Gluten

[Hihosilver123]

I had a recent discussion with a friend who is very health conscious. She runs a lot and eats a healthy diet. Wouldn’t touch a biscuit (unlike me)! Anyway, she told me she was going to give up gluten. She doesn’t have an intolerance. Am I right in thinking that there’s nothing wrong with gluten unless you are intolerant? It seems to be considered unhealthy by some?

I gave up gluten as it's simpler than explaining that bread, pasta, biscuits etc cause me to go on a feeding frenzy, bloat, and be very bad tempered. It's good shorthand.

@Hihosilver123
Am I right in thinking that there’s nothing wrong with gluten unless you are intolerant?

Yes!

You are right. My sisters’ consultant said so. One has coeliac disease and one has an intolerance but he explained that if you don’t have CD, an intolerance or any adverse effects from it there’s no reason to avoid.

Yes you're right - and a lot of the free from alternatives are full of crap (gf bread is an example).

But if she means she's giving up bread, pasta, cake, and biscuits and substituting them with other things rather than the free from alternatives, it could be a healthier diet.

Yes that's what I meant upthread. I wasn't at all clear!

Try giving it up for a few weeks and see how you go. Strangely my eyesight improved when I went gluten free, no idea why. It was too difficult for me to maintain though

Apparently it is very hard to tell what symptoms are food intolerances; I have read that gluten affects everyone negatively in different ways and to differing extents, be it gastrointestinal/skin/other. It's not always like you eat it and something very obvious happens, it's more subtle than that.

I believe wheat is a newer food and not something humans traditionally ate, evolved and thrived on. Definitely an argument that people feel better/lose weight without it but of course it depends what else you're eating.

I don't avoid it entirely and certainly don't choose marketed GF alternatives (agree a lot of those are UPF, though I would choose rice pasta over wheat) but I do try to limit, and focus on protein and good fats.

I am gluten free. It makes my stomach hurt and makes me feel sick ( possible ibs related ) I find this interesting.
Mostly becuase gluten free food is so awful I’m never sure why people would want to eat it. You can only eat gluten free bread if it is toasted and even then it tastes like crap and it is so expensive. Ever tried a gluten free pizza. Ugh it is horrible. And my bank account was definitely better before I had to pay double for things. Baffling.

Agree. I can’t see why people would go gluten free unless there’s a medical reason. I do think that there’s some misunderstanding from some who think it’s unhealthy and giving it up is beneficial.

I ate gluten this week for the first time in a couple of years. When I stopped I felt awful and it was miraculous. I was curious to see what would happen so I tried it….no change so far.

Where do you live? There are a couple of places in Glasgow that do decent g/f pizza - as you say not cheap though.

Morrisons used to do a decent fresh g/f pizza but I don't know if they still do.

Zen B's pasta is quite good and there's generally money offers kicking about. I'm not sure if it's only online.

Beyond that I agree that a lot of processed g/f stuff is nothing like the real thing. It's a lot better than it was.