What's going on with wheat?

[restingintheshade]

I'm wondering about why so many people claim to feel better without it now, not just people with allergies.
I know that many unhealthy products contain wheat, such as UPF's and sugary snacks, but I wondered about organic?

Most people seemed to do just fine when I was young eating decent bread. I doubt it was as adulterated then, though, and some of the labels are shocking now with over 30 added ingredients that are unnecessary and weird.

A simple tortilla wrap in Tesco this week contained about 30: glycerol, palm fat, fatty acids, emulsifiers among them. Yet there are organic versions on the market that are very tasty.
There are also many breads that only contain flour, salt and yeast, etc, and aren't too hard to find (Tesco Boule, sourdoughs, Crosta and Mollica and more).

I would love to know when this change happened, since no one seemed to have issues with bread when I was in my 20's (around the millenium). Has the production changed since then, apart from the added upf's?
If it is because the wheat has been changed or modified, why don't people use organic as opposed to just quitting wheat altogether?

I don't seem to have any issues with it, physically, but it isn't a regular part of my diet. Making sense of food trends is a tricky thing!

Perhaps we've just got better at diagnosing things like coeliac disease so people understand why they feel unwell or have IBS all the time?

Supermarket bread gives me bloating, abdo pain and diarrhoea. Homemade bread is fine. So I think I'm ok with wheat, just not with all the other things which are added.

Often attributed to Chorleywood process although that’s been around longer than the time span you mention

I'm absolutely fine with anything homemade or from a good bakery (live in London, so we're practically drowning in artisanal breads) but supermarket bread makes me feel awful.

I'm American and I've noticed when we're back in the US I feel much better if I avoid most bread.

Lots of people attribute reactions to the Chorleywood Process, which would seem to make sense in terms of people being fine with sourdough or slow yeasted rising, but I don't know that it's ever really been researched.

I would imagine the organic stuff doesn't go through the Chorleywood process?

For instance, if I purchased (theoretically) some organic wholegrain pasta, does this still have issues?
I'm asking because someone once told me why this was still problematic but I can't recall their reason now!

There’s also the type of wheat actually. So apparently we have changed what we grow over time and in fact in the US it’s harder / has more gluten whereas in Europe we generally use softer wheat other than durum wheat for pasta etc

Just googled chorleywood - that is quite interesting, and depressing. Glad to see there's some push back against it, consumer-wise.

Lots of people attribute reactions to the Chorleywood Process, which would seem to make sense in terms of people being fine with sourdough or slow yeasted rising, but I don't know that it's ever really been researched

There was a guy on R4 recently - and I can’t for the life me remember what his name was - but he’s doing exactly that. Had lots of examples of people being able to tolerate - proper - sourdough and the reasons why he thought it was the case. In my DDs case, she can’t tolerate even supposedly gluten free ready made supermarket bread. The same sort of reaction as to gluten. We think it’s the emulsifiers used and so she now avoids any of gluten free products and cooks from scratch wherever possible. Unnecessarily added stuff to things that traditionally contain only 3 or 4 ingredients, is certainly an issue I believe.

Recently read a Zoe article about emulsifiers, not great at all. I imagine a few of these additives will be banned eventually.

Chorleywood is only for things that rise, so wouldn't apply to pasta. As a PP said, there are a lot of differences in wheat around the world, partly dependent on climate and region. Italian wheat, for example, is softer with less gluten, and is often from traditional and older varieties, so some people tolerate those better.

I'm fine with pasta, although always buy Italian ones, it's really just supermarket bread for me.

I'm not coeliac but I avoid gluten. I noticed a few years ago that I was angry, shouty, stroppy. Docs recommended anti-depressants and I wanted to avoid. Spoke to a friend who said she'd given up gluten and found herself calmer / happier. I thought it was rubbish but gave it a try and I am much happier. I now know if I eat a pizza, that within 48 hrs I'll be crying over something silly. No scientific evidence whatsoever. I also stopped getting psoriasis on my scalp.

