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Interesting article on Wheat and why we shou... - Vasculitis UK
Interesting article on Wheat and why we should ALL avoid it not just autoimmune sufferers.
Written by
HiveMind
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8 Replies
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The article ooks like a rather complicated and unbalanced rant. Joining the dots to connect various random studies can produce many different patterns if the wrong dots are joined to the wrong dots.
No doubt various points merit consideration but bear in mind that this is an American site and American standards of chemical use in farming are quite different to those in Europe, also of untested GM crops some of which Russian studies have found to have quite profound effects on the digestive system.
A further consideration is the positive aspect of nutrition from wheat and other grains and the fact that malnutrition is not a major problem in the Western countries and grain is one of the cheapest and most nutritious forms of available food.
May not be the ideal food for everyone but it seems to feed a very large number of people quite successfully!
I have read this article and most of it was way over my head , but what I would like to say is that when I first was diagnosed with lupus , my research into diet and how it affects you meant that I took on an elimination diet and found that wheat ,oats etc were one of the things that caused me immense pain I have lots of foods that I am intolerant too and do my utmost to keep them out of my daily diet I am not pain free and still have flares ,but I firmly believe that my diet has helped me keep out of the wheelchair I was in . My mantra is not all food is good for you SORRY just my little rant as I dread to think what I would be like if I hadn't taken charge of what foods I eat.
Seemingly feeding a large number of people is a good conscience salver. Having no regard to the long term outcome of their health is not so good.
My only point is that what makes one person ill is not necessarily something which ALL people should be denied.
I do not think the long term general health of Italians has suffered from the fact that durum wheat has been the staple of their diet since Roman times.
All I ask is that one should be reasonable. If you are intolerant to something then of course it is most important not to eat it but I do not think it is right to extrapolate from your own problem that the rest of the world should not eat it either when for so many bread, pasta, porridge etc. are healthy, nutritious and affordable foods. The letter says in capitals that ALL people should avoid wheat, that is what I disagree with.
I was diagnosed with PAN, and at the time I was being diagnosed, I had one, and only one positive blood test for coeliacs. Blood never tested positive after that, and biopsies all negative. However, I have stayed off wheat ever since, two years now, and have taken minimal amounts of barley and rye. Also have not eaten yeasted bread of any sort. I am concerned about modern wheat strains, but also about freeze dried yeast, and the combination that we all eat so much of. My PAN has responded very well to treatment so far - all progress since diagnosis except for minor dips after virus type colds. Still on 5mg steroids a day and 15mg methotrexate once a week. Our immune weakenened bodies need to be looked after, and so many people are wheat intolerant these days that I would recommend everyone look for the obvious signs of intolerance - noticeable tiredness after eating, bloated feeling, needing to eat more, bigger sandwiches/bits of pizza/cake/biscuits. Hence weight gain, but after that, involuntary weight loss as the body stops being able to absorb nutrients. It's at that point the medics start to get concerned.
I didn't think this article would stir up so much debate! It was purely for information to give intelligent readers (with minds of their own) something to mull over.
The strains of wheat that are around nowadays are used to produce high yields not necessarily for flavour or the benefit of human digestion. It takes thousands of years for the human body to learn to adapt their digestion of "new" foods. Isn't that ALL of us? Not just coeliacs etc.
I personally eat (or try to) a gluten free diet as I've found I feel much better doing this. I too discovered, by trial and error, that it might have been what I was eating that was contributing to my ill health.
I appreciate others may have differing opinions. However this article was meant for information only.
I so appreciate that the article was placed for each and everyone to read and make their own choice. I was giving my own experience and would not assume that everyone do as I do I must say that over my 20 yrs of being food aware all those who have had some sort of auto immune disease and tried an elimination diet have found that wheat was definitely a contributing factor to their problem and when that was removed symptoms improved In my case I cannot eat red meat again that is for me May I also I there would be nothing I would like better than to tuck into a bacon sannie but is it worth All I say to people is try it If it helps good and well if not what have you lost Maybe a couple of pounds Thank you and take care
John_MillsVolunteer
I have read the article in question. Unfortunately it is one of those mixes of pseudo-science and opinion. There is a list of references that offer no evidence to support what is stated in the article, just references to other unverified opinions. There are indeed scientific studies that show that there is a proportion of the population that suffers from undetected coeliac disease - but around 1% only. Around 50% of the world depends on wheat as staple food. So thats almost 4 billion people.
Yes interesting, I've passed it on to my mother, who has celiac/coeliac disease. I'm not too sure about it all myself; surely if wheat were that dangerous(to 'normal people, that is) then the whole world would be dead and clearly we are not!! I'm also of the opinion that, having survived vacuities, for fifteen years; I am also now on dialysis, three times a week, the 'dubious dangers' of wheat are the least of my worries! In short to those who would wish to tell us our everyday foodstuffs are dangerous I'll say this 'Save you warnings for things that can actually harm people, like cyanide or aconite' and stop 'picking' on long established foodstuffs.
I hope that the above 'came over' as I intended, I'm not entirely 'poo-pooing' the research, just trying to get a sense of perspective into it. I'm sorry if anyone is offended, by my rather direct approach but that's me 'says it like it is'.
Do take the time to read the article I'd be interested to know if you agree with me or not.
Best wishes
AndrewT
