Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.
Do you think that gluten, lactose, or {insert supposed food intolerance here} is really just a fad?
Replies
-
BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.
I'd like to see the science behind that. I sincerely doubt we actually. NEED gluten.5 -
As the mother of 3 coeliacs I am happy to see so many people on the gluten free /gluten intolerant fad. It means way way more options and choices for Coeliacs. The more people demanding GF foods, the more companies will stump up.
OTOH it's annoying to hear a gluten intolerant person blabbing on about how hard it is to live GF then watch them gobble down a piece of cake because "a little bit won't hurt". Maybe it won't hurt you bit it would put my kid in the hospital for a week and even worse chefs, cooks and wait staff take coeliacs less seriously when they see this kind of behavior.
I think this as a problem. I know a lot of people that treat gluten as the new fat so I can't take a lot of the food allergies seriously especially if a person has not been diagnosed by a doctor. one of my good friends has celiac so I know its tough if you are really having the disease and I am not talking about people that have real issues. but I think a lot of people follow this without having a problem. the good thing is that like this the lactose free or gluten free food is available at a better price but I think its bad for people that are actually sick because they are not taken seriously. if you think you have an intolerance for gluten get tested for both wheat and gluten because you can just be allergic against wheat and not gluten in general. please'seek medical advice before'self diagnosing or at least let a doctor check your self diagnosis is right.
Unfortunately in my personal experience and that of the hundreds of coeliac families on several fb groups I'm part of, many doctors don't know much about Coeliacs at all, know even less snout being gluten free and are often reluctant to test.3 -
my friend got diagnosed relatively quicklyrefereed by her gp to an allergy and gastro specialist. I think if you know you have a problem maybe seeking a specialist on your own or a different gp can'help. a gp can not know everything. my mom hashimoto was only diagnosed by a new gp after she moved. her old one wanted to send her to a psychatrist since he felt she had a depression. problem is that the depression root cause was an untreated hashimoto and general (feeling Lack of energy n weight gain). the gp did general blood work including thyroid but did not run the antibodies tests. still think its better to see a few docs than walking around treated for the wrong disease or be untreated,1
-
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »For genuine gluten issues, the bathroom does not lie either.
(I was diagnosed with celiac disease 20 years ago before all the cool kids were avoiding gluten.)
Yes, it has become trendy.
I don't like being lumped in with and confused for the precious ones.
Amen!
1 -
Lactose intolerance is real, with some fairly inconvenient symptoms for those who ignore it. Digestive distress of a variety of forms will be visited upon you.
Yes, there are those who may have a gluten intolerance, but there are likely many more that read about it, claim they have it because they have some symptoms (including bloating) which they like to use for the purpose of explaining why they are overweight/out of shape. I knew one woman who claimed to be gluten intolerant, diagnosed herself with celiac disease. This was BS because she did not have the proper test for the disease. She would make sure that anytime she was in the company of others and eating to ask loudly if the meal she wanted was gluten free, doing her best to be a victim of the disease. However, when she was alone or with family only, she would ignore the dietary guidelines and eat whatever she wanted, then post on Facebook about her "celiac moments".
She kept this up for a few years until a doctor told her she did not have celiac disease. Same woman is a type two diabetic who refuses to quit drinking a bottle or two of wine each day. Wonder how much of a positive impact that could have on her blood glucose?
Some people have to have the latest disease that's trending in the news just for the attention. Most of the time these same people are the ones who will not take simple steps to help themselves with their disease, depending on the medical and pharmaceutical community to relieve their symptoms, while doing the exact thing their doctor says they shouldn't.4 -
BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.
I'd like to see the science behind that. I sincerely doubt we actually. NEED gluten.
It's basically bad reporting recently of this study: http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j18921 -
BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.I'd like to see the science behind that. I sincerely doubt we actually. NEED gluten.
Yeah... we don't.
There are a lot of things that people eat that we don't need. They just taste good or have a great texture.
