Spelt

[Nantzie]

There is a site where you can put in any web address, in just about any major language, and it will do a quick translation of it for you. It's not perfect, but you can get a really good idea of what's being said.

Open Original Shared Link

If that link doesn't work, just google babelfish and it will be the first link.

Nancy

[skbird]

Interesting discussion. As for Wikipedia, I don't ever go off one source on the net, nor do I think most people. It's a really interesting thing to watch develop on the web and has more information in it, however it measures in "truthiness" due to a lot of assorted and uncontrolled people contributing to it. Hmmm, sort of like this board!

When I was cutting wheat out, before going gluten free, I used to get this wonderful spelt bread at the farmers market. Oh, I loved it so much... for the first couple of slices, then I would stop eating it for whatever reason, and then toss it when it got too hard (good bread - doesn't take long). Then a month later, I'd get another loaf.

I also made a great loaf in my bread machine - recipe in the Eat Right For Your Blood Type book. But I also couldn't eat the whole loaf, something was always off.

I have not tried spelt since going gluten free but miss it. I would be thrilled if it were ok, but I'm not willing to go there after reading some mixed anecdotes - the science is enough to sway me away.

Stephanie

[GravStars]

Its a communitly blog, at best. But I am not going to debate this here other then to strongly cuation ppl from base important descions such as health from it...

Wow. I didn't expect a Wikipedia controversy! Spelt contains gluten, so obviously celiacs can't eat it. I wasn't suggesting the link for anyone to base a health decision on. It was the first link I got back that had some technical information about spelt and I thought maybe some people would be curious to read about its origins, blah blah blah.

[eKatherine]

Spelt makes a marvelously tasty pilaf, too.

I'm convinced that the gluten intake of a population has a direct bearing on the percentage of the ones that are gluten-intolerant that eventually develop celiac and the age at which they would start suffering major symptoms. Look at it this way - in a culture that eats almost no wheat, the diet is naturally gluten-free, though there may well be the same percentage carrying the genes as in a population where bread is considered the staff of life. And I definitely believe that a major trigger for celiac is a lifetime of consuming something that you are reacting to.

According to this, celiac is more common nowadays because people eat more wheat than ever, and it's higher-gluten wheat, too. We are told to eat more whole grains, and for most people this translates into consuming more wheat products, although not necessarily whole grain. It used to be that grains were considered part of a healthy meal. Nowadays, many people often eat meals that either mostly or entirely wheat, especially when you consider the rise in snacking on processed foods.

How many people do you know who eat like this?

Breakfast - cereal & milk

Snack - bagel or pastry, OJ

Lunch - sandwich

Snack - pretzels

Supper - pasta and bread, sauce, 2 oz salad

Snack - cookies

More snack - crackers

Is this a third world diet or what?

[rinne]

Several years ago in my efforts to be wheat free I tried spelt and initially it seemed o.k. but within a couple of days of eating it I knew it was, although perhaps not as bad as wheat, definitely in the same family as far as causing me digestion problems. This was before I knew about the Celiac and was just trying to avoid wheat. I won't be trying spelt again.

[Franceen]

Oh my gosh - eKatherine - you are so correct!

It's called developing a hypersensitivity where one was pre-disposed (by genes).

MY OWN experience agrees with that!!! (and I didn't even think of that when I wrote).....

5 years ago I was having a lot of embarassaing gas and I was IBS-like (mostly constipated). I read a book about IBS and it said WHOLE GRAINS, EAT MORE WHOLE GRAINS, WHOLE WHEAT, WHOLE OATS, WHOLE GRAINS, MORE.

So, I dutifully complied. And it tasted good, and it worked so I did MORE WHOLE GRAINS. I was eating a whole lot of whole wheat bread, toast, crackers, etc. That became my whole diet practically.

But my constipation and gas were gone and I had NORMAL digestive stuff.

Then I got a rash. The rash got worse and worse and worse and it was an awful rash. Eventually 3 years later, again on my own, I discovered I had DH. I decided that I had the genes (confirmed) for Celiac and that I had brought it on by eating all that WHEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My wonderful allergist agrees. She even agrees that the best test (in spite of negative blood, biopsies, etc) IS the fact that gluten-free WORKS.

And now when I get glutened I get a bit of diar. and cramps and burbling rumblings in the stomach and gas!

So YES, you are very correct in what you say.

We are genetically predisposed and cause it to manifest by eating too much of what we are intolerant of!

[Franceen]

I don't know if their RATE of Celiac (per capita) is more or not. But I DO know from being there that Bread and Pasta are not as prevalent an item in their diet. And they have more "pure foods" even in restaurants (less thickeners, starch addititives, less "things" in their ingredient lists).

For instance, when one goes to a restaurant ("chains" are not very common, most are small family owned and local cooking), and get a dinner, you might order Schnitzel or Wurst and you get a veggie or potato and/or spaetzle (yes, made with more potato than wheat I think). If you ask for "brot" with your meal they look at you pretty funny and know (and often verbalize) that you are American! Our bread and pasta habit are a sign to them of being American. Also they do not SNACK like we do. And they don't have packaged foods available on every street corner - vending machines like we have them don't exist in every place. They eat a huge breakfast (mostly meats, fruits & cheese/dairy, very little bread/flour) and "dinner" is at lunchtime (big meal). Dinnertime (USA style) is lunch-type food - soup, multaschen (has pasta in it), small portions. I don't remember getting sandwiches there too much either. Don't get me wrong, they DO have breads available, and very good breads too. But even though I ate bread before self-dx'ing while there, my rash subsided when I was there! I asked about it later and they told me the water-soluble spelt story (which made some sense to me).

So IF they have a higher RATE of Celiac, their diet somewhat caters to those, more prevalent people with Celiac.

Celiacs in Germany's gluten-free diet isn't as noticeable or problemattic because wheat products are NOT such a mainstay in the normal diet.

I just think it's EASIER to be gluten free because the menus are NOT stuffed with floured/gluten-y items!

And Hostess Snack Cakes, etc are not terribly available.

I enjoy Germany (but the beer is off limits!) and don't have a hard time with diet there.