Gluten test subject: me

[songlife]

I ate no gluten for aproximately one month. This week, starting yesterday, I am stuffing myself full of gluten. I mean, literally eating straight up gluten. Nothing else is changing in my diet.

I'm doing this because it doesn't look like I'm going to get a clear answer in at least the next 5 years or so about whether or not gluten is bad for everyone, or only a small ammount of people. Is it like dairy, where everyone is lactose intolorant but only some people are hyper-sensitive to it, and then only those who are hyper-sensitive are counted as being lactose intolorant? Or is it truly only that (relatively large) handful of people who are sensitive to gluten, like some people can't eat peanuts?

To me it sounds like it's bad for everyone but only some people are hyper-sensitive.

However, I enjoy eating wheat products like pita bread and if it truly is not bad for me at all, I would like to indulge.

I've been very low gluten all year, and no gluten this past few weeks. I have never in my life been sensitive to gluten at all (supposedly) so I am the perfect test subject. Yesterday I ate a TON of gluten, and....

my digestive system didn't take it too well. That wasn't fun. I'll give it more time before I make my judgement call though, since I realise that all gluten-filled products are not the same and it could have been something else that upset my stomach.

I'm going out now to get a hummus sandwich in pita bread, possibly some wheaty vegan baked goods, some wheat-gluten based mock meats and a whole bunch of sprouted grain bread to take home! I'll give updates about what happens to me tonight, if anything.

[Risker]

TBH it doesn't sound like a very good test to me, the difference in the foods you are eating wont just be the gluten. If you do feel worse from it it could also just be that you were expecting a negative reaction, psychosomaticism or something (especially as you mention you've already decided you think it's bad for you).

[Maisiepaisie]

Theres differing opinion on whether or not gluten makes PMS worse. I've tried to cut it out but its too hard and gluten free stuff is expensive and nasty tasting. I too wish I could know if it affects me.

[Manimal]

Nice test - let us know how you get on. Whenever I make a sandwich I always lightly toast the bread as this helps to break down the gluten and makes it easier to digest..

[songlife]

TBH it doesn't sound like a very good test to me, the difference in the foods you are eating wont just be the gluten. If you do feel worse from it it could also just be that you were expecting a negative reaction, psychosomaticism or something (especially as you mention you've already decided you think it's bad for you).

Yes, I understand that it might not be just the gluten but the other stuff that is with the gluten, which is why I'm eating a variety of different types of gluten products on different days and focusing on organic and non-processed/refined stuff just like I was before the gluten.

The psychosomaticism doesn't apply though. I'm not biased on this subject. As I said on the first post, I'm not convinced either way - whether it's like dairy which is bad for everyone but only super-bad for some people, or whether it's like peanuts which are actually healthy for most people and only bad for a few.

[songlife]

So it's the second night. I'm not experiencing any digestion pain, in fact I'm not digesting very much compared to what I've taken in. This is the first time where I'm beginning to really understand what it means that gluten is harder to digest... but after a long time of low gluten, and a few weeks of no gluten, everything was going in and out. Now it seems to mosly go in. Maybe my system is just adjusting and I'll start putting through more matter again tomorrow.

However, I got bloated. Maybe that's because I ate so much. Is gluten a drug or something!? I feel like when I eat some, I need to eat more than I need to eat or I'm not satisfied. It's not like that when I eat stuff like rawlafel and wraps made with rice paper - I like it and then I stop easily when my belly is satisfied. With gluten I just feel the need to keep going. I have to apply real will power to keep from over-stuffing myself. What an energy drain, ick.

So tomorrow I will try again but I'll add in some will-power and not overstuff!

Also I think I should make note that I started consuming more water with my food this past couple days. I don't know if that's because of the gluten or not.

[songlife]

Nice test - let us know how you get on. Whenever I make a sandwich I always lightly toast the bread as this helps to break down the gluten and makes it easier to digest..

thank you! I will try that.

Heh, that kinda brings me to another thing that I can't help but notice is related to this... I've also been experimenting with lots of raw food this year and of course that means no gluten. I know that some things have more nutrients available for you when they're cooked, and I'm really skeptical of the whole 100% raw philosophy, but I couldn't help noticing how good raw food makes me physically and mentally feel (again it's not placebo because I'm very skeptical). Hmmm. In my bloated state right now I'm realising that I've never gotten bloated on raw stuff, despite the fact that I absolutely love the tastes and textures of well made raw food.