5 -
I think a huge driver of the trend is that people think being gluten free makes you healthier, but then they go and eat tons of gluten free versions of regular wheat products like muffins, cupcakes, cookies, and think that because it's gluten free it's healthier. But all these gf foods have more sugar and more fat to makeup for the texture and taste that wheat and gluten provide.
My biggest complaint (as someone who is gluten intolerant) is that being gluten free generally doesn't make you healthier/lose weight, relying less on processed carbs and having a higher veggie and protein diet DOES.
I must add as well, I don't eat gluten because it severely effects my GI health and I can be sick for days if I eat it. The difference between intolerance and celiac is that to an extent, I can make myself more used to certain kinds of gluten over time and deal with the bloating, but eventually I will get sick.5 -
evergreenlake wrote: »I think a huge driver of the trend is that people think being gluten free makes you healthier, but then they go and eat tons of gluten free versions of regular wheat products like muffins, cupcakes, cookies, and think that because it's gluten free it's healthier. But all these gf foods have more sugar and more fat to makeup for the texture and taste that wheat and gluten provide.
My biggest complaint (as someone who is gluten intolerant) is that being gluten free generally doesn't make you healthier/lose weight, relying less on processed carbs and having a higher veggie and protein diet DOES.
I must add as well, I don't eat gluten because it severely effects my GI health and I can be sick for days if I eat it. The difference between intolerance and celiac is that to an extent, I can make myself more used to certain kinds of gluten over time and deal with the bloating, but eventually I will get sick.
TBH, I think the only difference between a celiac and gluten intolerant people is often just a positive test.
I know one celiac who had no symptoms beyond very mild anemia, and I know another gluten intolerant person who gets MUCH more violent symptoms than I (a celiac) do.
3 -
Everyone manifests differently.
My husband's symptoms manifest as slower gastric distress than some people (I knew someone who knew she'd eaten gluten tainted food because she was immediately sick if she did), and as skin break outs. His intestinal wall showed the typical flattening associated with coeliac. When he was diagnosed he was mildly anaemic and had low bone density - he had to take iron and calcium supplements for a while.
0 -
Many major athletes claim that a gluten free diet has been a game changer for them. Novak Djokovic claims that going to a gluten free diet helped him to rise to be the number one tennis player in the world. (He does not have celiac disease).
I have IBS and stopped gluten to help with that. I did have a biopsy for celiac and don't have it. Going gluten free did not help my gut so I started eating it again. However, once I went back to gluten, inflammation hit me with a vengeance. I have had problems with inflammation for as long as I could remember, and assumed it was just in remission. I was shocked that it went away on a gluten free diet. I went back and forth for a while, and it always comes back when I eat gluten. Now I avoid it like the plague. No wheat- no inflammation. It has also been a game changer for me in my sport.
I find people who have such strong opinions about whether or not people are following a fad such as a gluten free diet or it really helps them. Why do you care? I agree you can't use it as an excuse to not lose weight or anything, but we should respect people's diet choices and offer support not judgement.7 -
OP, I wouldn't have been as harsh, but I do think gluten, dairy, and other "sensitivities" are pretty much fad diseases perpetuated by the food industry to sell products. Although the fad seems to be waning. The latest trendy thing in the diet world is "sugar addiction".
I don't think the OP was being harsh; they did quite clearly state that they weren't using this to attack folks who have a true medical issue with gluten or lactose, nor did they imply that gluten sensitivities weren't legitimate medical problems for many people. They were simply commenting on how "gluten free" seems to have become quite the popular buzzword amongst the general population.There are some very real sensitivities and allergies but I think a lot of people are just jumping on a bandwagon. And I say that as someone who is gluten free due to a wheat germ allergy (yes I can have barley and rye I just don't because usually they are mixed with wheat flour). Also, my husband is extremely lactose intolerant. I had never seen a person get so sick from a scoop of ice cream before he and I lived together.
