Benefits of Gluten free diets for regular folks?

it benefits the companies who are marketing gluten free foods. Cutting back on pasta and breads isn't such a bad idea...but the gluten free fad is basically just that-- a fad. Only a very small percent of the population really needs to go "gluten free."

A little over a week ago yesterday, I began a Wheat Belly experiment myself. I cut out all wheat products and keeping grains like rice and oats to a minimum. I tried some gluten free brownies but other than that, I am not trying to replace wheat products, so no gluten free breads, cereals, etc.

I do suffer from bloating, distension in my abdomen (I get that pregnant pot belly look) and irregularity. I also began taking a fiber supplement and a probiotic. All three of those ailments have improved, I am happy to report. However, I am not sure which one in particular is doing the trick.

It's still pretty early on for me, and I can't say that I've noticed a tremendous, life-changing effect. Interested in hearing other feedback from non-celiacs who have been doing this longer.

Here's the manjor con though: Gluten-free food generally tastes like cardboard! Yes, you CAN make G/F stuff that actually tastes good, but it's way easier to make healthy food that isn't G/F that tastes even better!

I got the eBook version of the "Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight" book (read it today), and the science behind it made sense. I've been wheat-free all day; feeling a little headachey but nothing I can't handle.

Yes the benefit is lowering the good bacteria in your intestinal tract. Find the study ( i seen it in the past)

This one?

Gut Microbes. 2010 May;1(3):135-137. Epub 2010 Mar 16.
Effects of a gluten-free diet on gut microbiota and immune function in healthy adult humans.

Sanz Y.

Microbial Ecophysiology and Nutrition Group; Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA); Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); Valencia, Spain.
Abstract

Diet is a major environmental factor influencing gut microbiota diversity and functionality, which might be relevant to subjects following dietary therapies. Celiac disease (CD) is an enteropathy caused by an aberrant immune response to cereal gluten proteins and the only therapy is the adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). In this context, a preliminary study was conducted to establish whether the GFD in itself could modify the composition and immune properties of the gut microbiota. The trial included 10 healthy subjects (30.3 years-old), which were submitted to a GFD over one month. Analysis of fecal microbiota and dietary intake indicated that numbers of healthy gut bacteria decreased, while numbers of unhealthy bacteria increased parallel to reductions in the intake of polysaccharides after following the GFD. Fecal samples of subjects under a GFD, which represent an altered microbiota, also exerted lower immune stimulatory effects on peripheral blood mononuclear cells than those of subjects on a regular gluten-containing diet. This addendum presents further discussion on the rationale behind these findings, limitations of the study and possible consequences of dietary counselling in the care process of celiac disease patients.


Keep in mind that this was a small, preliminary study. But it does suggest that there may be drawbacks to eliminating gluten unnecessarily.

http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html

I do eat gluten free and everything I have read says there are no benefits and can even be nutrition risks to eliminating it unnecessarily.

I am guessing your wife's doctor is trying to make a diagnosis with an elimination diet or treat some ailment?

I gave up gluten 4 weeks ago. Since then I have had no bloating and no problems with constipation which had been an ongoing problem for me. I'm not claiming to be an expert, I'm just telling you what my personal experience has been.

I don't really follow the comment about it being a diet that only benefits the companies that sell gluten free products. Personally, I haven't tried to replace wheat with similar foods. I have increased my meat and vegetable intake to make up the calories, but I haven't bought anything that has gluten free plastered on the wrapper (not that I think there would be anything wrong with that).

My personal theory whenever I have seen questions on here about trying something different -- whether it be with diet or exercise -- is to try it and see what you think for yourself. Give it a couple weeks and if you don't like it then don't do it; if you do like it then carry on. Only you know how your body will react or how you will feel.

My daughter did a Dr. supervised elimination diet trying to figure out what was going on. She had bloating, IBS, and stomach cramping. They have isolated her problem as being wheat and corn although not specifically gluten. For her, removing the two offenders has made her feel much better. She is still able to eat potatoes and other grains.

