“Gluten Free”: Overblown?

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Edgar Poe

For the past 5000 plus years people have eaten Gluten bread. Now it's bad for you ?
Bread and wine have been served for millennium.

Ed

Celiac disease was first described by a 1st century AD Greek physician. The definitive connection to gluten is much more recent - mid-1960s appears to be when that really started to take shape.

Excellent article on the history of the disease here:

https://www.cureceliacdisease.org/wp...cCtr.News_.pdf

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by fazool

Do you remember when Americans were convinced that regulated and safest drinking water in the world was dangerous and they had to buy and landfill plastic bottles of water eight times a day? Why? Because there is a bottled water industry making a lot of money off it.

Except that tap water in our country is a hazard in many areas. Trust me, Flint is only the beginning. And before I get blasted, yes, most municipalities have great treatment facilities. It’s the piping infrastructure that’s is generally the culprit. By the time it gets to your faucet your water has likely picked up all manner of nasties.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by fazool

Do you remember in the 50's when doctors used to advertise cigarettes as good for you? They did. Why? Because there was a tobacco industry making a lot of money off it.

Do you remember in the 90's when Ritalin was the most prescribed drug in America and doctors were pumping it down kids throats in shocking percentages? Why? Because there was a pharmaceutical industry making a lot of money off it.

Do you remember when Americans were convinced that regulated and safest drinking water in the world was dangerous and they had to buy and landfill plastic bottles of water eight times a day? Why? Because there is a bottled water industry making a lot of money off it.

you get my point......

Anywhere someone can latch on to rare problems to make money and they will.

I do remember all of that.... Do you remember the Super Bowl commercial where there are three long haired young people hiking in the mountains and one guy stops to fill a water bottle and says "we should bottle and sell this water " and the other guys says " ha!! who would pay for bottled water ? "

[mesa]

I'm a Dr. Greger fan.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-gluten-bad-for-you/

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by mesa

I'm a Dr. Greger fan.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-gluten-bad-for-you/

Spot on. ...

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by Edgar Poe

For the past 5000 plus years people have eaten Gluten bread. Now it's bad for you ?
Bread and wine have been served for millennium.

Ed

That’s not totally correct.
Today’s “Gluten” is a relatively recent protein additive to the modern diet, and it’s in everything.
My take is this:
- For the small minority of celiac afflicted individuals, going gluten-free is essential.
- For those who suffer from auto-immune conditions, and there has been an explosion of those in modern times, and there are many auto-immune conditions that have nothing to do with celiac, a gluten-free diet is definitely worth trying, just to see if it alleviates symptoms. (gluten does impact metabolic processes in the body. Some of those can trigger an immune response, and cause inflammation. Whether or not a person “weathers” those changes well, varies from person to person. Runaway inflammation manifests itself in many ways in the body, and is the root cause of many auto-immune illnesses.
- If you don’t have celiac, and no auto-immune conditions, then going gluten-free is not necessary. Save your money and eat well without restrictions.
- Of course the industry is trying to ride the wave of gluten free products. It’s no different than the idiotic fat-free phase of a few decades ago which caused rampant diabetes.
The bottom line is make your own informed decisions, and as Mary said, read the labels.
Lastly, the worst culprit in our diet, imo, is sugar. Too much of it in everything.
Lots of carbs are culprits too in spiking our blood sugar.
Watch that glycemic index!

[Wadcutter]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

Except that tap water in our country is a hazard in many areas. Trust me, Flint is only the beginning. And before I get blasted, yes, most municipalities have great treatment facilities. It’s the piping infrastructure that’s is generally the culprit. By the time it gets to your faucet your water has likely picked up all manner of nasties.

Not to mention all the meds people flush down the toilet or drain these days. More and more municipalities are going “toilet to tap” every year so the implications aren’t good.

[Wadcutter]

Originally Posted by mesa

I'm a Dr. Greger fan.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-gluten-bad-for-you/

Sounds sensical to me. Thanks for the link mesa.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by AndreF

That’s not totally correct.
Today’s “Gluten” is a relatively recent protein additive to the modern diet, and it’s in everything.

Actually, gluten has been around for a very long time. Jury is still out, however, on whether the changes to grains over the years has led to a change in its characteristics. Modern cultivated wheat is very different from what it was centuries ago.

https://www.medicaldaily.com/brief-h...r-years-353244

[J Patrick]

...I sometimes ask for extra gluten when I buy bread at a bakery...sometimes I get a chuckle but usually not....actually I do feel better when I cut down on gluten intake but hey I love bread and pizza and pasta....i’m of Italian heritage...it’s in my DNA I guess...

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

Modern cultivated wheat is very different from what it was centuries ago.
https://www.medicaldaily.com/brief-h...r-years-353244

Agree. That’s what I was trying to convey with my use of “Today’s gluten”, but should have expressed myself better.

Another practice that wasn’t done centuries ago is putting gluten into so many food, and non-food, items. It’s amazing the varied amount of places where you can find it.
Is that good? bad? I don’t know the answer. But these days you have to rely on yourself more than ever for proper guidance and to make decisions. Too much hype on all sides of the argument, and then there are always the hidden agendas.
Maybe that’s what the OP was driving at.

[RedJoker]

And let's be honest, no one likes to be told they're wrong. The demographic on this board is much older than the average so we're much more likely to be set in our ways.

[yairimann]

As someone who caters banquets its a real pain to have people requesting gluten free meals, makes it much harder to prepare two sets of food. Usually it is stickier and harder to handle than regular food. So many people request it when they don't really need it. However I haven't seen any advertising for it so I don't see it as a marketing ploy by makers of the product.

[Murphy Slaw]

Remember the band ?

Bread

Very mellow.

[Martie]

Gluten is a large protein which is difficult for the human digestive tract to handle, and the main problem with it is that it stimulates the production of zonulin. Zonulin is a protein which causes the protective cells lining the gut to open up (so-called "leaky gut syndrome"), which allows toxins that should be flushed through the digestive system, into the bloodstream instead. This can lead to a range of unpleasant symptoms (including cognitive and mood disorders), and ultimately to disease. People with autoimmune and gastrointestinal problems, including coeliac disease and IBS, are more sensitive to zonulin than others.

The other problem with wheat, and other gluten-containing crops, is that they are heavily sprayed with glyphosate, a highly toxic weedkiller. Glyphosate behaves very similarly in the body to zonulin, contributing to increased gut permeability and leaky gut syndrome, so every time we consume gluten, we're giving the gut a double-whammy attack (even organic wheat crops have been found to have some traces of glyphosate, although less than conventional products).

There is no benefit to any human to consuming gluten, and we would all do better without it in our diets. More info here:

https://www.marioninstitute.org/zonu...ght-junctions/

And here:

https://www.fxmedicine.com.au/conten...n-role-zonulin

Big shout out to all those manufacturers with wisdom to produce gluten-free food...