Non Celiac Going Gluten-free

[anabananakins]

So it's true that nobody here has a problem with the idea of a non-celiac going gluten free?!

I don't have celiac disease, that I know of, (never been tested, but don't particularly suspect it) and have very seriously wanted to be on a gluten free diet since about 1998. But I feared that it would be morally wrong to undertake such an unusual diet, without medical cause. I thought that if people with celiac disease ran into me and knew of it, that I could expect venom (and that I would fully deserve it).

One of my friends has celiac and watching somebody else on a gluten free diet that I wanted, but thought I had no moral right to was extremely hard. So I ended up going gluten free in September of 2004. I was certain that I was doing something horribly immoral, that my friend would want nothing more to do with me if he knew of it, and that I was a horrible person.

I couldn't imagine that there were any other gluten free nonceliacs in the world, save Dana Korn a few other relatives like her. Now it turns out, that half the people on this web believe the "wheat isn't good for anyone" school of thought.

Of course the diet does make me feel HUGELY better, which seems as good a reason as any to stop feeling guilty about the whole thing.

I could have been rational sooner and noticed that the boom in gluten free products probably isn't being driven by the few celiacs who actually are diagnosed alone, and that vegetarians were considered just as odd, not too long ago.

I think it's important to do what makes you feel better. Not eating wheat is not harming anyone. It only bugs me when people go fake gluten free - when they are all "blah blah I can't eat a speck of gluten, woe is me!" and then turn around and eat a piece of regular cake "just this once".

Wheat is just another food. It's hard to get away from the "wheat is so healthy and so important to our diet!" mentality. There's an awful lot of propaganda out there. Actually, it makes an awful lot of people very sick. The rest think gas, bloating and taking antacids after meals is normal. I used to consider tums (and their equivalent) a staple after every meal. I haven't touched one since the day I went gluten free. If everyone stopped eating gluten, the bottom would drop of that market in no time.

I think I understand what you mean, that it seems wrong to do something really hard when some people have to but you're just making it a personal choice (like, if you took to a wheelchair when you could walk just fine). But the thing is - being gluten free isn't really hard. You aren't suffering, you feel better. It's only made hard because we live in a society where some derivative of wheat is in every freaking product, but that's only because as a society, processed food is so dominant. If you eat fresh, unprocessed foods then you quickly realise that wheat (and barely, oats and rye) are only a fraction of all the awesome things out there to eat. You aren't making yourself suffer on purpose, to elicit sympathy and be a martyr. You're cutting out a product that makes you feel crummy and there are plenty of ways of getting the "benefits" provided by wheat. I personally can't stand red wine. I'm always reading about all these health-benefits we hear about drinking one glass of wine a day but I'm not going to drink the stuff because 'they' say it's good for us.

ETA - ha, I just saw the date on the post I quoted! Well, I hope she's enjoying being gluten free and anyone reading this - don't feel bad if you chose the same path.

[come dance with me]

Although still relevant as a whole, this thread is from 2005 and that person has either become gluten free or not by now so it's not relevent to that particular person anymore.

To continue the general discussion however, I am on a gluten free diet because my daughter is a senitive coeliac which means we cannot have gluten in the home or in the car at all. That means that for the health of my family the entire house is a gluten free house. However for ethical and environmental reasons we are vegan. It is alo a healthier diet for us to have but that's an added bonus and not our reason for becoming vegan in the first place.

There are many reasons why people take on any diet for themselves and I fully agree with the point about rice taking more water than wheat which makes it a valid argument. Of course for many people it's unavoidable to have a gluten free diet and for many others they choose that way of life because they feel better even if they have no diagnosed reason to be on the diet.

[beebs]

Personally for myself only. I agree with anna!

Also - if I could eat gluten I would. I don't like having to worry ever time I walk outside my house, having little panic attacks eating out. I don't like being scared of food...

[love2travel]

Also - if I could eat gluten I would.

Me, too, because I just love(d) gluten-y food so darned much! I will never, ever forget it. Not only that but I find it soooooo hard walking past bakeries, patisseries and pizza places (especially in Europe) without feeling sad. I am not to the place yet where I am comfortable attending social events that revolve around food such as church banquets and food festivals. As an obsessed foodie cooking and baking at home are easy but for someone who is so passionate about anything culinary it can be trying outside our house.