Gluten: Bad for us ALL !

[Waverunner]

Do you have some evidence for this claim? Due to the culmulative affect of mercury from cremated bodies with amalgams alone, I dont see how that is possible. Add to it the increased use of pesticides and fluoride and you will have a hard time proving it

Let me ask you an opposite question. Was there less water/air pollution between 1970 and 1980 during the Cold War? I don't know anyone who would agree with this statement. During the cold war all kind of crap was put into rivers, air and lakes. We lacked technology to filter and clean waste and we lacked regulation. This changed.

Regarding mercury, it is a poison and toxin but I come more and more to the conclusion that it's effects on world health are highly exaggerated and that whenever people lack the will to conduct scientific research, they blame it on some toxins, fungi, parasites or whatever. These explanations all have in common that there is a clearly defined, easy to understand enemy, which can be fought by certain treatment approaches. Understanding what really drives diseases is far beyond the intellectual capacity of these people. I myself lack the knowledge but this is no excuse for not at least trying to read and understand scientific papers.

Back to mercury. There is one country where the population has one of the highest mercury exposures worldwide, Japan. The Japanese like to eat fish and their fish is highly contaminated with mercury. This goes so far that some fish contain 900 times more mercury than what is allowed. And now the miracle, despite these huge amounts of mercury, the Japanese consume every year, their life expectancy is the highest in the world. I highly doubt, that mercury is the culprit for whatever it is blamed for.

 

[orion]

Hixxy, you took the words out of my mouth! I am somewhat convinced that "leaky gut syndrome" is quite prevalent among CFS sufferers and gluten just happens to be a tough molecule for the immune system to deal with.

I agree. I find that explanation fairly plausible.

However, I think it's unlikely that more than a tiny percentage of ME sufferers have undiagnosed classic coeliac disease (by "classic" coeliac disease I mean the type that can be definitively diagnosed by taking a gut biopsy). Even taking into account the average timespan of 11 years that it takes to diagnose someone with the disease (which incidentally is an utter disgrace), I think that, by now, some doctors (or patients) would have made the connection, if the diseases were actually the same.

For what it's worth, at my request, I had a biopsy taken to test for coeliac disease a few years ago, and it came back negative. But I might try a gluten free diet anyway at some point, on the basis that there might be a difference between classic coeliac disease and gluten intolerance.

Interestingly, I just did some googling on this subject, and found out that several tennis players, including Andy Murray, have tried a gluten-free diet, with apparently good results. (http://tennisdailynews.net/andy-murray-gluten-free-tennis-champion-diet).

I don't really see any downside to ME sufferers trying a gluten free diet on a speculative basis. Even if gluten sensitivity doesn't turn out to be the underlying problem, the diet will, at the very least, force you to eat more healthily because most processed stodgy food contains gluten.

 

[xchocoholic]

A less radical view on gluten intolerance ...

http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2012/03/gluten-awareness-is-on-rise-but-is-it.html

http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2010/02/sluggish-thyroid-find-out-if-youre.html

http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-immune-system-gets-confused-in.html

I must confess, I’m a bit obsessed with autoimmune disease.As the third leading cause of death it is well represented in our population. Besides celiac disease, we are told that most autoimmune diseases “have no cure” and the trigger remains unknown as well.

But that’s not entirely accurate.We do know many of the triggers and we do know that the health of the gut goes a long way in increasing or decreasing our predisposition to autoimmune disease. Getting back to triggers, there are some pathogenic organisms (mostly bacteria according to research) that when contracted can then lead to autoimmune disease through a molecular mimicry process.

Let me explain. Ankylosing spondylitis is a condition where the joints of the spine fuse leaving young bodies looking and feeling more like centenarians.It is known to be associated with a Klebsiella infection.

Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a Citrobacter infection.Thyroiditis is associated with Yersinia,and autoimmune diseases as a general category are associated both with E. coli and Proteus infections. All organisms mentioned are bacteria.

The immune system is clever.When it comes in contact with something it considers dangerous it makes something called an antibody to destroy it. Therefore after the initial exposure, whenever it should encounter it, it has a ready-made tool to destroy it.

Recall that 80% of the immune system is housed in the intestine so much of this activity is happening there. Unfortunately when the immune system is a bit overstimulated, which can occur as a side effect of a leaky gut, it becomes overly vigilant, less discriminating and molecular mimicry can occur.

Molecular mimicry is a process whereby the immune system mistakenly identifies a body part for a pathogenic organism.This usually comes about due to similar protein structures within both the organism and the human body itself.

Therefore bony joints are mistaken for Klebsiella bacteria and the thyroid is mistaken for Yersinia bacteria. The immune system attacks the body part when it thinks it’s attacking the bacteria and autoimmune disease ensues.


Can we prevent everyone from ever getting an infection? No, that’s not possible.What we want to work on is optimizing the function of the immune system such that it clearly knows friend from foe. One of the major ways to achieve this is to optimize the health of the small intestine.

Does achieving optimal health always come back to the intestine?Frequently that is the case and it’s not just my opinion – the research is strong in this area.Is our health determined by what we put in our mouths? Yes, again.Do you think it’s time to stop getting lured in by the fast food commercials and junk food? You’re right!

