wheat

[taurushead]

hey wise ones :o

whats the deal with wheat?! i often pick other grains coz they have more nutrition, spelt and whatnot. but is there anything actually bad about wheat?! i thought that was only if you had dramas in the allergy department??
but someone told me today it does terrible things to your digestion and thats the case for MOST people, not just coeliacs etc?
any truth to that??
(also, by the by, dont hate me for starting so many threads and only having snippets to say on others. id LOVE to help...i just usually have no answer. and if i do, somebody's gotten there first :dizzy: )
xoxo

[rawgirl]

From what I've heard, at least 50% of the population has an intolerance or allergy to wheat, whether they know it or not. This has happened because we eat way too much of it. Also, wheat is very hybridized whereas its relatives, spelt and kamut, are ancient grains that haven't been tampered with like wheat has. Whenever man tampers with something, I tend to be skeptical about it. Of course, it's impossible to avoid all hybrids, but things that are closer to nature are healthier.

[taurushead]

oh ok. thanks rawgirl!! just wondered about that. i actually PREFER the other stuff, but its always good to know things.
my other confused question will always be fructose. i rarely eat added sugar, just coz it doesn't usually taste good . ick. but recently have started adding dried fruit etc to stuff. cereals, toast, whatever, just for the nutrients.
and the same friend warned me that sugar is sugar.
im not concerned about weight, more the other things that sugar apparently does to you and im assuming thats ALL sugar not just the artificial whitened kinds.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Junia]

50%, really? wow. I never heard that.

I don't eat a ton of wheat these days, anyway... but this question comes to mind: If people don't know they are allergic to wheat, what are the symptoms? ie, they must be something that could be mistaken for something else...

[Junia]

oh ok. thanks rawgirl!! just wondered about that. i actually PREFER the other stuff, but its always good to know things.
my other confused question will always be fructose. i rarely eat added sugar, just coz it doesn't usually taste good . ick. but recently have started adding dried fruit etc to stuff. cereals, toast, whatever, just for the nutrients.
and the same friend warned me that sugar is sugar.
im not concerned about weight, more the other things that sugar apparently does to you and im assuming thats ALL sugar not just the artificial whitened kinds.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.


I think if you're adding dried fruit to otherwise healthy dishes, you're fine. I put raisins in my morning cereal to sweeten it, and I'm not worried. I mean, if you tried to base your entire diet on fruit, you would have a problem... for a variety of reasons. ;)

[taurushead]

junia- good point about the wheat!! and thanks for the sugar input. its more just that..i could happily go without it. its no sacrifice at all. i purely add it for extra calories and nutrition. but if its not AS bad as white sugar, but still not really great... then i could totally leave it. im not being obsessive..its more just that...life is so much better when youre eating well.i cant even remember eating the trash i used to. i feel wonderful!!

[Tom]

I thought 50% of people having trouble with wheat was high, too. Of course, if someone is allergic to it (that's celiac disease, also known as sprue- I think...) they have to avoid it, and possibly also other grains with gluten in them. I haven't heard of problems from wheat other than celiac disease, though.

Taurushead, you could try "googling" for sprue or celiac disease to find out symptoms, or try the encyclopedia in a local library. I think celiac causes diarrhea, but I'm not sure how they distinguish it from irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel, lactose intolerance, etc...

[Ludi]

How could you not be aware of a wheat allergy? Wouldn't you get sick as with other food allergies?

[Junia]

How could you not be aware of a wheat allergy? Wouldn't you get sick as with other food allergies?


I wonder that. Maybe if it was a mild allergy, and you ate a lot of wheat, you would just think that whatever symptoms you had were normal? Or maybe attribute them to another illness you had? :think:

[gaya]

How could you not be aware of a wheat allergy? Wouldn't you get sick as with other food allergies?
How can we know 50% of the population has an allergy if the people themselves don't know it?

eta: my best friend and her brother have ceiliac and it did a lot of damage to her immune system. Her entire life changed when she stopped eating all forms of gluten. Her memory, grades in school, emotional status, physical health all improved 110% when she finally figured out what her problem was...she definately new she had a problem. Her symptoms included chronic bronchitis and severe bowel issues (diarrhea every day), poor concentration and chronic fatigue.

[bstutzma]

I'm of the opinion that whole wheat is a safe and healthy food choice for people who do not have wheat sensitivity. I think claims that 50% of people shouldn't eat wheat are exagerated.

[Sharon]

50%, really? wow. I never heard that.

I don't eat a ton of wheat these days, anyway... but this question comes to mind: If people don't know they are allergic to wheat, what are the symptoms? ie, they must be something that could be mistaken for something else...

I have read myself that most people (most of the population) have a problem with wheat but don't know it.

The way to find out, is to abstain from all cooked grain products for a week then eat some bread and see if you have a reaction. I know in my case my body acclimates to cooked grains, but after getting off it, it will react when reintroduced.

