Doctor Says "You're Not Alergic, But Don't Eat Gluten..."

Going Gluten free is a fad and eventually people will figure out Gluten is not the devil it is made out to be. I have a friend who is Gluten free because she has MS. I know other people that go Gluten free because it is the in thing to do right now I'm of the mindset that if it bothers you don't eat it and if it doesn't then don't bother with over priced foods.

He is a rheumatologist not a dietician. Any doctor who advises a restrictive diet like this without cause needs to go brush up on their nutrition skills.

It annoys me when I see that doctors have said this sort of thing. I have a sister with Celiac Disease and know how hard it is for her to maintain that diet while getting essential nutrients. I have also given nutrition education to trainee doctors and where I come from they get a total of 20 hours of nutrition instruction during all their medical training. Most of them are 18 and don't even bother listening because nutrition is seen as the easy subject in comparison to all the rest of the stuff they have to learn... and knowing the effort they put into learning about nutrition I would never take nutrition advice from a doctor unless I knew they really had done their research.

Don't forget, doctors are just as susceptible to all fads as any other member of the population, and in my opinion they let that overrule good medical practice in some cases.

Unless you react to gluten don't go on a gluten-free diet. And if you do have a medical reason not to eat it (even if you don't have Celiac) please get the help of a dietician rather than trying to do it on your own.

Gluten intolerance and inflammation is being studied within the rheumatology field as it relates to treatment of RA and other rheumatological disorders. Not a lot is known about it right now.

I'm certainly not a doctor, and of course doctors don't know everything, but I'm willing to give the benefit in this circumstance. Cutting out gluten isn't exactly harmful to someone. (well, it might be emotionally scarring to never eat good bread again)

A dietitian is likely to help a person with setting up a diet to make them lose weight, feel better, etc., but dietitians aren't immunologists. Some rheumatologists are immunologists or work closely with them.

From a nutritional point of view it is harmful to eradicate entire food groups from the diet for no medical reason, without ensuring that that patient is capable of going out on their own and achieving that diet. People following strict gluten-free diets often struggle to get sufficient amounts of all essential amino acids if they are not eating a varied diet that can compensate for the foods they cannot eat any more. Dieticians are not doctors but their work goes far beyond just weight loss, there are many who work closely with people with medical conditions that prevent them from being able to eat what they want.

Dieticians certainly aren't immunologists, and don't have the knowledge to try to treat someone with immunological problems in a medical way. In the same way most doctors do not have the specialist knowledge to plan an appropriate diet for someone with a medical condition. This is why doctors frequently refer patients to dieticians if they have issues that require special diets, and dieticians refer patients to doctors if they suspect there is a medical issue that needs to be dealt with.

If the rheumatologist had a reason to advise the patient to cut out gluten they should have ensured that that patient a) knew why and b) was supported to still be able to achieve a nutritionally adequate diet (e.g. get someone involved who can work with the patient to achieve such a diet).

My doctor said, "You are really your best laboratory and evidence; if what you're doing is making you feel better, then do it.

You actually have a doctor who is listening to you and discussing your health. That is always a positive thing. Many today just seem to, in my experience, talk at you about your health and do not listen to your concerns.

Whether you are allergic to something or not. If you feel better not eating, taking, or doing it. This is ultimately your decision. I try to believe in the inherent good of some people. They are always trying to make sure that others in these forums are not harming themselves or putting their long term goals of health in jeopardy. You will meet many people and get responses from many sides of the equation. It is, like the doctor above said, your body and you are the best evidence. I personally love bread and coffee however both make me overall miserable when ingested. I have learned that I just enjoy the taste of coffee, not so much the caffiene, and am happy with decaf. With bread the gluten free sandwich thins are satisfactory and I feel less bloaty and tired afterward. On a side note I also realized I can drink a quart of half&half and feel incredible during a workout. Cheese and whole milk made me feel lethargic. Almond milk was an ok substitute. I recently tried, and still have some, coconut milk. I felt empty and ravenous afterward. Yet, half & half , heavy cream, and full fat milk from the dairy farm nearby make me feel awake, alive, powerful and less sore. I have no explanation as to why. But right now. I like that feeling.
So I will enjoy my glass of cream when I workout.