Please realize that autoimmune diseases are on a dramatic rise.Research tells us this is from environmental causes, not genetics.The good news there is that we have a lot of control of our environment.Does it take some effort and discipline?

Sure! Is it worth it? Absolutely!

 

[Calathea]

I don't really see any downside to ME sufferers trying a gluten free diet on a speculative basis. Even if gluten sensitivity doesn't turn out to be the underlying problem, the diet will, at the very least, force you to eat more healthily because most processed stodgy food contains gluten.

I don't think that's how it works most of the time. You're suggesting that someone on an unhealthy diet, relying heavily on processed foods, will transition to a healthy diet if they cut out gluten. No doubt this does happen occasionally, I think you're more likely to get one of the following:

1) Person is on an unhealthy diet, relying heavily on processed foods. They cut out gluten, probably because a doctor has told them they have to. They move from a bad diet to a more restricted bad diet, without widening their range to become healthier cooks.
2) Person is cutting out gluten to see if it helps, out of an interest in health and nutrition. They have already cut out or at least minimised processed foods before they do this, as cutting out processed foods is a more obvious first step.

I definitely think that cutting out gluten is worth a try, there seems to be a high rate of gluten sensitivity in ME patients, but it's not entirely risk-free. Grains are an important food group, and many people with ME are already on limited diets by this point. It's worth trying, but it is unlikely to be all that easy, and it should be done carefully in order to maintain good nutrition.

 

[EastTenn]

For all practical purposes, I grew up on a wheat farm in North Dakota. In the 1970's, the genetics of wheat changed dramatically with the introduction of related grass strains that humans had never been exposed to genetically. The recent book, "The Wheat Belly", discussing the new wheat and the new gluten extensively:

In Wheat Belly, Davis exposes the harmful effects of what is actually a product of genetic tinkering and agribusiness being sold to the American public as “wheat”—and provides readers with a user-friendly, step-by-step plan to navigate a new, wheat-free lifestyle.
In 1969, most wheat that was grown had long stalks, was long season, and wasn't all that much different from wheat grown 100, 200 or even 4000 years ago.

But by 1975, as a teenager I was shocked at how wheat had become a totally different crop: short, bearded, more drought-resistant, shorter season, higher yielding. Even then, I knew something was different. Wheat even became itchy to harvest, as the dust just seemed to irritate the skin. Our food, and specifically gluten protein, became different as non-wheat genetics were introduced into wheat. Before, the wheat harvest used to be a joyous occasion. That joyful sense was gone.

Durum wheat, the type of wheat that goes into making semolina, has not nearly changed as much genetically.

 

[adreno]

EastTenn, I'm guessing spelt would be another good option.

 

[EastTenn]

EastTenn, I'm guessing spelt would be another good option.

I stay away from spelt only because my body can't take gluten of any kind.

Oats, even though widely grown, hasn't been modified signficantly. There's just not enough agribusiness money in oats. My body seems to love it, plus quinoa as well as specialty varieties of rice.

 

[xchocoholic]

Many celiacs can't process oats. I see this in my celiac support group even. There's always
a show of hands when asked who has problems with bob's red mill gf oats too. We know certain varieties are cross contaminated. I know quaker is but
I'm not sure about the others. It's on the web tho. I can't eat it so I don't keep up with this.

There is a percentage of people who can't process any grains. The literature behind this is in the paleo
info on the web. I like the way cordain explains it. Dr terry wahls does too tho.

The fact that you crave oats can be a sign of Food intolerance / addiction. Tc . X

 

[EastTenn]

Many celiacs can't process oats. I see this in my celiac support group even. There's always
a show of hands when asked who has problems with bob's red mill gf oats too. We know certain varieties are cross contaminated. I know quaker is but
I'm not sure about the others. It's on the web tho. I can't eat it so I don't keep up with this.

There is a percentage of people who can't process any grains. The literature behind this is in the paleo
info on the web. I like the way cordain explains it. Dr terry wahls does too tho.

The fact that you crave oats can be a sign of Food intolerance / addiction. Tc . X

Not sure where I ever stated I crave oats. Periodically have organic steel cut oats for breakfast with coconut oil, plus a protein and vegetables. While I know most people here don't subscribe to the idea of Nutrition Response Testing, foods can also be tested for harm and the oats, quinoa, and specialty rices I consume have never revealed any harm for me.

Any food with wheat, spelt, barley, corn, soy, dairy (except butter), or eggs, and Nutrition Response Tests instantly show that they present a significant hazard for me, especially with regards to brain inflammation. Most CFS sufferers have multiple food sensitivities that vary be person, so I can certainly understand wanting to avoid grains of any type if thats what a person's condition warrants.

 

[xchocoholic]

Sorry, I infered this from you're saying that your body loves it. I know people who trust these non scientific
methods of gauging food intolerances and I respect their opinions.

Personally, I don't trust the tests that don't look
for biological markers for a food intolerance. Having a clear biological reaction supercedes all tests tho.

I have a dd who gets anaphylaxis from peanuts but her tests don't always show it. She's a living breathing peanut meter.
Lol .. I'm the same way with gluten. Minute amounts nail me.

Fwiw, many grains are showing cross contamination issues. Tricia Thompson has info on this but it's on the web too.

Tc .. X