It seems that removing offending foods will make a person feel better so figuring out what it is that is causing you problems is worth the time.

I don't see how gluten free can help someone with no gluten intolerance. I low carbed for months, and it was very low carb, due to my uncontrolled blood glucose. So since I was eating only non-starchy veggie carbs and one piece of fruit I should have lost a ton of weight. I didn't lose a thing nor did I gain when I was put on different meds that allowed me to reintroduce carbs.

In my opinion, and I'm not a dr. or anything, if you have a problem, removing offending foods will make you feel a lot better and may help you lose some weight. If no foods cause you problems then it seems silly to remove them. Seriously, are you really going to never eat bread again because some book tells you to? Trust me, even with a medical condition that could cause a great deal of damage, I still wanted bread and felt very deprived but knew I couldn't eat much of it. If I hadn't had a medical condition I could never have low carbed as long as I did.

if you dont need to i wouldnt recommend it. i'm not celiac but i have allergies to it and it's a pain in the butt being gluten free. the gluten free versions of food are way more expensive .

plus one side effect is that when people jump on he bandwagon, it ends up hurting those of us who actually do need to avoid gluten for legitimate reasons. i recently discovered a pizza place near me that advertised having gluten free dough. i ordered but then i got a skin rash and immediately knew i had gluten. i called them up and someone fessed up that they starting saying they had gluten free stuff because people were jumping on the bandwagon and they didnt think there were medical reasons. apparently they had been making the "gluten free" pizza for months but i was the only one who ever called them on it...

That is so wrong, and I believe illegal.

i know! i'm thinking the only reason why they havent really been in trouble was because no one has gotten really sick.

i belong to a gluten free group who are mainly celiacs. apparently the celiacs just dont even bother with anything bread like unless they are making it themselves from scratch because the stakes are so much higher for them than someone like me.

if i eat a pizza or several slices of regular bread i only get bloating, hot, itch ears and itchy rash skin that's uncomfortable for a few hours unless i take antihistamine but it's not life threatening. a celiac on the the other hand would need to be rushed to the hospital for that same amount.

I was just a "regular" person as far as I knew, no problems with gluten. Until I stopped eating it and realized you can go through life THINKING you feel "good" (normal) until you feel GREAT and realize that "good" was only OKAY. My IBS was gone within a month. With no other change to my exercise or lifestyle, I've lost 30+ lbs since cutting out all grains (not just gluten, but ALL grains.) My rosacea is also gone, I no longer have to take daily antibiotics to control it (Rosacea is in the "allergy family", like Eczema.) I don't buy "gluten-free" products (ie: replacements for gluten products, like gluten-free breads and cereals), I just choose to not eat them at all. It usually isn't too difficult. I don't know if everyone should try it, but I know for me, it made an actual, significant, difference.

Yes the benefit is lowering the good bacteria in your intestinal tract. Find the study ( i seen it in the past)

This one?

Gut Microbes. 2010 May;1(3):135-137. Epub 2010 Mar 16.
Effects of a gluten-free diet on gut microbiota and immune function in healthy adult humans.

Sanz Y.

Microbial Ecophysiology and Nutrition Group; Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA); Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); Valencia, Spain.
Abstract

Diet is a major environmental factor influencing gut microbiota diversity and functionality, which might be relevant to subjects following dietary therapies. Celiac disease (CD) is an enteropathy caused by an aberrant immune response to cereal gluten proteins and the only therapy is the adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). In this context, a preliminary study was conducted to establish whether the GFD in itself could modify the composition and immune properties of the gut microbiota. The trial included 10 healthy subjects (30.3 years-old), which were submitted to a GFD over one month. Analysis of fecal microbiota and dietary intake indicated that numbers of healthy gut bacteria decreased, while numbers of unhealthy bacteria increased parallel to reductions in the intake of polysaccharides after following the GFD. Fecal samples of subjects under a GFD, which represent an altered microbiota, also exerted lower immune stimulatory effects on peripheral blood mononuclear cells than those of subjects on a regular gluten-containing diet. This addendum presents further discussion on the rationale behind these findings, limitations of the study and possible consequences of dietary counselling in the care process of celiac disease patients.