Indeed we are our best laboratory. Do what makes you feel best. Doing things that make you feel negative will just make you unhappy and feel like giving up. Yet if the changes make you feel positive you will continue on your goal towards health.

OP, in regards to the weight loss and how you felt after removing gluten, how much gluten containing foods were you eating before? What did your diet mainly consist of?

Celiac or Coeliac diseas is NOT an auto-immune disease. It causes an immune response.

I'd concur you don't need to defend your choice. If you feel better, don't eat it, it's not exactly necessary. Just make sure you are getting similar nutrients from other foods.

Gluten does to be the current demon/money maker for many a book/talk show/store item. I personally believe at least some of the hubbub is due to the nocebo effect.

As far as wheat not being similar to what our ancestors ate. Meh. Neither are the carrots/potatoes/tomatoes/etc.

Perhaps your physicians could direct you to data that supports their theory and you can educate yourself and make a decision that's right for you.

Unfortunately, physicians have a business to run. The 50 bucks your insurance pays for each follow up office visit isn't enough for any doctor to spend 30 minutes with each patient discussing peer reviewed literature. If you want to go over peer reviewed literature with physicians you'll probably have to either find a concierge physician who doesn't take insurance, or go to medical school.

I was tested for coeliac and it came back negative. However both my GP and consultant agreed that I am clearly intolerant of it and I should cut it out. I have been gluten free since September and I do feel better without it. Not perfect, which suggests there are other issues, but it has made a great start.

OP, in regards to the weight loss and how you felt after removing gluten, how much gluten containing foods were you eating before? What did your diet mainly consist of?

I am not sure how to answer that so forgive me since this is just a long string of food I ate often. I ate a lot of fruit, greek yogurt, whey or plant protein shakes when lifting weights or just not eating much protein-- always factored into daily calorie allowance, nuts (especially almonds), avocados, salads that had croutons and the like, leafy greens and other veggies, juiced veggies occasionally, drank matcha tea, almond milk, ate rice, quinoa, lentils, chia seeds, whole wheat bread, nut butter, whole wheat pasta, some meat like chicken or fish. I am not a big meat fan and even ate vegan for a while at which time I ate a lot of seitan, made almost entirely of wheat gluten. One time I craved seitan as a non-vegan so I was like what-the-hey and made some (before there was any mention of gluten intolerance). I usually didn't eat a lot of sugar unless it came from fruit and sweetened (still do) drinks with stevia. I did however also drink diet cokes so that was kind of a waste. I've stopped that now. I'm not saying my diet was super healthy. I tried, to an extent, and it was stuff I liked.

Basically I was of the mindset that "whole wheat" meant "good for you" so I ate those things a lot. I didn't eat much meat, so I probably filled that void in my tummy with more starch which often meant more wheat.

I felt hungrier when eating wheat. A few days into removing gluten from my diet, both times I began to feel an appetite suppressing effect. I don't get cravings, I just get hungry at reasonable times for reasonable amounts of food, which is pretty sweet since the food I eat is lower in calories. So I get to basically stuff my face and be full all the time. I call that a win. Perhaps that is the reason?

Perhaps it was not the wheat in and of itself but the overall amount? That said, if you feel good and are getting results more power to you.

I was paleo/primal (whatever that really means) for a few years and felt great after removing bread, pasta etc... (I ate a lot of it too). I stopped maybe 3 - 6 months ago (felt too restricted, bored and got way too hyper sensitive about food choices), started to include bread again (couple of slices a day for sandwiches if I want one or a bagel now and then with butter to go with my eggs) and have felt no ill effects. For me, I think it has a lot to do with the amount. I am in no way eating the same amount I used to, but am getting great pleasure from eating those foods again.

Anyhow, that was my journey. You'll have your own. Do it until it no longer works for you, and when that happens do not be afraid to try other things...

Best of luck!

you don't have to be allergic to have an intolerance or a sensitivity

Even though you tested negative for Celiac, you can still have a gluten intolerance.

There's an easy reply, especially if you made glue-paste from flour and water at school as a child...

You've seen that stuff dry to a rock-like consistency?

That's tough for the body to break down.

My metabolism has seemed to increase significantly since dropping the gluten.