[cedarblue]

i'm interested in cutting back on the wheat/gluten products in my diet. i limit it to an aspect of one meal a day. a large proportion of the rest of my daily intake is raw fruit & veg. for me, i noticed a difference when not basing each or many meals around bread (all forms), crackers, pasta, cereal, wraps etc.

at the moment, 100% raw is not right for me, don't know if it ever would/should be.

[Risker]

Yes, I understand that it might not be just the gluten but the other stuff that is with the gluten, which is why I'm eating a variety of different types of gluten products on different days and focusing on organic and non-processed/refined stuff just like I was before the gluten.

But you're only eating products with gluten in, that won't involve alot of fresh fruit & veg so you're eating a non-balanced diet. Everything in moderation. If you did this with any other product (E.g. only eating products high in apple content for a week) you'd likely find that your body wouldn't react well to that either. It's just not a very scientific method for testing it IMHO.

[Aurore]

don't try to eat more gluten than before and stuff yourself with it, any food eaten in excess is bad. what i decided to do is eat just as usual, and keep a track of it in a notebook. i also note down the pain, any diarrhea or constipation i might feel, and the meds i've taken accordingly.

so far, it has confirmed what i suspected before, barley isn't digested, whether in the form of flakes at breakfast, or in the malt version. i don't like beer so i won't really miss it. bread deserves a whole chapter, certain stypes will be digested better than others, usually a small amount is okay, a small portion of pasta is okay too, although it feels like i'm eating rocks. oats are a no go.


i decided to do this for at least a month, and it's always been my intention to go see another gastroenterologist, see if i can get better results this time.

[songlife]

What I've been doing is replacing all my gluten-free grains (rice, quinoa, buckwheat) that I was regularly eating before, with wheat. Instead of rice and quinoa, I've been eating couscous and instead of buckwheat granola/cereal and gluten-free granola/cereal bars, I'm eating wheat based granola/cereal and granola/cereal bars. I'm eating wheat pasta instead of rice pasta, wheat baked stuff (like bread) instead of non-gluten baked stuff...

I'm still eating all the other stuff like veggies, fruits, beans etc. So my diet is still "balanced" as far as a glutinous diet goes.

I know it's not a professional scientific study and shouldn't be taken as that - it couldn't possibly be with only one test subject.



In the last couple days since I last posted:

• My output is more solid, though I haven't had any noticeable difficulties digesting stuff.
• I am bloated, even though I haven't overeaten since the first day.
• MY SINUSES ARE ALL STUFFED UP!!!!!

When I first became vegan, I stopped eating gluten the vast majority of the time on the advice of the raw vegans who exposed me to the concept. As a singer, being stuffed up has always been an issue for me and doctors weren't able to do jack for me, I'd tried a bunch of nasal sprays and nothing seemed to get it to go away. I thought maybe I was allergic to something but never knew what, as it never seemed to change with the seasons. After a several months of being vegan I realised suddenly that I wasn't stuffed up anymore (and also not getting sick anymore like I used to all the time). I thought that this had something to do with not eating meat, or not eating dairy products (since dairy will cause mucus to form). Now I realise that it might have been the gluten, or more specifically, maybe it was wheat. My sinuses gradually unclogged when I was cutting out the gluten and were completely unclogged in the last few months where I ate virtually none at all.

I have a doctor's appointment in 2 weeks and I'm going to ask them if I can get an allergy test done for wheat. Maybe wheat is the culprit and not gluten. I'd like to find out because I enjoy spelt, kamut, oats and barley.

On a side note about rawness, I love they taste of raw food (dehydrated crackers, rawlafel, cashew cheese, etc) and how it makes me feel. I'm not convinced that eating only raw is good since we get more nutrients out of some things when they're cooked. If it's placebo that raw stuff makes me feel great mentally and physically, it's very powerful placebo. I don't think we know enough about nutrition yet to understand whether or not it's good to eat only raw. I already don't eat processed sugars and stuff (since it's not vegan, and not good for me anyways). I would like to learn more about grains and why some people think they're bad for us altogether (what about buckwheat, it can be eaten raw and it's even at the raw restaurant here). Raw is a fuzzy subject and I'm not convinced either way.

edit: I just found out that quinoa isn't a grain. (!)