This is the kind of comment that irks me so badly.

My diet resolved: severe depression, anxiety, anti-social behaviour, indigestion, gas, bloating, acid reflux, ulcers, chronic pain (this was bad enough that I was considering suicide), sleep apnea, insomnia, joint pain, muscle cramps, pre diabetes, headaches, chronic infections/colds/flus/bronchitis, and more.

Many of the health problems are common ailments that people suffer with that don't even know they are sick. For instance, depression, gas, bloating, etc. No, lots of gas is not normal and feeling "down" is not normal.

You don't have to change your diet, but stop discrediting the experience of other people. Thanks.

Oh, and the following:

We started camping on Friday morning, and by Saturday evening, my knees, elbows and back felt as though they were on fire, they hurt so badly.


Could be attributed to sleeping on the ground, couldn't it?

Actually, sleeping on the ground is healthy and was the norm for humans at one time. Ever heard of "grounding"? Something to be aware in this day and age of being surrounded by electrical currents and wifi and always wearing insulated shoes. Sure I use a comfy sleep pad when I go camping, and I feel awesome, but not if I eat the things that caused the OP to get sick.

Maybe you felt better because it was in your head that you were doing a good thing? I don't believe gluten is a bad thing and if I don't have a medical reason, I see no reason to cut it from my diet personally. Until I do, if I do, I won't be gutting it out. I don't eat much pasta or breads anymore because of it being high in carbs and all, I wish I felt better from doing so, but I don't. To each his own.

Yup, it's all in our heads, diet can't possibly affect health. This is the kind of comment that irks me so badly.

My diet resolved: severe depression, anxiety, anti-social behaviour, indigestion, gas, bloating, acid reflux, ulcers, chronic pain (this was bad enough that I was considering suicide), sleep apnea, insomnia, joint pain, muscle cramps, pre diabetes, headaches, chronic infections/colds/flus/bronchitis, and more.

Many of the health problems are common ailments that people suffer with that don't even know they are sick. For instance, depression, gas, bloating, etc. No, lots of gas is not normal and feeling "down" is not normal.

You don't have to change your diet, but stop discrediting the experience of other people. Thanks.

She wasn't discrediting your experience, just stating her opinion. She clarified that medical reasons could warrant it, but that for her such exclusion wasn't necessary.

Did you miss this part: "Maybe you felt better because it was in your head that you were doing a good thing"?

Most doctors don't have a clue about nutrition and disease prevention; that's not what they learn. I guess I should have just waited until I had full-blown diabetes and an official "diagnosis" before taking any kind of action. Because doctors always know best and all of my health improvements are a figment of my imagination.

I watched that documentary Fathead the other day (I know came out in 2009, not sure where I've been) but the point of this is they talked about how grain is pushed on us to lose weight when it's what farmers/ranchers use to fatten up their livestock.

Grain is used to fatten up cattle because ranchers used to feed cattle a feed which included the ground remains of other butchered cows and this upped the chance of spreading disease to the living cows including, but not limited to, e-coli and mad cow. There was a great push to stop the practice a few decades ago and grain fed beef became the new healthy beef.

Like most things in the food industry, that good change has gone astray with the quest for profit margin and the grain they are fed is not what they'd naturally eat, but it's also most often corn, which is gluten free. So it doesn't really have anything to do with the OP.

If you are gluten intolerant or have Celiac's, going gluten free will improve your quality of life. Just like I am a seasonal allergy sufferer, and eliminating pollen from my life would seriously make me feel a whole lot better. I am glad there is so much gluten awareness these days, as so many people suffered for long periods of their lives before discovering gluten was the culprit.

However, those of us who have no issue with gluten, eliminating it 100% is about as helpful as eliminating turnips from the diet. Basically, it doesn't matter one way or the other.

Good post. Amusing. I particularly enjoyed the part where you referenced yourself and "wrong" in the same sentence.

I have had a similar experience. I thought having indigestion, bloating, headaches, joint pain and feeling tired was just due to being overweight and/or getting older. Not true. I cut out wheat and then all gluten and the results were frankly shocking..and quick.

All of the symptoms disappeared and my energy and skin improved dramatically. No other changes were made at this time..since I wanted to control for that. Have relaxed again somewhat..but when I do I end up regretting it.

The Wheat Belly book: Worst pseudo-science EVER

Perhaps, but Gary Taubes (Why We Get Fat) must be running a very close second...... :laugh: :laugh:

Gluten is just one of my little demons. If anyone has pain, they might try cutting out nightshade vegetables for a bit and see how much that can help (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers). It's shocking how much trouble food can cause people, and we don't realize it.