Ps. I'm also hypothyroid so it may all be linked to auto-immunity.

A) Genetic modification
B) Different wheat species to ensure year-round supplies
C) Gluten added to most commercial breads for “stretch”
D) Better testing/Understanding of coeliac disease & intolerance
E) Far more bloody people

I think it's because we eat so much more of it now.

Wheaty cereals and toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta with garlic bread at the evening meal.

When I was a child in the 60s and 70s, breakfast was often porridge, lunch was a hot school meal and the evening meal was usually meat and two veg, including potatoes.

I cut down UPF about 15 months ago. Cutting out sugar (booze), wheat, saturated fats and reducing red meat. We ha e switched to far more veg, fish, legumes and brown rice. Once a week I might have a small portion of wholewheat pasta.

Within a few weeks, every bit of eczema cleared up along with my generalised aches and pains. If I have a couple of portions of bread (as I did on holiday recently) my eczema flares.

I genuinely feel so much better and have lost 35lb without dieting.

I was absolutely fine with gluten untill I got COVID a couple of years ago. Now I avoid it because it gives me horrible stomach cramps and other symptoms 🤢😑😑

I can't eat products made with white flour any more. Pasta, bread, cakes, pizza, pastries, couscous, all make me bloated. Give me an upset stomach and generally make me feel poorly.

However, I buy flour milled at an 18th century heritage windmill near us. They use a heritage variety of grain, which is milled between two huge stones as it was 200 years ago and then packed.

Nothing else, no flour enhancer, no anti-caking agent, no added vitamins, just rough wholemeal with all the fibre & bran retained.

And it's brilliant. Not only does it not make me poorly. It actually makes me feel healthier. I use it to make apple bread for breakfast, a very rough pizza base or a very grainy crusty bread. It isn't cheap but for me, worth every penny.

I seem to be atypical

Noticed that over time I feel better after eating decent quality carbs.

My current diet looks just like the very healthy plant based one above, with lean meat and fish, tons of good stuff, and I have more aches and pains and IBS now!
I don't consume lactose or high fodmaps either.

I often wonder if a lot of our issues might have other, environmental or behavioural causes. We are all so different.
I often envy those who say all of their ailments magically cleared up after quitting gluten and dairy. If only!

Wheat is genetically modified now. It’s nothing like the ancient grain we used to eat.

Banning mustard would be a bit extreme, and it would result in making a decent vinaigrette impossible.

I saw some wheat in a field recently that looked like some sort of alien species...sounds dramatic but it was quite upsetting. It was almost blue in colour!

Also (and this is probably nothing to do with gluten intolerance but interesting and also depressing) did you know that farmers often spray herbicide onto their wheat so that it's ready to harvest at a set time? So they basically kill their whole field of wheat one week before harvest. I don't know whether this is always done and I know that it saves the wheat if rain is due, but it's still a bit worrying. I really wish I'd known this when my children were young so I could have bought organic wheat products.

Most searches claim durum wheat organic pasta is not GMO.

Haha mustard! never!
There are some unsettling ones though. Can link to podcast if anyone's interested.

My current diet looks just like the very healthy plant based one above, with lean meat and fish, tons of good stuff, and I have more aches and pains and IBS now!

A diet that's exclusively lean meat and fish, without some fats, oils and offal, is not going to give you what you need to avoid the joint aches and pains.

The modern obsession with high lean protein intake is not healthy.

I've also noticed that one or two days after consuming gluten I have a few hours of quite extreme depression. I know if I just wait it will lift.

Just no.
This presumes a lot. I said my diet was very plant heavy and with lean meat and fish, that includes oily fish, cheese, eggs and lots of nuts.
I sometimes think that unless we leave extensive disclaimers beneath every comment we make here, someone will take us wildly out of context!

Edit: and this is the second time in this thread where you have made a wild assumption from a single sentence.

I’d never heard that about the Chorleywood process, how interesting.