Ugh, now I'm all paranoid about gluten

Would I magically stop having depression issues?

It would be pretty awesome if depression issues could be treated with magic. If you do not have a medical reason to cut the gluten from your intake, there is no reason to do it. Stop. Put on your logical thinking cap.

Would I magically stop having depression issues?

It would be pretty awesome if depression issues could be treated with magic. If you do not have a medical reason to cut the gluten from your intake, there is no reason to do it. Stop. Put on your logical thinking cap.

this.

gluten is a PITA is drop. i'm allergic to wheat and HAVE to do it and it's a pain for me even though I directly and quickly have a reaction. i really dont understand why people willingly give it up for sh*ts and giggles, especially since it's in so much more things than you'd think

In the short term, what would you lose by giving it a try? I'm personally more skeptical than not regarding information like this (that one particular food or whatever is so inherently evil and no one has noticed it before except THIS GUY who wants to sell a book...ya know?), but I also recognize that facts have to start somewhere and I try not to completely rule anything out, either. What I'm getting at, is don't get too caught up in the hype, but if it's something that you really think could help you, give it a try. 4 weeks to start, maybe. It may or may not help anything, but, like I said, what do you have to lose?

In the long term...that's trickier. Chances are, whatever it is you eventually die from, you're never going to know if these minor dietary changes could have impacted that. Sure, we know that smoking gives you cancer, and running out into traffic gets you hit by a car, etc. But, say you get Alzheimer's, or some sort of cancer, or have a stroke, or whatever. Are you going to spend the rest of your life wondering if you had just eaten 1/4C of blueberries every day or whatever it is Women's Day magazine is recommending today, you might have died from something different? You acknowledge yourself that there's cultural and emotional factors to food that it isn't healthy to discount (and I agree). If you spend your life NOW getting all worked up about how every little bite may or may not affect you in 40 or 50 years, then that's going against that idea. Not at all to say that we shouldn't care about our overall health and we should just eat straight crap all the time because it tastes good, but it's those minor food choices within the frame of overall balanced eating that can cause you to lose sight of the big picture. Do whatever is going to make you the most mentally healthy/satisfied. If that means eliminating something because you feel better about your chances down the road, do it. If that means enjoying a balanced "everything in moderation" type diet now, do that.

I am also paranoid about gluttony. That's why I ate 4 eggs this morning.

If it will ease your mind, try it for a month. However, it is very difficult. I am allergic but my family isn't. I have to buy all different foods for me, cook separate meals and I can't just go out to eat. You have to ask for a GF menu and then pick something off of it (which usually isn't want you want). It is in more things than you would ever think. I even had to stop using my favorite lotion and chapstick because of it.

Try it is you think it will help, but warning: it is not fun

My father is a diagnosed celiac - so he cannot have any gluten, not even trace amounts. Before he was diagnosed, he really struggled with anxiety/depression (also joint pain and eczema). He never had any of the digestive issues that most medical professionals associate with celiac disease.

He's been gluten free for years now and no longer has to take anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications.

There are many things that cause anxiety/depressions, and an intolerance to gluten is just one of many possible factors.

If you're curious about whether gluten might cause you problems, I'd suggest speaking to your doctor. There are blood tests and other tests they can run to see how your body reacts to gluten.

Going 100% gluten free is easier now than it used to be, but it's still a challenging way to live your life. Gluten hides in *everything*- sauces, salad dressings, thickeners, sweeteners, coloring. When you go out to eat, you have to trust kitchen/wait staff to take your disease seriously (they often don't and food is mishandled/cross contaminated). When you go to friends' houses to eat, you either have to bring your own food or make them submit to a full inquisition about ingredients and food preparation. And, yes... there are gluten free breads, pizza crusts, pastas, crackers , etc - they're OK - but never as good as the original. I wouldn't choose to quit gluten unless I really had to.

Can you possibly link the study that you came across?

I know that a lot of gluten has been demonized, due to the increase in diagnosis (rather due to the increase of cases, or the increase of awareness….) of gluten related disorders. After doing a lot of research about the topic of gluten, i came to personally find that it's not the actual grains that are at fault, and more so the way that they are processed. When you think about it…….it really makes sense. I have the same approach as you to food (that we should not have black and white, good/bad attitudes about food), but at the same time, it's easy to see how our over-consumption of overly processed grains may not be benefitting our health and now causing a few less-than-desirable side effects. Grains hold a lot of nutritional value, but when they are overly processed they lose a lot of that value. So, keep that in mind while you're plowing through research and articles about gluten. People are really quick to demonize gluten, but seem to forget that many people's poor reactions may in fact be due to the over-processing of gluten, and not to the grains themselves.

Now, I suffer from a sensitivity to gluten. so I realize differences in my mood (among other things) when I cut out foods containing gluten. That said, by no means does it cause for my depression to go away, nor does it 'cure' my mood. I still take supplements (like SAMe, B12, Inositol, etc.), do my best to remain active, rely on social support, etc. to treat my symptoms, yet I do still find a bit of a difference when I strictly cut gluten from my diet.

If you're worried about the fact you may have a intolerance/sensitivity to gluten, you can easily get a blood test. Just make sure that you're still consuming gluten when you go for the test, to ensure that you don't get a false negative (which I had happen, heh). If you don't want to do that, an elimination diet (like others have mentioned) could really help! It would just take a lot of education, since living gluten free is REALLY restrictive. I compare being gluten-free to being vegan, in terms of dietary options.

If you don't want to go gluten-free, you do also have the option of purchasing grain products, that are minimally processed. They'll be rather pricy, but just as expensive as gluten-free products. For example: if you want to still purchase bread, you could look into ezekiel bread (if you haven't already). It's actually so minimally processed that I've heard of people with gluten intolerances/sensitivities who can still consume the bread.