It annoys the crap out of me when people tell me they are gluten intolerant and then eat it occasionally. One of my oldest friends and my own dad both do this. When I changed my diet after a medical diagnosis they both claimed they were feeling sick and had to eat like I do now. Neither have ever been to a doctor for it and both still eat gluten and wheat when it suits them.
This is what I think the OP was asking, and to this I agree. On the one hand, celiac, gluten intolerance, wheat allergies, lactose intolerance, etc is becoming increasingly visibly in society because of better medical testing that makes diagnosis more accurate, which is true for a lot of medical conditions. Also, there really does seem to be a genuine trend in a worsening of allergies and food sensitives in children today compared to their parents and grandparents. For example: peanut allergies are highly visible in society today, and its certainly not just a fad - there really is an uptick in the number of children being diagnosed with peanut allergies, partly because of better medical testing and, it seems, partly because there are genuinely more children coming to be afflicted with this allergy. The causes are myriad and unclear at this time.
Also, allergists tell you that you can develop allergies at any time in your life, so just because you weren't allergic to something before, doesn't mean you won't develop an allergy to it later in life. I have a good friend whose husband loved shrimp and shellfish and ate them for years. Then one day, he had shrimp for dinner and suddenly swelled up like a balloon. Ever since that point, he can't touch shrimp without having an allergic reaction. It happens for folks with bee stings as well - my brother has been bee stung several times as a child and teen and never had a problem, but a few years ago, he had a bee sting that resulted in a trip to the ER. Another sting not long after also resulted in a severe allergic reaction and a prescription for an epic pen.
At the same time, there are a lot of health fads that come and go because of bandwagons and what celebrities make fashionable - such a Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, the Kardashiens, etc. Health fads come and go, and right now, gluten free is a huge (but apparently waning) fad amongst this set of people. In years past, we had the fat free fad, then there was the low carb fad, etc. Another biggie right now is the apple vinegar fad and the lemon water fad. The worst part about fads is that a lot of misinformation starts to circulate, especially these days. My sister is absolutely convinced that her daily intake of lemon water is going to make her magically lose weight, despite the fact that she will not control her food portion sizes at all. She swears she's lost weight and claims her bathroom scale is messed up because it doesn't show it. The placebo affect on our brains is a very powerful force!
Unfortunately, there are a lot of misinformed folks out there that are leaping on the bandwagon, and I sympathize with people who truly are sensitive because I can see where the gluten free fad can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand you now have lower prices and more selection, but on the other hand, as others has said, being trendy has also made a lot of people not take it seriously, so that its difficult to get people to believe you truly do have a medical condition and that it's not "all in your head".
I'm not gluten sensitive, celiac, or lactose insensitive, but I like that there are more options out there for those folks and enjoy some of them myself because the alternatives can be more in line for my calorie budget - after all, a cup of unsweetened almond milk has way fewer calories than a cup of milk!
6 -
bmeadows380 wrote: »OP, I wouldn't have been as harsh, but I do think gluten, dairy, and other "sensitivities" are pretty much fad diseases perpetuated by the food industry to sell products. Although the fad seems to be waning. The latest trendy thing in the diet world is "sugar addiction".
I don't think the OP was being harsh; they did quite clearly state that they weren't using this to attack folks who have a true medical issue with gluten or lactose, nor did they imply that gluten sensitivities weren't legitimate medical problems for many people. They were simply commenting on how "gluten free" seems to have become quite the popular buzzword amongst the general population.There are some very real sensitivities and allergies but I think a lot of people are just jumping on a bandwagon. And I say that as someone who is gluten free due to a wheat germ allergy (yes I can have barley and rye I just don't because usually they are mixed with wheat flour). Also, my husband is extremely lactose intolerant. I had never seen a person get so sick from a scoop of ice cream before he and I lived together.
It annoys the crap out of me when people tell me they are gluten intolerant and then eat it occasionally. One of my oldest friends and my own dad both do this. When I changed my diet after a medical diagnosis they both claimed they were feeling sick and had to eat like I do now. Neither have ever been to a doctor for it and both still eat gluten and wheat when it suits them.
