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Do you think that gluten, lactose, or {insert supposed food intolerance here} is really just a fad?
Replies
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rainbowbow wrote: »theresejesu wrote: »100catscrazy wrote: »All I know and care about is that I'm lactose intolerant but I love frostys. So I make an exception once a year and pay the price.
You might find a big part of the issue has to do with the difference between A1-casein and A2-casein milk products. Most of the cows in the US have the A1-casein mutation, whereas European cows have the A2-casein gene. Many people who have problems with A1-casein products have found they do just fine on A2-casein products. A2-casein products are just now starting to find their way into US shelves.
The other part to this is finding "pastured" dairy products, so to avoid the problems with lectins from animals fed feed made from wheat, corn and soy (the lectins in those foods cause leaky gut in cows, etc just as easily as they do in humans, so such products are another avenue for these dangerous lectins (of which gluten us only one of MANY). "Cage-free", "free-range" and simply "organic" don't really cut it. The lectins then enter our body by causing and perpetuating leaky gut in us, and then interfer with our hormones, neurotransmitters and immune system.
wait wait wait.... is it possible to have no problem with a1 and only a2? I was never lactose intolerant before moving to europe and i can't eat any dairy here but had no issues my entire life in the US. My boyfriend (also american) has problems with the dairy here too having never been lactose/dairy sensitive before.
That's interesting, but maybe.0 -
There are four kinds of casein in milk, 1,2,3,and 4, All milk contains different amounts of all. Type 1 is the usual culprit for dietary milk issues. The milk you find generally in any supermarket or shop or have delivered to the door, is predominantly type 1, bovine. type 2 is dominant in goats, sheep and other lactating mammals as well as some isolated cattle, as in channel island milk here in the UK. These days cattle are tested to be certain of their casein status t1 or t2. There has been interbreeding in recent years. Some one who is casein intolerant can find relief from using goat milk predominantly t2 with traces of 1,3 and 4. Goat milk is closest to that of a human lactating mother.
Wheat is a funny plant in that it has three parents, its in the science papers, this increases the number of proteins the grain can contain. It is possible to react to proteins other than the dominantly named one. All grains which are processed along with wheat will be contaminated by the dust in the atmosphere and it being impossible to remove all traces of wheat from the rolling mill. Oats and other grains designated gluten free are milled in premises which are wheat free.
Not all tests commonly used by the medical profession are accurate enough. I had two NHS tests for dairy issues and one Smokey Mountain labs test, I think it was, that was positive. I have issues with phenols, which include salicylate amines, oxalates as well as histamine (reduced/lacking dao enzyme production) which stands alone. All this is extremely restricting, something high in phenol (in fruits/veg), may be low in histamine (in veg, fruit, meats and fish cooked or raw and is higher the day after its cooked) or vice versa. I was once told by an eminent British Professor in Immunology that I and people like me are at the edge of science, Not very reassuring.
My issues arose from, and are interrelated with autoimmunity. Find your triggers, if you can and eliminate and you stand a chance. I've opted for digestive enzymes which, thankfully replace the ones my body is no longer able to produce. We are complicated beings, science is showing that over use of antibiotics, pain relief and other common products like house hold and personal hygiene products as well as moulds in our domestic environment are increasingly causing problems in the community.
I really hope this epidemic can be stalled in good time.8 -
My husband has a gluten intolerance. I know I accidentally had gluten in the meal if twenty minutes after dinner he runs to the bathroom. I didn't realize soy sauce and teriyaki sauce had gluten in them. It hasn't happened since but I felt so bad.
Buy San-J Tamari - it's naturally gluten-free soy sauce. It tastes better than the cheap Kikkoman stuff, too.2 -
It seems like 3/4 of the people on this board claim some level of gluten sensitivity. It sometimes seems that those new to fitness or diet seem to gravitate towards this type of self-diagnosis. My "gluten sensitive" wife (well, she claimed that when we first met) just ate half a pizza with me last night - no issues... but her old trainer had her firmly convinced all her issues were gluten related.6
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NO!0
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The gluten fad is total BS. I actually am mildly lactose intolerant (it used to be worse) and so is my grandmother and a friend of mine so that one I know is accurate.6
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Fad. Half the world doesn't magically develop a food intolerance because an uneducated blogger decided to write about super and devil foods they Googled for all of five minutes. Those with legitimate intolerances also don't use it to play the victim or try to claim superiority over others' dietary habits.5
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The gluten fad is total BS. I actually am mildly lactose intolerant (it used to be worse) and so is my grandmother and a friend of mine so that one I know is accurate.