Keep in mind that this was a small, preliminary study. But it does suggest that there may be drawbacks to eliminating gluten unnecessarily.

Lower immune stimulatory effects would be good if you have an auto-immune condition.
Did they eat gluten-free polysaccharide sources?

Okay in the study:
"Moreover, the findings suggest that dietary counselling aimed at promoting polysaccharide and probiotic intake could be considered in the care process of treated patients in the future."

So just have to make sure to eat gluten-free polysaccharide sources when eliminating gluten and consider a probiotic (supps or food sources).

"Gluten is not an essential nutrient. Therefore, replacing the gluten in your diet with whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, wild fish, and whole, gluten-free grains will result in a more nutritious diet. Processed baked goods of any kind, with gluten or gluten-free, are less nutritious than whole foods and should not be the foundation for any healthy diet."
http://www.fitnessgoop.com/2011/02/can-eliminating-gluten-be-unhealthy/

If you aren't gluten intolerant, it will not have any overall effect on health. You will most likely drop water weight, as eliminating gluten will generally lead to a serious reduction in carbs, which leads to a loss in water weight because the body will store less glycogen. Otherwise, it's won't have any negative effects, but won't really have any positive differences either.

If a doctor is suggesting it, I'd assume they are looking for a potential gluten intolerance issue, as cutting out gluten is a good way to test that.

Lots of people don't know that they are sensitive to wheat till they try going off of it. It can cause inflamation in the joints, indigestion, headaches, poor concentration, irritability, unexplained rash, bloating and all sorts of things that you might not expect it to. And it can be hard to determine if it is wheat or gluten. On the other hand wheat can be a completely healthy part of some ones diet.

Why? One explanation is that we have basicaly one type of geneticaly modified (to contain more gluten) wheat used for 90% of wheat products. Also people are looking to have whole grain bread be as fluffy and light and bound together as the wonder bread they had as children. To do this the bakery adds more gluten into the whole grain mixes. Now the typical diet contains more bread products than ever before. Pretty much every meal and snack.

If you want to know if wheat or gluten is causing you the sypmtoms you could try a 2 week gluten free fast. Not easy as most sauce, soups, processed meats and even some yogurts and cottage cheese contain gluten. (and stupid things like flour dusted cranberries)
If you feel noticeably better after 2 weeks then add in spelt, kumut, oats and other grains that contain small amounts of gluten and see if these bother you. (gluten test)
If not then try adding wheat back. (wheat test)
It may seem extreem but it took me two decades to figure out I was celiac. I always knew wheat made me ill. But my immune system never healed till I cut out all gluten. Now I consider myself healthy.
Up to you.

My wife's doc has recommended a trial period on a Gluten free diet - specifically she recommended the "Wheat Belly" approach.

My wife hasn't been officially diagnosed with any gluten intolerance though, especially not with celiac disease, and since I'm not familiar with gluten free eating, I thought I'd ask you experts about it.

Are there any studies showing the effects of gluten free diets on non-gluten-intolerant people? Are there benefits?

Have any of you heard of or read "Wheat Belly" and what are your opinions on its validity? Just want to make sure this isn't the doc jumping on a fad bandwagon.

Thanks guys! :drinker:

My suggestion would be to cut out all gluten products for 8 weeks. That means learning all the alternative names for wheat and gluten so you can read labels carefully.

If after 8 weeks you feel healthier, stronger, better, eliminate it from your diet. If you don't feel any different then keep eating it.

No scientific paper, doctor, expert, nutritionist, or MFP member can tell you how YOU will feel until you try this for yourself. We can only share experiences and opinion but it's not the same thing. You live in your body. we don't