This is what I think the OP was asking, and to this I agree. On the one hand, celiac, gluten intolerance, wheat allergies, lactose intolerance, etc is becoming increasingly visibly in society because of better medical testing that makes diagnosis more accurate, which is true for a lot of medical conditions. Also, there really does seem to be a genuine trend in a worsening of allergies and food sensitives in children today compared to their parents and grandparents. For example: peanut allergies are highly visible in society today, and its certainly not just a fad - there really is an uptick in the number of children being diagnosed with peanut allergies, partly because of better medical testing and, it seems, partly because there are genuinely more children coming to be afflicted with this allergy. The causes are myriad and unclear at this time.
Also, allergists tell you that you can develop allergies at any time in your life, so just because you weren't allergic to something before, doesn't mean you won't develop an allergy to it later in life. I have a good friend whose husband loved shrimp and shellfish and ate them for years. Then one day, he had shrimp for dinner and suddenly swelled up like a balloon. Ever since that point, he can't touch shrimp without having an allergic reaction. It happens for folks with bee stings as well - my brother has been bee stung several times as a child and teen and never had a problem, but a few years ago, he had a bee sting that resulted in a trip to the ER. Another sting not long after also resulted in a severe allergic reaction and a prescription for an epic pen.
It can go the other way too. I had several extreme reactions to bee stings as a youth; however, when enlisting 20 years ago I went through a complete battery of tests confirming that no allergy existed. I"ve been stung at least 2x since with no perceptible reaction.1 -
Sighh I wish it as a fad. My family thinks I'm some kinda attention seeking drama queen. Every 10 years since my teens I develop something. In my late teens it was several food allergies. No one in my immediate or extended family has food allergies. In my 20s it was PCOS. And now in my 30s it's a double whammy of lactose intolerance and gluten sensitivity. And I loveeee full cream whole milk but it doesn't love me back
And eating breads and pastas leaves me in awful pain. Unfortunately I live in a country that doesn't offer alot of gluten free products and the ones they have are so expensive. I wish my body didn't think I was a rich woman lol 2 -
Sure there may be a few that are trendy, but there are also a lot of people who aren't celiac but ARE gluten sensitive. Wheat is not what it used to be. It has been heavily modified into an unrecognizable form as opposed to how it used to be even 200 years ago.
Regarding food intolerances like lactose or egg, the proof is in the near immediate doubling over stomache pain and bathroom trips--nuff said.5 -
As the mother of 3 coeliacs I am happy to see so many people on the gluten free /gluten intolerant fad. It means way way more options and choices for Coeliacs. The more people demanding GF foods, the more companies will stump up.
OTOH it's annoying to hear a gluten intolerant person blabbing on about how hard it is to live GF then watch them gobble down a piece of cake because "a little bit won't hurt". Maybe it won't hurt you bit it would put my kid in the hospital for a week and even worse chefs, cooks and wait staff take coeliacs less seriously when they see this kind of behavior.
I have a soybean allergy, one I've had all my life. It showed up in infancy when I was unable to keep down regular baby formula, and then would have dramatic skin reactions to my own vomit. It's annoying, causing dramatic GI distress when I eat soy products. However, the ubiquity of soy in prepared foods (like at restaurants!) led me to make some poor dietary choices for years, because avoiding it in social situations was nearly impossible. I'd just live with the misery.
That changed after someone my dad knows died at age 25 from intestinal rupture after doing the same "cheating" with her gluten intolerance. It scared me half to death, to be honest. I no longer "cheat" on foods. My life is a lot more socially isolated, but I'm not putting my body through hell just to fit in.
I'm telling you this story because other people may be where I was at.. willing to risk physical misery for a favorite food, or just to not cause social anxiety.5 -
Some of it is a fad, especially the gluten-free diet. Some of those people don't even know what gluten is.
However, my stomach has been sensitive to dairy and omit it from my diet 99% of the time. In addition, bread/gluten affects my skin in a negative way and I have autoimmune diseases.