S you just dismiss those of us with gluten sensitivities/intolerances/celiac because you haven't experienced it??7 -
There are real and serous intolerances and allergies.
Unfortunately for people that have to live with these there are definitely trendy conditions and lots of misinformation - and large food ranges built on the back of this.
My son had a serious intolerance of a fat in milk as a baby - basically stopped breathing - hospitalisation etc etc
Was really difficult for example at children's parties (had to take his own food) - when 'helpful' mums would say 'let him have cake / chocolate / bread as a treat'. So a lot of ignorance about what a real intolerance means. We had a way that meant he could eat safely - and other children could have what they wanted.
By the way son is 30 this week - and 'grew out' of his intolerance at about 10 or 11 - under medical supervision.
Daughter had a strong reaction to whole oranges - so I suspect any food can cause a reaction in someone susceptible to it.1 -
If someone is very overweight and claiming gluten intolerance, I don't believe them. That's not what gluten allergies do, my brother has Celiac's and he was waaaaay underweight. However, I also think the number have gone up because doctors now test for it. It took nearly THREE years of tests before the doctor tested for a gluten allergy. So if more dr's are testing for it, then of course more people are getting diagnosed.
Also, having other medical issues may make a person more sensitive to a variety of food allergies including gluten.
For lactose, pfft, I am friends with lactose intolerant people and believe me the bathroom does not lie!
@Relser It is possible to be overweight and have coeliac/celiac. In Australia, our Coeliac Society has listed weight gain as a symptom for the disease - the reason for this - and this is what was explained to me by my GI specialist who is the leading researcher for Coeliac Disease in Australia - is that for many, particularly those with constipation, the intestines fail to absorb the nutrients from food which can cause excess gas. Once they have healed on a GF diet, the weight will decrease again
I do agree with you though that due to a better understanding, more people are being tested for Coeliac and are being treated for it, especially since once upon a time it was more commonly diagnosed in children as many didn't believe that it could develop in adults. Some of the people I have met have had issues all their life, however were not diagnosed until they were in their 40s and even 50s. A long time to be left undiagnosed!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.
@mph323 For some, saying oats are not GF is actually correct. For some reason, standards world wide are quite different. Here in Australia we are quite strict when it comes to products being labelled GF compared to the US and Europe. With oats, we are told that we are not allowed to have them at all (including uncontaminated) as the protein in the oats, avenin, can cause a similar reaction to gluten and also cause damage to the villi. Coeliacs here need to undergo an oats challenge, which require an initial biopsy to be taken ensuring the villi is healed, and then another biopsy after the challenge to check for damage. If no damage, then they can consume uncontaminated oats. Also, oats are not allowed to be labelled Gluten Free and can only be labelled 'Wheat Free'. Additionally, products can only be labels Gluten Free if they are tested and only contain 3ppm of gluten, whereas overseas 20ppm seems to be the standard (we consider this low gluten and not safe for coeliacs). Because of our standards, it actually makes it quite difficult for us when travelling overseas
For those interesting in reading about how things differ in Australia compared to the USA and Europe, I've provided a link below for Coeliac Australia. Information on this site has been put together with the help of Dr Jason Tye Din, who is the head of coeliac research here and is currently working on a vaccine for the disease as well as a blood test which diagnose coeliac without the need of the biopsy and would only require a person to be eating gluten for only three days:
http://victas.coeliac.org.au/coeliac-disease/4 -
As someone said earlier, awareness of these diets and why a person would follow them is key. Unfortunately, those who follow them because they are 'the latest weight loss trend' or whatever else they won't to call them, actually make it harder for those who need to follow these diets for medical reasons.
I know personally, I struggle when eating out and in order to be taken seriously, I need to give a description of what will happen if I consume gluten, but also because I'm anaphylactic to tree nuts and peanuts, actually tell/show them that I need to carry Epi Pens in my handbag and that my allergies are life threatening. Some places I've been to have been quite good and get it, however there are still a lot that have very little understanding of what it means to be gluten (coeliac)/lactose/{insert food} intolerant even after you explain it to them, because they see so many 'fad dieters' and think that those who genuinely needing the diet are overreacting and being picky when they explain the impact eating those foods can have.
One thing I will thank fad dieters for though, is the increase of allergen friendly foods on the supermarket shelves. Once upon a time you could barely find gluten free foods, now we are spoilt for choice!1 -
That's pretty common around here.
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ForecasterJason wrote: »
I don't think I've ever heard of the body actually having a physiological need for gluten. What specifically does the body actually need that protein for?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.
