What the heck is Gluten?

Seriously. Just another fad. Like the low carb/Atkins thing. I'm leary of this trend.

Eating gluten free isn't a fad. It's a lifelong lifestyle change for MANY people due to Celiac disease, gluten allergies, Crohn's/Colitis, diabetes, etc.

Why would gluten affect diabetes?

Yeah, Gluten has nothing to do with Diabetes... =/ In fact going Gluten Free increases the sugar content in some foods and therefore is WORSE for diabetics.

Actually, yes it does have something to do with diabetes. Many endocrinologists recommend a gluten free diet to their diabetic patients. In fact, it can prolong remission in individuals with T1 diabetes.

When a person goes gluten free due to various medical conditions, they eliminate all processed foods which contain gluten. Most individuals who eat gluten free do not substitute things like bread, pasta, cookies, and brownies with GF bread, pasta, cookies, and brownies. They simply don't eat it. Instead they eat whole foods like lean protein, nuts/seeds, healthy fats, veggies, and fruit.

Seriously. Just another fad. Like the low carb/Atkins thing. I'm leary of this trend.

Eating gluten free isn't a fad. It's a lifelong lifestyle change for MANY people due to Celiac disease, gluten allergies, Crohn's/Colitis, diabetes, etc.

Why would gluten affect diabetes?

Yeah, Gluten has nothing to do with Diabetes... =/ In fact going Gluten Free increases the sugar content in some foods and therefore is WORSE for diabetics.

Actually, there is a relationship between Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746085/

Okay, that only says that people with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of Celiac disease (among other autoimmune disease) and eating GF will help that.

It doesn't demonstrate that eating gluten free will have any effect on type 2 diabetics or type 1 diabetics who do not also have Celiac disease.

My question remains. Since it seems to have been misinterpreted, I'll change the phrasing. How does being diabetic alone mean that you need a gluten free diet?

No one said you NEED to eat gluten free if you have diabetes. I simply said most endocrinologists recommend a gluten free diet to their diabetic patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10585617

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17607660

Seriously. Just another fad. Like the low carb/Atkins thing. I'm leary of this trend.

Eating gluten free isn't a fad. It's a lifelong lifestyle change for MANY people due to Celiac disease, gluten allergies, Crohn's/Colitis, diabetes, etc.

Why would gluten affect diabetes?

Yeah, Gluten has nothing to do with Diabetes... =/ In fact going Gluten Free increases the sugar content in some foods and therefore is WORSE for diabetics.

Actually, there is a relationship between Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746085/

Okay, that only says that people with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of Celiac disease (among other autoimmune disease) and eating GF will help that.

It doesn't demonstrate that eating gluten free will have any effect on type 2 diabetics or type 1 diabetics who do not also have Celiac disease.

My question remains. Since it seems to have been misinterpreted, I'll change the phrasing. How does being diabetic alone mean that you need a gluten free diet?

No one said you NEED to eat gluten free if you have diabetes. I simply said most endocrinologists recommend a gluten free diet to their diabetic patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10585617

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17607660

Mice studies? Inconclusive. It really needs to be studied further if this is all you can offer me.

ETA: Mice studies are good indicators that there may be a connection but often conclusions reached in studies with rodents cannot be duplicated in human beings.

I'm wondering where you're getting that most endocrinologists recommend this because I don't see what they could be basing it on. I have several type 1 diabetics in my family that have never been given this advice.

Seriously. Just another fad. Like the low carb/Atkins thing. I'm leary of this trend.

Eating gluten free isn't a fad. It's a lifelong lifestyle change for MANY people due to Celiac disease, gluten allergies, Crohn's/Colitis, diabetes, etc.

Why would gluten affect diabetes?

Yeah, Gluten has nothing to do with Diabetes... =/ In fact going Gluten Free increases the sugar content in some foods and therefore is WORSE for diabetics.

Actually, there is a relationship between Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746085/

Okay, that only says that people with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of Celiac disease (among other autoimmune disease) and eating GF will help that.

