wheat free- how strict

I haven't cut it out of my diet completely. I rarely eat breads or pastas and feel much, much better. I hate the heaviness from breads and pastas, but I LOVE the way they taste. Gluten is bad for you and it's the new fad to be gluten free. It's a good fad though. Why are u wanting to cut it out? do you have intolerances?

I've read a lot about cutting wheat. I know there is a difference between full blown celiac (don't have) and I think there must be different levels of intolerances and symptoms. My question: is it beneficial to cut way back or do most of you feel wheat must be eliminated completely? I could be successful cutting the obvious breads, pastas, etc. I already try to limit processed foods. But I don't want to rule out foods that have been "made on equipment that processes wheat". How much is too much?

Unless you have an actual case of celiacs or are super intolerant, there is NO reason to cut out items that may have cross contamination. Most people will never need to go that far.

Now, the only way to test for any intolerance is to do an elimination diet.

My doctor and I have been in the process of figuring out my issues. They seem gluten related, but not celiac. We have found a good balance for myself to keep symptoms to a minimum that does not require to cut out any gluten products, but simply restrict the amount I consume at each meal and daily.

If you're trying to find out if you have an intolerance, you need to remove all sources of it for an extended amount of time (a few weeks). See if you feel better but keep some skepticism about it since feeling better may be a placebo effect if you wanted it to make you feel better. If you reintroduce it after not eating it and find you have issues, then it is probably a good idea to not eat it.

I wouldn't quit eating it just to quit eating it, though. You can limit it but I quit eating wheat entirely for five months and can't say there were any positive effects other than when I was out somewhere and couldn't find a wheat free option for food (which happened often), I just didn't eat. This was probably worse than whatever effect wheat may or may not have.

I also started eating it again and find I have zero side effects.

I'm just mildly intolerant (breaks me out, makes me cranky and bloated), but I cut it out. I eat whole foods mostly, so if I'm not making it at home with flour or other gluten I don't get any! That's also way cheaper than all those processed foods...

The thing is that the stuff you read about wheat nowadays is usually all written in such a way as to convince you that it's true. I read wheat belly and quit eating it because of all the evidence that guy (yes, I do know his name) presents for it being such bad stuff for everybody, but if you read the whole thing, he also says to basically limit all other sources of carbs. If it's really wheat that's bad, why do you also have to cut out rice, for example? He says that spikes blood sugar, too, but he has no "scientific" reason for it like he has for wheat.

You may quit eating it and find you feel better. I thought I did, but it was because I wanted it to be a magic answer to questions I had. I feel the same eating it as I did not eating it.

I drank the kool aid and spit it out, so I'm just advising you to proceed with caution. If you quit eating it, you may see benefits. You may not.

Wheat is not GMO - it was hybridized and more before they started creating GMOs. The resulting mutations make today's wheat products worse than GMOs.

Wheat is not GMO - it was hybridized and more before they started creating GMOs. The resulting mutations make today's wheat products worse than GMOs.

No they don't. Wheat belly is junk science.
This kind of uncritical, unevidenced thinking will drag us back to the dark ages.
Take your tinfoil hat off, the pollution from smelting the aluminium is worse.

I've read a lot about cutting wheat. I know there is a difference between full blown celiac (don't have) and I think there must be different levels of intolerances and symptoms. My question: is it beneficial to cut way back or do most of you feel wheat must be eliminated completely? I could be successful cutting the obvious breads, pastas, etc. I already try to limit processed foods. But I don't want to rule out foods that have been "made on equipment that processes wheat". How much is too much?

There's no such thing as full blown versus less...if you have Celiac's - you have Celiac's. If you're talking allergies, that's completely different. Some people may tolerate wheat - others like myself can't eat it at all without having all sorts of nasty reactions to it.

Also, while you may not agree with the science behind the book - you have to admit that carbs like wheat are usually the first thing they do restrict if you're diabetic. Wheat is also one of the most common allergy causing problems for many so it's the first thing that gets tackled. [Directed at the person who doesn't agree with the doc]

The key detail is....don't get rid of wheat unless you truly feel you're intolerant or you've been diagnosed as Celiac's. It's way too expensive of a diet.

It really depends on what your symptoms are and how sensitive you are. For me, cross contamination isn't a huge issue, nor is the gluten in soy sauce. For me it's the gluten in breads and what not that causes me symptoms. I learned this by trial and error.