Hi everybody
I've read in a lot of places that there is no "mostly gluten free" - that you either are or aren't. Does that mean that just cutting down will make no difference whatsoever? If so why?
Curious as I'm currently attempting to go gluten free, but I do occasionally give in to temptation (usually in times of stress) however I have reduced my intake by at least 80%. Will that have done me any good at all?
Thanks
If someone is has Celiac, there is no alternative but a gluten free life...
But if someone has other metabolism problems, including thyroid, it can be a positive thing to reduce or cut completely the amount of grains and flours consumed. Some grains contain gluten, some don't but all of then are essentially sugars, I mean carbs and carbs = sugar
Ex. rice, good old carb source which can be be as bad as a baguette...
One has to experiment and find out what is good for you. In my case I have cut sugar completely for two years. I was fantastic helped me have a much better life. Now I take very little risks but I do eat sugar her and there. I eat gluten rich foods in moderation, mostly because I think no one should be gorging on bread or pasta...
Make your own experiences and find a balanced diet that works for you.
Thank you, that was a very clear explanation - yeah I do suspect that I would benefit from the lifestyle as you have, it's just finding the willpower some days - bread may not be the most nutritious food out there, but by god do I love it :'D
Unfortunately it's often the foods we love which are the ones we turn out to be sensitive to.
I thought just the other day that it would be nice to have fish and chips for a change - no cooking and that lovely scrunchy batter... but as wheat and potatoes disagree with me it's no use....
Boothster, we just had a comprehensive summit about gluten call Betrayal. Dr. Tom O'Bryan et al. explain very thoroughly the problem with gluten. This happens to EVERYONE who attempts to digest gluten. Most carbs contain gluten but it is the wheat, barley, rye which is very sticky by the way and forms clumps. These clumps tend to separate the chain link that protects the gut. Once they open it allows undigested particles to go right through to the bloodstream. As I said, this happens to everyone but the length of time this leaky gut remains leaky is the difference in people who can get away with eating it. The other problem is if you have an autoimmune condition with antibodies the thyroid gland appears from one angle like a gluten protein and that's what happens with Hashimoto's. Your immune cells will target gluten particles and thyroid proteins. It was quite an eye opening series and very motivating when you know what happens.
It has to be absolutely strictly....including avoiding cross contamination. Eg watch out for shared toaster, butter, jam, honey, cutting mat etc
Yes I agree with slow dragon - must be 100% completely free or likely to see little difference. If you do have a problem with gluten and you eat it, like me, it is shown to trigger my immune system for at least up to three months. Even one crumb or minute cross contamination will put me in bed for a week. So basically even eating it once a week is likely to make little difference and could keep you just as ill. Obviously, you could be different but you won't know that until you've been completely off it for 3-6 months to see the difference it could make and then try it again to see if has any impact. It could be that it makes no difference at all but you won't know until you've tried it properly.
Intolerances of other foods don't seem so complicated or long lasting in impact - I can eat some of the other things I have a few probs with and be fine the next day. None other food groups seem to have the same possible long-term impact as gluten - for instance coeliacs won't even start healing or see lowered antibodies for over year and often not fully until five years after a gluten free diet. Personally it took me a year and a half initially to resolve all issues (many things did clear up after three months though - just not all) and takes at least three months after a six week gluten trial to get my bloods back to normal.
I agree to as im celiac so have to be sooo strict and as the others have said cross contamination is where you can go wrong knives, pots and pans, oven racks etc. You do need to read all packaging ingredients aswell.xx
I've read so much lately regarding Hashimoto's and watched hundreds of hours of videos. Amongst that lot somewhere was an explanation of how our body deals with gluten. We are not meant to eat it, our gut struggles with it, and it basically poisons us so our gut has to work much harder to get rid of it. Going gluten free did nothing to help me feel better; I had to stop eating all grains & that made a massive difference to my health. I ate a bowl of porridge (oats) one evening & I felt totally ill for 5 days.
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