It doesn't demonstrate that eating gluten free will have any effect on type 2 diabetics or type 1 diabetics who do not also have Celiac disease.

My question remains. Since it seems to have been misinterpreted, I'll change the phrasing. How does being diabetic alone mean that you need a gluten free diet?

No one said you NEED to eat gluten free if you have diabetes. I simply said most endocrinologists recommend a gluten free diet to their diabetic patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10585617

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17607660

Mice studies? Inconclusive. It really needs to be studied further if this is all you can offer me.

Listen, you don't need to believe me. I've been to 3 separate endocrinologists who have all told me they suggest their diabetic patients follow a gluten free diet. I am not diabetic but I have insulin resistance and Crohn's disease which is why I eat gluten free.

http://www.staffanlindeberg.com/DiabetesStudy.html

There is a scientist at MIT who feels that the problem is not gluten per se as much as it is the combination of gluten sensitivity (and since gluten is not particularly digestible in the human gut, many, many people would be termed "gluten sensitive") and the glyphosate (Roundup) residue present in wheat today. Wheat is NOT "Roundup Ready" (unlike corn and soy) but they use glyphosate on wheat crops prior to harvest to kill the wheat plant. This is done in order to dry the wheat on the stalk and to make the field more ready for the seed drills in "no-till" planting of the next crop. Glyphosate was developed as a powerful chelating agent and it does exactly that in the gut. It prevents the assimilation of important minerals, in particular. It is NOT a safe addition to the food supply, no matter what the chemical industry tells you.

Also, the wheat that we eat today is VERY different from the wheat that our ancient ancestors ate. The wild Einkorn wheat that the hunter-gatherers plucked and ate was fairly low in gluten (and they didn't eat much of it anyway). That changed with the widespread adoption of agriculture which turned to the domestication of the wild Einkorn and Emmer wheat. Emmer wheat had more gluten than Einkorn but still not enough to make a proper yeast bread. It was only the higher amounts of gluten found in modern triticum breeds that encouraged the widespread consumption of yeast bread. Finally, as a result of extensive hybridizing, the amount of gluten increased greatly during the 1950s and 1960s as plant scientists sought to increase the amount of protein to "feed a hungry world" and to make the stalk shorter and sturdier to make it more able to support the large heads of grain that were pursued. The cultivation of these strains of wheat and the development of high nitrogen synthetic fertilizers, greatly expanded the yield per acre. This drove down the cost of wheat and made it cost effective to include wheat flour in a wide variety of processed food as a cheap filler.

Also, modern, "fast-rise" baking techniques left a lot more of the gluten undigested as opposed to the old-fashioned sourdough methods preferred by our ancestors. Therefore, the bread products we eat today are a very different bread than our ancestors ate. My grandmother grew up on a farm and, as the oldest girl in the family, it was her job to make the bread--which she made with sourdough starter--allowing it to rise overnight before baking the next day. Not so in modern bakeries. And that is the story of how our guts are simply not very healthy because of our current habits.

I am gluten sensitive and I get inflamed, very itchy rashes if I eat too much gluten. Tiny amounts won't hurt me though but I try to avoid most things with gluten and opt for alternatives. Try to... but it's hard! I've only managed to get my inflammation under control since starting MFP actually along with strict monitoring of the things I eat and the effects it has on me.

3) people jump on the bandwagon for sure. They cut out gluten, which also means they're cutting out cookies/cakes/fast food/donuts etc and they suddenly feel better. So they assume it's a gluten intolerance. Personally I think a lot of it is that they're eating less junk food and eating more whole foods. I dint know how many times I've heard people say things like "I have a gluten allergy, but I can eat it once in awhile and it doesn't bother me"......

This is exactly right for many people that have gone GF recently. It is really hard to eat lots of processed, unhealthy crap when you are gluten free. So, when some people cut out gluten, they feel great but it has nothing to do with the gluten. The same thing would have happened if they cut out processed food but continued to eat some gluten in whole grain breads and such.

