Avoiding gluten is not harmful

Published 2.23.2016
So now avoiding gluten can be dangerous? Sorry, I'm not buying it. I suppose if you replace whole grain breads with refined replacements, but let's get real here. Most bread do NOT eat breads made from whole grains. They buy bags or bread from grocery stores (whether mass produced or baked in the store's bakery) that are made from REFINED grain flours, mostly wheat. Therefore choosing to buy gluten free breads made with other refined grains changes nothing.

Unless you're a wheat farmer, the only people who are injured by people eating less wheat are processed food companies. And they are adapting and making gluten free options to replace the lost revenue from refined wheat product sales.

And where is it written that whole grain products can only be manufactured from gluten containing grains? So wheat, barley and rye are off the menu. What about amaranth, teff, millet, oats and rice— to name a few. Just because US food producers have bet the farm on gluten grains does not mean they are the only options.

I'm also skeptical (though please note, I am not a medical professional) that people avoiding gluten who happen to have undiagnosed celiac's are being harmed. The only treatment for celiac at the moment is complete avoidance of gluten. Does it really matter is there isn't an official diagnosis? Yes, there are other diseases associated with celiac's, but if you arrest the celiac's, wouldn't you lower the risk for these diseases as well? What about societies that don't traditionally eat wheat? Somehow they managed to survive and thrive without gluten.

I've written about my "gluten tale" previously. I do not avoid all gluten, but I do severely minimize my exposure. I was tested for celiac's before I removed most gluten from my diet, and the test was negative. I chose to avoid gluten (and lactose) because in doing so I completely resolved my chronic diarrhea. I've noted before that the lactose intolerance test that I took (again take before I made any dietary changes) was negative too. And yet, eliminating lactose had an immediate beneficial effect. To completely eliminate the symptoms though I had to avoid gluten.

Placebo? Not after five years, I say. No one ever fusses when I say I avoid lactose— nope, it's just the gluten avoidance that gets mocked.

Have I challenged my gut with either gluten or lactose? As I've noted, I only minimized gluten in my diet, so yes, I still eat small amounts of it, typically without any bad effect. The few unfortunate reactions I've had just indicate to me that I over did it. Interestingly, drinking most beers probably does not result in as much gluten exposure as many (including me) tend to think. In my home, I am happily and easily gluten free. The effect that lactose has on me, on the other hand, has only gotten progressively worse. It's an experiment (usually completely accidental) that gives repeatable results. If I ingest lactose unknowingly— usually in a dish made with milk or cream that I was unaware of— I know it within hours. The process is unpleasant, and a life without most dairy is well worth it to avoid that consequence.

I don't stop other people from ingesting either lactose or gluten. Every other member of my family continues to do so, but they don't suffer the glut effects that I do. I am not harming myself by choosing to eat other whole grain options and avoid gluten.

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