It's taken out of a diet for numerous reasons.0 -
I am lactose intolerant... believe me it's no lie.
that said, yes, i do think there's a ton of people willy-nilly cutting foods out of their diet under the false assumption they are bad/unhealthy/they are intolerant to them. This will fade over time.
On the other hand, for people with celiacs and myself atleast we're seeing more products on the market to accommodate us.2 -
I can't speak to the gluten free thing, because it doesn't affect me at all. But I'm most definitely lactose intolerant. If I drink regular cow's milk or have more than a half cup of regular ice cream, my guts twist and turn and it's not a pretty thing. it's quite painful. Funny I can have one cup of yogurt and cheese doesn't affect me at all. But milk and ice cream - nope!1
-
Do I think it is a real thing...absofrigginlutely. For some people, probably not as many as are being reported. But you can pretty much be allergic or intolerant to anything. My mom is now allergic to almonds in her 50's. So yes I believe these intolerances and allergies do exist for some and can develop at any point in life. As far as fads go and people who follow them, who cares they aren't buying your groceries.3
-
BabyBear76 wrote: »Unless you have Celiac disease; your body needs gluten. It's a mixture of two protiens types. Gluten free is actually unhealthy for the average person.
I am adding myself to the list of those eagerly awaiting the science behind this. Gluten is in no way a necessary diet component.4 -
PrincessMel72 wrote: »I can't speak to the gluten free thing, because it doesn't affect me at all. But I'm most definitely lactose intolerant. If I drink regular cow's milk or have more than a half cup of regular ice cream, my guts twist and turn and it's not a pretty thing. it's quite painful. Funny I can have one cup of yogurt and cheese doesn't affect me at all. But milk and ice cream - nope!
Hard cheeses are very low in lactose (they only contain trace amounts) just fyi so are generally safe for lactose intolerant people.0 -
@Relser well I am fat and I have celiac, and was also fat and malnourished because of the celiac and it took me 13 years to find a doctor who thought... hmm the acute abdominal pain and soft stools 6-10 times a day perhaps we should test you for celiac.
As for gluten intolerance I think it is real too I have a friend who has the same symptoms I do and she does not have celiac her doctor diagnosed her with gluten intolerance. Perhap the fact that celiac and gluten free is more out there and people are finding an answer to the doctor visits and symptoms they have lived with their whole lives.
I am sure that there are people out there who have heard about it and all the woo and think their bloat after a beer or a large pasta meal is due to the gluten and that is annoying. People who say they can't have gluten and then drink a beer or eat some cake is annoying as well.
I'm sure if they had the symptoms of celiac or someone with a severe gluten intolerance they would stop the faking ... I hope.
"People that claim that modern breads/wheats are the culprit are full of compete and utter nonsense, as breads from 70-120 years ago were far worse at aggravating gut sensitivities. Up until about 100 years ago, most breads were sourdoughs. Sourdough is a combination of at least one lactobacillus (lactic acid bacterium) and at least one yeast. Lactobacilli outnumber yeast on average about 100:1 to 200:1"
The thing that people react to is gluten not the yeast or the lactobacillus. Gluten IS: Gluten (from Latin gluten, "glue") is a composite of storage proteins termed prolamins and glutelins[1] and stored together with starch in the endosperm (which nourishes the embryonic plant during germination) of various grass-related grains. It is found in wheat, barley, rye, oat, related species and hybrids (such as spelt, khorasan, emmer, einkorn, triticale, kamut, etc.)[2] and products of these (such as malt). Gluten is appreciated for its viscoelastic properties.[3][4] It gives elasticity to dough, helping it rise and keep its shape and often gives the final product a chewy texture.