I personally, don't chase down substitutes for things I no longer eat. For the most part, many people's complaint about the price of (many) ways of eating is because they are buying substitute foods for what they used to eat. That can get pricey. I just don't eat the processed foods, and don't freak that I don't have "a bread". There's plenty of other good food out there.

(plus, frankly, I don't miss it, but it's good there are substitutes out there for those who do).

3) people jump on the bandwagon for sure. They cut out gluten, which also means they're cutting out cookies/cakes/fast food/donuts etc and they suddenly feel better. So they assume it's a gluten intolerance. Personally I think a lot of it is that they're eating less junk food and eating more whole foods. I dint know how many times I've heard people say things like "I have a gluten allergy, but I can eat it once in awhile and it doesn't bother me"......

This is exactly right for many people that have gone GF recently. It is really hard to eat lots of processed, unhealthy crap when you are gluten free. So, when some people cut out gluten, they feel great but it has nothing to do with the gluten. The same thing would have happened if they cut out processed food but continued to eat some gluten in whole grain breads and such.

yes - I get how it can indirectly help weight loss - not because gluten is the problem but because by cutting out gluten people tend not to eat so many high carb high calorie foods like cake, pastries, bread.
Yes I know they could just replace these with the gluten free versions but I can see how many would not do so and would just eat less of them and therefore eat a lower calorie level than previously.

Above would also help diabetics cut down on high sugar foods and/or lose weight - so same indirect benifit - but its not actually the gluten or non-gluten doing it.

^Perfect response

I'm soooo sick of people saying eating gluten free is a fad. My daughter is a celiac and gets very ill if she eats gluten. It's hereditary as well and I'm pretty sure I have it as well because going off gluten cleared up the ibs I've suffered with my entire life. Celiac disease was first diagnosed in the 1800's. Its NOT A FAD PEOPLE. Ugh.

Seriously. Just another fad. Like the low carb/Atkins thing. I'm leary of this trend.

Yes, someone said exactly that in this thread. This is what I was responding to. Should have quoted it in my last post.

I'm soooo sick of people saying eating gluten free is a fad. My daughter is a celiac and gets very ill if she eats gluten. It's hereditary as well and I'm pretty sure I have it as well because going off gluten cleared up the ibs I've suffered with my entire life. Celiac disease was first diagnosed in the 1800's. Its NOT A FAD PEOPLE. Ugh.

Read the whole thread. No one said celiac is made up or a fad. The discussion is about people who have no signs of the disease but go GF anyway. For them, it's a fad.

Pfft. Reading comprehension is sooo overrated.

Pot meet kettle.

3) people jump on the bandwagon for sure. They cut out gluten, which also means they're cutting out cookies/cakes/fast food/donuts etc and they suddenly feel better. So they assume it's a gluten intolerance. Personally I think a lot of it is that they're eating less junk food and eating more whole foods. I dint know how many times I've heard people say things like "I have a gluten allergy, but I can eat it once in awhile and it doesn't bother me"......

This is exactly right for many people that have gone GF recently. It is really hard to eat lots of processed, unhealthy crap when you are gluten free. So, when some people cut out gluten, they feel great but it has nothing to do with the gluten. The same thing would have happened if they cut out processed food but continued to eat some gluten in whole grain breads and such.

yes - I get how it can indirectly help weight loss - not because gluten is the problem but because by cutting out gluten people tend not to eat so many high carb high calorie foods like cake, pastries, bread.
Yes I know they could just replace these with the gluten free versions but I can see how many would not do so and would just eat less of them and therefore eat a lower calorie level than previously.

Above would also help diabetics cut down on high sugar foods and/or lose weight - so same indirect benifit - but its not actually the gluten or non-gluten doing it.

^Perfect response

Thank you.

But please note I am not saying diabetics should avoid gluten as I can't see any reasoning for this - and I don't think doctors should be telling them to avoid gluten if gluten is not directly the issue.

Have you ever had a really fresh loaf of bread and you pull off a piece and it actually pulls instead of breaking off like cake? Gluten is what allows such a delicious miracle to take place.