It's two fold:
1. Foods with gluten are typically high in dietary fiber. Low dietary fiber diets lead a myriad of problems, most commonly type 2 diabetes followed by heart disease.
2. One of the major protiens in gluten are gliadins, which are monomeric. Which means they bind with other chemicals (read nutrients). Because of thier binding properties they bind with enzymes that resist decay in stomach acid: which means they act as a transport system for chemicals to the intestines (such as vitamins, minerals, various nutrients they body needs).
This is why people with Celiac disease also have to take a lot of supplements; the lack of gluten means less nutrients make it to the intestines where they can be absorbed into the body.
(I'm going to medical school at the moment, not a doctor though. I just have access too a myriad of information)7 -
I have no problem with lactose but drink soy milk because I think it tastes better.0
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BabyBear76 wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
I don't think I've ever heard of the body actually having a physiological need for gluten. What specifically does the body actually need that protein for?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.
It's two fold:
1. Foods with gluten are typically high in dietary fiber. Low dietary fiber diets lead a myriad of problems, most commonly type 2 diabetes followed by heart disease.
2. One of the major protiens in gluten are gliadins, which are monomeric. Which means they bind with other chemicals (read nutrients). Because of thier binding properties they bind with enzymes that resist decay in stomach acid: which means they act as a transport system for chemicals to the intestines (such as vitamins, minerals, various nutrients they body needs).
Low dietary fibre does not cause T2D and heart disease. Carnivorous cultures tend to be very low in T2D.This is why people with Celiac disease also have to take a lot of supplements; the lack of gluten means less nutrients make it to the intestines where they can be absorbed into the body.
(I'm going to medical school at the moment, not a doctor though. I just have access too a myriad of information)
Many celiacs, before recovery, need supplementation because of the gliadin (gluten) that has destroyed their intestinal microvilli. No one needs gluten to help with nutrient absorption. I believe that is incorrect.
I'm not in med school, just someone who has read widely on the topic because I am a celiac. BTW, when diagnosed I had no nutrient deficiencies and when I recovered, I still had no nutrient deficiencies.7 -
Enzymes are made within the body to aid digestion they do not prevent it. Enzymes are essential and work best in acidity. One, Intrinsic Factor binds to and protects vit b 12 from the mouth to the duodenum because the b12 would be damaged by the acid conditions in the stomach.
I'm talking digestive enzymes0 -
If someone is very overweight and claiming gluten intolerance, I don't believe them. That's not what gluten allergies do, my brother has Celiac's and he was waaaaay underweight. However, I also think the number have gone up because doctors now test for it. It took nearly THREE years of tests before the doctor tested for a gluten allergy. So if more dr's are testing for it, then of course more people are getting diagnosed.
Also, having other medical issues may make a person more sensitive to a variety of food allergies including gluten.
For lactose, pfft, I am friends with lactose intolerant people and believe me the bathroom does not lie!
Just as an FYI: I'm very overweight and was diagnosed celiac. I thought the doc was full of $#*! when he sent me for more testing, but SURPRISE! The upper-endo and colonoscopy confirmed. Go figure - the malnutrition was causing me to GAIN weight...3 -
No, I haven't read the replies but my boyfriend is vomiting and very ill after eating wheat. Witnessed it plenty of times. It's definitely not bs0
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BabyBear76 wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
I don't think I've ever heard of the body actually having a physiological need for gluten. What specifically does the body actually need that protein for?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.
It's two fold:
1. Foods with gluten are typically high in dietary fiber. Low dietary fiber diets lead a myriad of problems, most commonly type 2 diabetes followed by heart disease.
2. One of the major protiens in gluten are gliadins, which are monomeric. Which means they bind with other chemicals (read nutrients). Because of thier binding properties they bind with enzymes that resist decay in stomach acid: which means they act as a transport system for chemicals to the intestines (such as vitamins, minerals, various nutrients they body needs).
Low dietary fibre does not cause T2D and heart disease. Carnivorous cultures tend to be very low in T2D.This is why people with Celiac disease also have to take a lot of supplements; the lack of gluten means less nutrients make it to the intestines where they can be absorbed into the body.
(I'm going to medical school at the moment, not a doctor though. I just have access too a myriad of information)
Many celiacs, before recovery, need supplementation because of the gliadin (gluten) that has destroyed their intestinal microvilli. No one needs gluten to help with nutrient absorption. I believe that is incorrect.
I'm not in med school, just someone who has read widely on the topic because I am a celiac. BTW, when diagnosed I had no nutrient deficiencies and when I recovered, I still had no nutrient deficiencies.
Low fiber increases the risk of colorectal cancer though.2
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