I think it's REALLY awesome that you are so critical of research: I get so irked when people are quick to make really fast and illogical conclusions or assumptions about things like food/diet, without any sort of valid or reliable research to back it up. Best of luck finding a solution.

Correlation does not equal causation.

Here's a quote from the link you provided - “It’s important to realize,” Kresser says, “that just because a low-carb diet can help treat neurological disorders, doesn’t mean the carbs caused the disorder in the first place.”

Now stop being paranoid.

Try it out. If it works for you, that is all the proof you need. Who cares what a study/test suggest. It's your body, your choice, your adventure in life.

I agree completely! I feel like I'm always smashing my head into a wall, when I read the 'latest health trends'. -_-

I will never understand why people willingly go gluten-free though. I understand cutting out heavily processed foods (obviously including heavily processed grains), but if you don't have a disorders, why cut out all grains as a whole?! They're so nutritious and delicious!

This is part of the problem: you believe it's a health trend and people are effectively doing it for no good reason. How about some people aren't allergic to wheat, gluten or grains but experience benefits that make them believe in this lifestyle? If you haven't tried it yourself, maybe you just can't understand their position. For me personally, I've spent the last two years working out with HIIT and lifting heavy and eating clean and I lost no weight. I also had other issues, like severe brain fog, feeling fatigued, depression, etc. I stopped eating grains as a three-week trial and all those issues vanished within 3 days and I also lost 13lb in 9 weeks effortlessly; I'm still eating this way 4 months later. In fact, if I eat grains now, those symptoms come back and also I get a rash and an upset stomach within half an hour; I DON'T have celiac's disease.

Maybe some of the more judgemental people on this site can think, 'Hey, maybe there's something in this diet for these people. After all, why would they make their life more difficult for themselves (given wheat is in almost everything) needlessly if they're just jumping on the latest health fad?'

QUOTE:

Thanks for all the responses.

Maybe it didn't come across as much as I intended, but my post was mostly facetious. I have no intention of cutting out gluten.

Mostly, I was mocking how easy it is for someone like me--with (what I consider) a pretty rational and grounded attitude towards health--to go off the deep end after reading just one article! For years I have rolled my eyes at the "gluten is terrible!!1!!1!!" trend, so it is pretty funny that they finally "got to me."

And of course I realize that people do have serious allergies and intolerances to gluten. That's not what I'm referring to, obviously!

I just think its funny how much "information" there is, and how crazy it can make a person.

I'd also argue that not all these books are 'pseudoscience.' Grain Brain is still on my to-read list but I've read Wheat Belly and all the references are in the back. Dr Davis cited one article in which a hospital for schizophrenic patients found that removing grains from the patients' diets improved their schizophrenia noticeably, even effectively 'curing' some of them. Their issues returned when grains were re-introduced. I've read the original article. In fact, I've read perhaps 80% of the articles referenced in the Wheat Belly book, quite a few of them relating to neurology. There are plenty of articles on Google Scholar linking wheat and sugar intake to neurological disorders, like Alzheimers. So yes, some of these books may be 'popular' but that doesn't mean they're pseudoscience or that their value is diminished. After all, how many patients have you treated and seen improve as a result of nutritional changes?

The gluten thing is just a current fad. There are people who can't have gluten for medical reasons for real, but that group of people is MUCH smaller than the group of people who have self-diagnosed that way. If you have any concerns, see a doctor, but you're probably fine.

Would I magically stop having depression issues?

If gluten was indeed your problem, then YES you would magically stop having depression issues. I did. When I eat even a small trace now, about 2-3 days later I get severe anxiety, and if its alot then I can actually have a bout of depression. Doesn't stick around like it used to though. It took me about 2 months to notice that my depression was clearing up though, and 6 months for some other symptoms to go, so you have to stick with the diet if you try it.

But YES, our food can negatively affect us and not cause illness or allergic reactions. How do you think certain plants or compounds where chosen to be used in medicines? Everything we consume has an effect on our system in some way, shape or form. You know your own body better than anyone. Medical tests can help but they dont always tell the whole story. There is a certain element of gluten-free being a fad diet but there is also a growing recognition that it is a food that actually many people are allergic, intolerant, or sensitive to. We just didnt know the signs.

Edit:
PS Gluten can cause neurological issues, not just GI issues. Look up gluten ataxia. There are also links between diabetes and gluten intolerance. Gluten free is one of the most recommended treatments for auto-immune diseases and autism too. Do the research, gluten and its effects are finally starting to be studied...

My father is a diagnosed celiac - so he cannot have any gluten, not even trace amounts. Before he was diagnosed, he really struggled with anxiety/depression (also joint pain and eczema). He never had any of the digestive issues that most medical professionals associate with celiac disease.

He's been gluten free for years now and no longer has to take anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications.

There are many things that cause anxiety/depressions, and an intolerance to gluten is just one of many possible factors.

If you're curious about whether gluten might cause you problems, I'd suggest speaking to your doctor. There are blood tests and other tests they can run to see how your body reacts to gluten.

Going 100% gluten free is easier now than it used to be, but it's still a challenging way to live your life. Gluten hides in *everything*- sauces, salad dressings, thickeners, sweeteners, coloring. When you go out to eat, you have to trust kitchen/wait staff to take your disease seriously (they often don't and food is mishandled/cross contaminated). When you go to friends' houses to eat, you either have to bring your own food or make them submit to a full inquisition about ingredients and food preparation. And, yes... there are gluten free breads, pizza crusts, pastas, crackers , etc - they're OK - but never as good as the original. I wouldn't choose to quit gluten unless I really had to.

Your father has celiacs, not gluten intolerance. So it's not a good comparison. I don't know of any link between depression and gluten intolerance, except that one HAS to feel better mentally when they aren't sick all the time.