Usually the symptoms I have experienced are mucous collecting in throat, mild aches and pains, sometimes abdominal pain and/or intestinal problems, also cravings for more grains. Some people get headaches and heart racing, etc.

[gaya]

This is just a guess but I was scoping the web for wheat allergy population statistics and I came across this study that involved infants and wheat sensitivity. A coincidental 56% showed signs of wheat allergy. What I'm thinking is that some may view a study such as this and then incorrectly generalize it to a population. That could certainly account for this large number (50%).
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1398-9995.1999.00081.x
I'm not saying that half the population has or doesn't have a wheat sensitivity. I just haven't found any information about wheat sensitivity and populations so if anyone has this info it would be great if you could pass it along.

[rawgirl]

I have celiac disease. I found out when I was sixteen, about three years ago. Celiac is different from a wheat allergy. They are two separate things. The book Wheat Free, Worry Free has a good explanation of how they're different. My symptoms started when I was about 16 months old. I had diarrhea and constipation, back and forth between the two. I was on medication until I was 14 to help me go to the bathroom. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. After I found out about being celiac and getting off gluten, I had no problem going to the bathroom. Now, whenever I get gluten, I get mouth sores, joint pain, acne, bad headaches, and depression. There is a very wide range of symptoms. Sometimes when people are celiac, they have no symptoms. It's called asymptomatic Celiac. But after they are off gluten, if they were to eat some, they would probably get symptoms. This happened to my Grandma. She was off gluten for a while just from being at our house and then she ate some gluten, and broke out with a rash all over her body and got more congested and had all kinds of other symptoms which disappeared after she quit eating the gluten.

[Sharon]

Hey rawgirl - In a way you are fortunate to have celiac (blessing in disguise maybe?), that makes it easier to stay away from the stuff.

Have you ever read the booklet called Grain Damage ? Amongst other things, it goes over the addiction of cooked grains - that it's more than psychological - there are actually several opioid sequences in most cooked starches that cause a similar reaction like many addictive substances. I was curious if you've heard about that at the institute where you work. It is pretty amazing - I find bread stuff to be the hardest thing to give up. Mouth waters at the smell of it and all.

[gaya]

I have celiac disease. I found out when I was sixteen, about three years ago. Celiac is different from a wheat allergy. They are two separate things. The book Wheat Free, Worry Free has a good explanation of how they're different. My symptoms started when I was about 16 months old. I had diarrhea and constipation, back and forth between the two. I was on medication until I was 14 to help me go to the bathroom. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. After I found out about being celiac and getting off gluten, I had no problem going to the bathroom. Now, whenever I get gluten, I get mouth sores, joint pain, acne, bad headaches, and depression. There is a very wide range of symptoms. Sometimes when people are celiac, they have no symptoms. It's called asymptomatic Celiac. But after they are off gluten, if they were to eat some, they would probably get symptoms. This happened to my Grandma. She was off gluten for a while just from being at our house and then she ate some gluten, and broke out with a rash all over her body and got more congested and had all kinds of other symptoms which disappeared after she quit eating the gluten.

If my girlfriend even has the powder from bread touch her hands (cuticles) she's in the bathroom for two days. It's so sad. She gets mouth sores too.

[rawgirl]

Hey rawgirl - In a way you are fortunate to have celiac (blessing in disguise maybe?), that makes it easier to stay away from the stuff.

Have you ever read the booklet called Grain Damage ? Amongst other things, it goes over the addiction of cooked grains - that it's more than psychological - there are actually several opioid sequences in most cooked starches that cause a similar reaction like many addictive substances. I was curious if you've heard about that at the institute where you work. It is pretty amazing - I find bread stuff to be the hardest thing to give up. Mouth waters at the smell of it and all.
I've heard about the book Grain Damage. It's by Doug Graham, right? Bread is definitely very addictive. When I eat some, I want more and more and more. I do consider it a blessing to be Celiac because it keeps me away from bad things I might otherwise eat and because it gives me an excuse why I can't eat something that I am being pressured into eating. For example, if I go over to other people's houses and they want me to eat cake or pie or whatever, it's very nice to have a medical reason why I can't eat it. It's more acceptable to them I think. It even works for meat because before I went veg, I ate chicken and got a reaction from it because the marinade had soy sauce in it. It's turned out to be a wonderful blessing.

[Sharon]

Yes, it's by Dr. Doug Graham. I've got his "Making Friends With Your Food" DVD collection up on E-bay for a cancer fundraiser. It's an awesome collection, 6 DVD's and 12 hours long. Very educational!

I know, that is how addictive bread is. And I can keep eating it because it's so void of nutrients, I never seem to get full. But after 3 bananas I'm pretty satisfied.

I'm in a similar situation as you. I have genetic high cholesterol. My father died of a heart attack just a year older than I am now, so nobody gives me too much grief about my diet when I tell them. Well, they give me some grief because they are always asking me if I take meds. I've been on and off meds and have had side effects from them. Anyway, I don't have as hard of a time having to explain my diet, even though it's still challenging when I am in family and social eating situations.