Gluten free...

[penguinz]

One of the most annoying diet fads in history.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Grim

My wife is a Celiac. Gluten-free isn't a fad diet for her...... if she eats even just a little gluten, she's in hell for about a week.

I don't know why other folks who aren't intolerant or Celiacs insist on going gluten-free. 99% of the time it's probably just so they can feel superior to people who eat gluten.

Have a good buddy that would literally shit his pants and would be a nightmare in the morning. Couldn't figure out what it was. Went to the doctor and they wondered if it was krohns or ibs. Tried everything. Cut out gluten and symptoms magically disappeared.

I agree that people take this a step too far. But it's very real for some people. Even though we have to deal with some annoying people, I am actually glad that it at least takes people away from the mindset that pasta isn't bad for you. Even if you're not allergic, cutting out the wrong carbs isn't a bad thing.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

What people on the diet have done is effectively negated the people that do have true allergies to it. Many cooks now hear someone wants something gluten free and they think a little won't hurt because these people aren't really allergic.

True, but I have to admit for someone with a true wheat allergy, it's made my life easier seeing more choices available easily. It was tough before because it's in everything. There is so much wheat in our diets.Had to always special order and ship, make from scratch more foods. I would starve to death trying to get through airports when I needed a quick bite to eat. I wasted so many slices of pizza peeling off the cheese on top. Airlines made me throw a pear out and couldn't bring it on board for some Florida agriculture issue one time.

I had flavored coffee one Christmas eve at a neighbors and I think it had wheat or something else in it. Boy did I get a latent reaction later when I got home. The hives were so deep with raised ravines my skin looked like the Grand Canyon. Then I got the flu which I have never got again after diagnoses, if I stay away from certain foods because allergies suppress your immune system.

[Grim]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Have a good buddy that would literally shit his pants and would be a nightmare in the morning. Couldn't figure out what it was. Went to the doctor and they wondered if it was krohns or ibs. Tried everything. Cut out gluten and symptoms magically disappeared.

The wife was, pretty much the same way.
She'd eat and usually go throw up a short time later. If she didn't throw up, she'd be on the toilet a few hours later.
She went and had an Upper GI done and they saw the sprue and biopsied it. She had to have a couple other tests done to confirm it was Celiac's disease.
It took her a few months to find out what she could and couldn't eat..... there are so many products out there, like canned fruit, that you would think are naturally gluten free but have gluten added to them.
We've tried eating at restaurants but even the ones who have gluten-free menu items cross contaminate the shit out of them because they prepare all of the food with the same equipment and on the same surfaces. That little bit of cross contamination is still enough to make her miserable.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Grim

.
We've tried eating at restaurants but even the ones who have gluten-free menu items cross contaminate the shit out of them because they prepare all of the food with the same equipment and on the same surfaces. That little bit of cross contamination is still enough to make her miserable.

Wow! I feel for her. I can at least tolerate some contamination.

[Stewie]

I'm pretty sure mankind's sustenance and main protein (for 1000s of years) has been gluten. While it's not a complete protein it comes from grains that are easily grown and plentiful.

I used to work with a woman that was allergic to corn. The allergy showed up when she was about 19 years old. She would puke everyday and didn't know why. She finally went to her doctor thinking is was gall bladder issues, but that wasn't it. They did an allergy test and found the problem. Talk about a major overhaul in diet. I felt bad for her because corn-based products are in nearly everything.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

I'd like the OP to receive the ban hammer for even starting this stupid ass thread.

I have a personal vendetta against the gluten free diet.

Oddly enough, I have dated one and know two other true celiacs.

I have also experienced the absolute worst of what the health diet aspect of this offers in terms of people and their demands.

You think you know the worst of it? You have no ****ing idea.

I would like you to get the ban hammer just for being you.

[Silock]

I recently experienced repeated edema in my legs and hands. Got some blood tests. Allergic to wheat, corn, tomatoes, dairy, soy and peanuts. So, basically anything that tastes great.

People that haven't been diagnosed with an allergy are stupid for giving up gluten. Everything gluten free tastes like shit compared to what it's trying to be. Gluten is amazing. I wish I could eat it again. Or drink it.

[ThaVirus]

**** random development of allergies. I'll never understand how you can live 24 years and spontaneously develop an allergic reaction to some mundane bullshit.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

Not in Snickers or Milky Way. I could see Twix ( and Kit Kat by Nestle) but not those two by Mars.

Milky Way has gluten (malted barley). Milky Way Dark does not.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Grim

We've tried eating at restaurants but even the ones who have gluten-free menu items cross contaminate the shit out of them because they prepare all of the food with the same equipment and on the same surfaces. That little bit of cross contamination is still enough to make her miserable.

The fadists have made it difficult to eat out. There are more options but unless there is a dedicated kitchen, there is too much of a chance of cross contamination (like gluten free pizza cooked in the same ovens as regular pizza).

Traveling sucks.

[vailpass]

I know a woman whose business is to prepare and deliver gluten free meals. She has a waiting list of customers. I asked her if there were that many people that are allergic she said no lots of them just think they are but it's still a healthy way to eat...

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Silock

I recently experienced repeated edema in my legs and hands. Got some blood tests. Allergic to wheat, corn, tomatoes, dairy, soy and peanuts. So, basically anything that tastes great.

People that haven't been diagnosed with an allergy are stupid for giving up gluten. Everything gluten free tastes like shit compared to what it's trying to be. Gluten is amazing. I wish I could eat it again. Or drink it.

I can't help you with all the lost foods, but at least you can still enjoy a good soy sauce (Tamari).

San-J Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce


I'm sure others here have great ideas for alternatives.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

I can't help you with all the lost foods, but at least you can still enjoy a good soy sauce (Tamari).

San-J Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce


I'm sure others here have great ideas for alternatives.

Tamari is good but expensive. We shop a lot at Asian markets and there are some tradition soy sauces that use rice instead of wheat and are pretty cheap (< $2 / liter).

It's pretty easy to eat tasty food that is gluten free. A lot of foods are naturally gluten free and we've developed our own replacements for things like bread and pizza crusts, though we don't eat those all that often anymore. We almost never buy gluten free products, which are very expensive and not that good.

The one thing that I haven't been able to find a good replacement for is a decent dinner roll.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Stewie

I'm pretty sure mankind's sustenance and main protein (for 1000s of years) has been gluten. While it's not a complete protein it comes from grains that are easily grown and plentiful.

Grain was not refined and processed then. To my knowledge, it's not even the same grain. But I know that's gonna result in some contention but that is my take on it.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Silock

I recently experienced repeated edema in my legs and hands. Got some blood tests. Allergic to wheat, corn, tomatoes, dairy, soy and peanuts. So, basically anything that tastes great.

People that haven't been diagnosed with an allergy are stupid for giving up gluten. Everything gluten free tastes like shit compared to what it's trying to be. Gluten is amazing. I wish I could eat it again. Or drink it.

You get used to any new diet—then it gets hard to return. But yeah, on the tomatoes. Wow! That's a tough one but I once thought that about wheat. I survived and love my alternatives now. Can't go back to the other stuff.