So if breads 70-120 did not have the proteins then sure it could be the stuff now a days but they did have that and 70-120 years ago there was still Celiac: From wikipedia "Humans first started to cultivate grains in the Neolithic period (beginning about 9500 BCE) in the Fertile Crescent in Western Asia, and it is likely that coeliac disease did not occur before this time. Aretaeus of Cappadocia, living in the second century in the same area, recorded a malabsorptive syndrome with chronic diarrhoea, causing a debilitation of the whole body.[32] His "Cœliac Affection" (coeliac from Greek κοιλιακός koiliakos, "abdominal") gained the attention of Western medicine when Francis Adams presented a translation of Aretaeus's work at the Sydenham Society in 1856. The patient described in Aretaeus' work had stomach pain and was atrophied, pale, feeble and incapable of work. The diarrhoea manifested as loose stools that were white, malodorous and flatulent, and the disease was intractable and liable to periodic return. The problem, Aretaeus believed, was a lack of heat in the stomach necessary to digest the food and a reduced ability to distribute the digestive products throughout the body, this incomplete digestion resulting in the diarrhoea. He regarded this as an affliction of the old and more commonly affecting women, explicitly excluding children. The cause, according to Aretaeus, was sometimes either another chronic disease or even consuming "a copious draught of cold water."[32][33]
I have never met anyone faking lactose intolerance. I am lactose intolerant too and it is no fun. My advice do not have a shake at Fudruckers on the way back from a Cubs game because that bus will not stop for you to use the bathroom.
I had never met anyone with celaics who was over weight, but now I know! It's always nice to learn more. That sucks it took thirteen freaken years!1 -
I just met someone who told me they are "allergic" to meat. Is that a thing??
If it is, I think I would just tell people I'm vegetarian to avoid the odd looks like the one I gave this person.0 -
Not sure about all meat, but my youngest sister was allergic to chicken. Both my sisters still are extremely allergic to fish, which isn't too uncommon, but chicken wasn't/isn't heard about much. (She outgrew the allergy in her teens, but as a kid, she'd break out in hives.)0
-
estherdragonbat wrote: »Not sure about all meat, but my youngest sister was allergic to chicken. Both my sisters still are extremely allergic to fish, which isn't too uncommon, but chicken wasn't/isn't heard about much. (She outgrew the allergy in her teens, but as a kid, she'd break out in hives.)
That's what was odd about it...I'm allergic to fish, so I get that. But this person claimed ALL meat. I guess I could have questioned further, but just nodded and backed away instead.
3 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »I just met someone who told me they are "allergic" to meat. Is that a thing??
If it is, I think I would just tell people I'm vegetarian to avoid the odd looks like the one I gave this person.
It's rare, but it kind of exists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy
It's spread by tick bites, but people impacted don't have to avoid all meat. They can eat fish and poultry.2 -
[/quote]
I found your post interesting and insightful, I just wanted to make a small correction. Oats are intrinsically gluten-free. The reason you see them specifically labeled gf is because unless grown in a wheat-free environment the oat crops are often rotated with wheat crops so that stray wheat plants will come up with the oats and cause cross-contamination. Oats are also often processed along with wheat on shared equipment again leading to cross-contamination.[/quote]
I do know that oats are in themselves gluten free but they are often cross contaminated. I would not advice anyone who has this disease to eat regular Quaker Oats they would get sick.
2 -
I took the Pinnertest and found out I was intolerant to gluten and eggs. I cut them out of my diet, and my stomachaches have reduced to maybe once a week (vs. 2x per day). I also have a reaction to diary, but I agree with everyone who said it was person specific. I wouldn't give these items up if I didn't have the issue!6
-
bridgets1978 wrote: »I took the Pinnertest and found out I was intolerant to gluten and eggs. I cut them out of my diet, and my stomachaches have reduced to maybe once a week (vs. 2x per day). I also have a reaction to diary, but I agree with everyone who said it was person specific. I wouldn't give these items up if I didn't have the issue!
The Pinner test is pseudoscience with multiple issues. You could get the same results by burning $500 and then picking random foods to cut out of your diet.
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/prevention/is-food-intolerance-testing-for-real
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-11/health/ct-met-food-intolerance-tests-20120411_1_food-intolerance-food-sensitivities-food-additives2
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 422 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions