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| I've gone Wheat Free! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 11 2013, 05:02 AM (1,161 Views) | |
| Sannois | Apr 11 2013, 05:02 AM Post #1 |
You're BANNED!
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I have really taken a hard look at the food I eat this winter. I read Wheat Belly and it is sure a scary eye opener. I have pretty much gone Paleo, with the exception of a tiny bit of real cheese and yogurt. Since going off all wheat, and I mean not a thing processed, cause even things like salad dressing have wheat product in them, I feel better. Still battling the waist line, but that is a matter of hitting the aerobics more. I do not miss the wheat. In fact I have a friend who works at a little meat market who had issues a year ago with a bounding heart beat. she felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. Doctor said have you looked at dropping wheat from your diet. IT worked. I was fascinated by this because I had been having those weird issues too. NEver thought it was the wheat, but if I slip and have a piece of bread. Same symptom. Not to mention I feel down right crappy. I highly recommend reading the book as it is not fanatical, Celiac disease is a recent disease, in that last 20 or so years it has reared its head. Shadowmare can shed some more light on it. The wheat produced today is not even close to being the wheat of 50 years ago. it is GMO. Scary stuff. The bodies reaction to it is to raise the blood sugar! I am almost fanatical about what I buy, and the really shocking thing is, look in peoples grocery carts in the store. Nothing but processed junk and white sugar. No wonder there are so many sick people in this country. Loving the Paleo diet. I am still on the hunt for Grass fed beef only. I have free range eggs, from a farmer and Amish chickens. |
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| stephjm | Apr 11 2013, 06:18 AM Post #2 |
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
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It takes dedication to make that decision, Kim, and I'm glad you feel so much better! My mom went gluten-free about a year ago and she feels much better in general also when she stays off the wheat. And there are still baked goods, etc. that you can make without wheat if you want something like that. As far as beef, have you looked into Heffron Farms? I know they have a website. I'm not sure if they have completely grass-fed beef, they might feed a little grain though. But their beef is really tasty. Also Byron Center Meats I think carries some good meat, although it's a bit farther for you to drive. I always see good meat producers at the Fulton Street Farmer's Market as well. |
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| ShadowMare | Apr 11 2013, 07:16 AM Post #3 |
We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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Yes, I definitely deal with Celiac Disease as I was born with it and have suffered some very severe consequences in my life due to Celiac. I think I'd like to clarify a few things, tho. Sanny, you wrote "Celiac disease is a recent disease, in that last 20 or so years it has reared its head." Indeed the USE OF WHEAT in our general food chain has increased dramatically in that period, but Celiac disease has (a) been around for thousands of years, and (b) the Egyptians, Chinese, Jews and many other peoples have known about it for thousands of years. The SPECIFIC blood test for it was developed in the 1800's and the antigen tests have been known for decades. Cell analysis of the small intestine to definitively prove the extent of damage and level of the disease was initially developed in 1905 and of course perfected over the decades. The USA is woefully waaaayyyy behind many other countries that monitor this disease in their citizens. Italy demands that every child be diagnosed by the age of six. Other European countries have similar rules. Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore all are very aware of this problem and generally have their kids diagnosed by end of grammar school. If you are old enough and can think back to the "menus" that restaurants had in the 1960's and 1970's you would not recognize the available dishes versus today's menus. Items like a salad with FRESH tuna fish salad or egg salad on it, homemade soup with NO wheat in it (yes, ALL of Campbell soups have wheat in them except their chicken or beef broths...read the labels!)...frankly, if you eat a diet that is similar to what my grandparents and parents ate, you will have to do most of your own cooking, read every label and eat VERY differently than what most folks eat in this current society. You don't have to 'go Paleo' to see a change! (Though imho, Paleo is fine for some, it is not a panacea for all). Celiac is an autoimmune response to gluten, which is NOT just in wheat. Barley, many other "grasses" and things you would not imagine have "gluten" in them. There IS a difference between "wheat intolerance" and "Celiac Disease". Think of it more as a spectrum analysis...true Celiac disease CAN be very dangerous, especially for women. If undetected and no dietary restrictions occur, it can be a fomenter of colon cancer, and in women will truly disturb the endocrine system and female hormones. It can cause miscarriages and stillbirths. Sadly, many medical schools in the USA do not really teach the breadth and depth of what it can do, and many doctors just think it is a mild disturbance to the digestion...the symptoms they are taught relate to MEN's symptoms which are very different than what occurs in women. Often, they will diagnose "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" especially in women and it will not be treated correctly, thereby causing more damage as years go on. Absolutely the last two to three decades there has been an amazing increase in the use of wheat/gluten in foods. I believe (and there are some studies to substantiate it) the vast increase in obesity and diabetes is partly due to this increase. My grandfather was a cattle rancher for decades and the ONE sure thing that increase the weight of his cattle to go to market was to feed them wheat in their daily rations. Worked every time. If you read labels you will not necessarily know there is gluten in a product..."modified food starch" is a "cover phrase" used and it IS gluten, usually from wheat, but also from other gluten sources. Anything with vinegar in it may be a trigger as the PROCESS to make it uses wheat products. A true Celiac also cannot use many shampoos, toothpastes, lotions, etc, because there are wheat/gluten products in them. Look at and be careful of getting spice bottles that do not say "Gluten Free" because they use ground wheat or gluten products to help the spice flow more easily (a surfactant). Becoming TRULY educated in this morass of gluten in everything takes real study and time. You CAN have "baked goods" that are VERY tasty and a wonderfully rich diet with lots of variety and STILL be Gluten Free. If you are NOT a Celiac person or have any "wheat sensitivity" that's ok, you can still eat this way. Likely would be healthy overall. There are now MANY companies who make gluten free products that taste delicious and are available in grocery stores...but you have to look at each grocery chain in your area to see who stocks those. Additionally, each person who IS Celiac has some variance in sensitivities...ie, I cannot eat oats or quinoa, but some Celiacs can do so safely...again, it is a "spectrum" and some are more severe in their reactions. I would like to offer the following links for those who are interested: http://www.celiac.org/ http://celiac-disease.com/celiac-faq/ http://celiac-disease.com/celiac-faq/#LinkedDiseases https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/celiac-disease/DS00319 http://www.celiaccentral.org/Education/Women-s-Health/438/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046043/ http://www.celiac.com/ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38085.php |
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| Fish Cheeks | Apr 11 2013, 08:11 AM Post #4 |
You're BANNED!
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Good for you for making positive diet changes, Sanny! SM, that is really interesting information. A couple things you wrote struck me, one was about the increase in diabetes and obesity. It is so hard to know what is in food these days. One has to really work to self-educate and read labels and take control of one's diet. More fresh foods, get rid of the processed crap! Your comment about your grandfather putting weight on cattle with wheat makes me wonder about horses these days, too. I don't feed any grain to my horses, so don't know about what's in the commercial horse feeds, but it makes me wonder if there's any of that crap in there that contributes to metabolic syndrome? I have no idea, but it would be curious to read about. I know the manufacturers these days have "low carb" grains and certainly are offering products for metabolic horses, I just wonder about how it is all made. Certainly processed food isn't really good for anyone! I went through a recent diet change because I was feeling bloated all the time. I hadn't really gained weight, but just felt gross. For a while I was gassy so tried eliminating all sorts of things to figure out what was causing it, and it was my breakfast cereal. Since I took over the cooking in the house (gasp! until now I've never cooked!), we have smoothies for breakfast, salad with hummus in a wrap for lunch, and whatever I make for dinner that is vegetarian and uses as much fresh ingredients as possible. I didn't realize how much better I feel until we went out for Mexican food last weekend. We used to go every Sunday night but hadn't been for months. We each had our usual - chips & salsa, vegetarian burrito for me, pork burrito for Mr. Fishy - and the next morning I felt AWFUL! I tend to not hop on the current-diet-craze bandwagon, but that book sounds like an interesting read. |
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| Sannois | Apr 11 2013, 10:23 AM Post #5 |
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You're BANNED!
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Well I did it for the fact that after reading Wheat Belly, Written by a cardiologist IT blew my mind. Not because of Celiac. He goes into great detail about how todays wheat is nothing even resembling the wheat that was grown 50 years ago. I highly recommend the book. IT is on Kindle for 7.99 And Steph, Thanks for the thing about Heffron Farms, I> completely forgot about them. I like the Paleo Primal aspect of this whole thing because it is real food, and Your body was meant to function on it. Another thing, I am not tired all the time anymore. And my knees quit bothering me. I gave up Pretty much all starches. Once in a while I have some brown rice but then I feel bloated all day. No potatoes either. And it si cheaper in the long run. Some fish is expensive, Wild caught only, but if you add up how much you are paying for all the fake food it is scary. You know what is even scarier, you can't even get a jar of Pickles without something added to it. So this summer I am going to try my hand at canning. Barb, he said (Doc in Book) that the disease was hardly ever seen to the extent it is now. And it is so prevalent in folks that eat a high processed diet and loaded with Wheat. And diabetics benefit greatly from dropping all forms of Wheat. Truth be told, I do not like how I feel if I have any, now it is a matter of putting together enough recipes. I found a great recipe for Spaghetti, Home made MArinara sauce. and Spaghetti squash, you do not know you are not eating Spaghetti and no bloat! I am a spice freak now. I think all our bodies crave real food, And if I cannot pronounce something in a fodd, I do not eat it!   |
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| stephjm | Apr 11 2013, 10:54 AM Post #6 |
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It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure!
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Kim, if you want some really good cheese and other products (I think they might have some meat too), check out Grassfields Farm (or Grassfield, can't remember which). They also have a website. It's out near Coopersville but they do sell the cheese in some stores like Kingma's. They make their own cheese from their own milk from entirely organic grass-fed cows. It's delicious cheese too. If you want to have a little dairy products and want to make sure it's good, that's the place to get it. I always say this, I should eat better, I have no real excuse. We have gotten better in general but there's always more to do. When I find good local suppliers of food, though, I try to support them! |
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| onthebit | Apr 11 2013, 01:03 PM Post #7 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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I have eaten mostly paleo/primal for about 18 months now, I would say about 80% of the time. I don't eat pasta anymore at all which was hard at first as I looooove pasta, was never much of a bread person, quit drinking soft drinks of any kind years ago, but I have a major sweet tooth so I still eat sweet treats once or twice a week. I wasn't overweight but I wanted to eat healthier. I try to avoid buying anything in a box or a can. I have basically had to relearn how to cook, have learned to plan to have good snacks available, and really had to change my habits. The first 90 days were super hard, then it just got easier and easier as my eating and shopping habits changed. I buy a lot of fruits and vegetables, seafood, meat/chicken/pork, eggs, and nuts and my spice and seasoning collection has grown exponentially. I've bought lots of paleo/primal cookbooks and have been rebuilding my recipe collection. My husband was not at all on board with my diet change, but sort of had it forced on him to an extent unless he wanted to start cooking his own meals. He is now a convert and can't believe how much better he feels. He lost 30 pounds without trying to watch calories or eat less, and stopped complaining about his achy knees. A couple of months ago we had 2 or 3 weeks where we got pretty off track with our eating. My husband was the one that asked that we get completely back on our whole food approach to eating because in just a couple of weeks he had gained weight, was bloated and his knees were aching again. We really are what we eat. |
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| Sannois | Apr 11 2013, 01:31 PM Post #8 |
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You're BANNED!
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Thanks Steph, I think I will try and take a trip to GR soon to canvas some of these places. |
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 11 2013, 01:41 PM Post #9 |
You're BANNED!
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We are embarking on a 5 day "cleanse" program this coming week, which is fairly extreme but short, and then we'll see where we end up. I have a friend that is a holistic nutritionist so she is directing this program (not just for us!) and we're using it as a stepping off point toward reorganizing our eating. This is no wheat, meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol or caffeine, and is heavy on the vegetables. But it includes other whole grains (quinoa, oats, buckwheat, etc.) although many of the meals don't have any grain. The point is to give your system a "break" and also try to break cycles of addiction (like sugar) then reintroduce foods gradually and carefully because many people suffer from mild gluten and dairy intolerances but don't realize it until they stop eating it and then start again. I don't eat a lot of gluten, but my kids do; and that is the hardest thing to change - their eating, not mine. I also don't have unlimited time to cook meals from scratch 3 times a day, and while I would be satisfied with a handful of nuts and some veggies, they are not. I also eat very little sugar except for a teaspoon in my coffee, and almost never eat sweets, but naturally the kids crave them. But then again, I love wine.... I have my own vices. Anyway, I am hoping that this will give us a little kick start; I am my own biggest enemy because I hate to plan meals. E.g. it is 4:41, I have no dinner plans and we have to leave by 6. Hmmm....not good.  That's when it's easy to grab something like a sandwich, or pasta, or something else processed.
Edited by Trialbyfire, Apr 11 2013, 01:42 PM.
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| FlashGordon | Apr 11 2013, 02:52 PM Post #10 |
You're BANNED!
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We went gluten free at the turn of the year-- Mr. FG lost 15lbs and I lost 12lbs. I also felt IMMENSELY better. No flares, respiratory symptoms calmed down, more energy, slept better, no stomach upset. His mom came into town a few weeks ago and we fell off the wagon. That, combined with stress, triggered a flare and I've felt like sh!t ever since. Now buckling down again and going back off it and all processed food. It is pretty amazing how great you feel when you avoid it. Another great/helpful book is Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. |
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| SnackPack | Apr 11 2013, 09:48 PM Post #11 |
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So my issue with this is that I can't seem to eat vegetables without feeling pretty terrible. Well, truthfully, I have more than one issue as givin up chocolate and my Diet Coke would make me very sad. I have given up chocolate before, but it was short-ish term (a year) and mostly just as a challenge. I don't think I could manage it again for very long. I LOVE chocolate...and sweets. But back to the veggies: I prefer my veggies raw. If I eat a lot of veggies, I get painfully gassy. Like it takes my breath away how much it hurts. For instance, today I had broccoli, carrots and sugar peas with hummus for lunch around 12:45. By 3:30, I was in pain. I end up feeling the same when I eat lots of stuff high in fiber. So while I don't think it's the veggies per se, I think the higher fiber than I'm used to is the cause or a least a significant contributing factor to my pain. |
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 12 2013, 03:37 AM Post #12 |
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You're BANNED!
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Luckily this is just a week - it's not a lifestyle...that would be very hard and sad. That is why (in my opinion) that "diets" like Paleo (Atkins, whatever) are "fad-ish" because they are very difficult to sustain long term -- especially for people with kids and/or who travel. Traveling is the kiss of death for any type of "diet"...Eliminating or reducing certain things is a little easier, and definitely worth trying. And if certain things bother a person, it makes it easier to eliminate them voluntarily. In your case, I would think the combination of hummus, broccoli and peas is particularly brave. Legume, brassica, legume....lots of people get gassy on any of these, and all together they give you a triple whammy, especially raw. Maybe try hummus, spinach, carrots? Or hummus, cucumbers & cheddar cheese (Ok, that's my personal favorite  ) Or you might find that it's really the chick pea hummus that is tough for you. You could try a different type of bean hummus, or skip the hummus and see if it helps.I don't have too much trouble with vegetables or beans but a lot of people do. I think if you eat them more often it does help, but some people really struggle with beans. |
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| Sannois | Apr 12 2013, 03:47 AM Post #13 |
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You're BANNED!
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Nice to see a busy topic! I think the clincher for me was seeing I mean really seeing how the food that most putting in their bodies is pure poison. And the body reacts over time trying to deal with it. The Book really spells out what is happening internally. And it opened my eyes. The stuff is so far removed from real food it's a wonder we have so much disease. I highly recommend the book. It is straight forward and easy to understand. My fridge has never looked better. The only sugar I have now, is the two teaspoons in my coffee. Honey just tastes funny in coffee. The Paleo Diet says no legumes, just nuts and seeds, Peanuts are a legume. I do not drink milk at all anymore. and unless you are going to drink it raw it is worthless. BUT GOOD LUCK FINDING RAW unless you have a cow. Amazing what the food and drug considers safe, Chemicals and additives, but god forbid you drink pure milk.  Oh on another note, I have not had ANY gassy symptoms at all since getting rid of wheat, it is amazing. And hardly any heart burn at all. Edit, Trial, Soda of any kind is the WORST for your body, IF you are a woman it leaches Calcium from your bones. the carbonation I gave up all forms of soda almost 16 years ago and never looked back. All kinds of stomach problems gassyness especially were gone! Edited by Sannois, Apr 12 2013, 03:51 AM.
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| Trialbyfire | Apr 12 2013, 04:32 AM Post #14 |
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The changing properties of wheat is something that's been talked about for a long time; I know that Wheat Belly got a lot of attention but I found it a rather dry read compared to some other books that have a lot of the same information (without the cardiologist background). My absolute favorite is Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"...it feels more like a "Eat this" book than a "Don't eat this" book to me. I agree, though, that a lot of what ails Americans is our diet. It's really quite scary. My in-laws actually think foods that are "sugar free" and "fat free" are better than real. So they have things like Weight Watcher's Bread with "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter", fat free "Brown and Serve Sausages" and fat free, sugar free yogurt.  Ack, I'm gagging just typing this out. This was an actual meal served to me once. I thought I would die.
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| Kassandra | Apr 12 2013, 06:42 AM Post #15 |
Is the meadow on fire?
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I agree. I just ignore all the fads and eat as real of food as I can. We eat very little processed food. I live more by Michael Pollans rule, eat real food, not too much, mostly plants. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20090323/7-rules-for-eating I was a very strict vegetarian for 10 years, tried Atkins at one time, any time I followed some "plan" to give up something it just didn't work in the end. I also simply don't want to be obsessed with any sort of "diet". I know what is "real food" and what isn't for the most part, I try not to stuff myself, try to do everything in moderation. Edited by Kassandra, Apr 12 2013, 06:43 AM.
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