I Wonder?

[twe0708]

I am wondering if a regular person who doesn't have gluten problems would react the same way we do if they went off of wheat for more than 6 months and then tried to eat something containing wheat.

[ravenwoodglass]

No they wouldn't react.

[Ahorsesoul]

This would make an excellent research project. I've wondered this also. With all the genetic changes to our food, they might.

[scarlett77]

No I can confirm that normal people do not react like a Celiac or gluten sensitive person would going off wheat and then re-introducing it. My household is gluten-free because of our 2yr old son and I was eating exclusively gluten-free for the past few months. Recently, since our finances have taken a huge hit I broke down and started buying cup o'noodles to keep at work for lunch (I know not the healthiest thing either). I certainly do more bloated and sluggish when I have had gluten, but that could simply be the ridiculous amount of sodium in those things. But in no way do I have any of the symptoms my son or any of you have described.

[CeliacMom2008]

While I am not 100% gluten free all the time, I do eat a large amount of gluten-free meals (our house is gluten-free for our son). I can tell you that even having gluten as often as I do I can definitely tell a difference when I eat gluten that I don't think existed before removing so much gluten from my system. It's not the intestinal symptoms so many have, but I do feel more tired and am starving after only 1-2 hours after eating a large gluten sandwich. It's unpleasant enough that I avoid certain foods and choose gluten-free over G.

[ravenwoodglass]

Removing gluten from your diet for an extended period and then adding it back in and watching for a reaction is a gluten challenge. Not everyone who needs to avoid gluten has a gut reaction and for some the gut reaction can take a day or two of gluten consumption to show up. Those who eat largely gluten free for a family member who is celiac need to keep in mind that celiac and gluten intolerance have symptoms that have a myriad of forms and that it is strongly genetic. IMHO if you are reacting to gluten it is because your body does not want it in your system.

[TiffersAnn]

I have Celiac, so I eat and cook completely gluten-free. My husband does not have Celiac, but is basically on a gluten-free diet by association. When he does go out and eat pizza or sandwiches with his friends he always gets heartburn and feels sluggish. He never has the serious reactions that most Celiacs experience, but he definitely has a detectable reaction. Wheat is difficult for every human to digest, but not everyone is allergic.

[cassP]

i think its possible yes- because Gluten is not the only aggravating lectin in wheat- there's also Wheat Germ Agglutin. Plus- i've been reading that as much as 30% of the population have some level of gluten sensitivity.. which is why it's so confusing to some of us on the road to Official or Self Diagnosis. im adding a link here- about WGA- it's ridiculously long- but incredibly eye-opening whenever you're bored

Open Original Shared Link

im new here- nice to meet everyone

[twe0708]

Interesting replies. I have been mostly gluten free for a year now. Maybe an occasional glutening by a crumb, but that's it and no major side effects except for what it is doing to the inside of my body that I can't feel. But one day about a month ago I decided to eat a donut and became very sick and was throwing up (three times) within an hour. Just wondering if anyone else had cracked and ate full on wheat vs. just getting contaminated and what their side effects were. I had tried two corona's about a month before the donut and no problems that I could feel (yes I know it is still harming me on the inside), so it's amazing what something like a donut, bread or pizza that is full of wheat can do vs. just getting contaminated by say a few crumbs of wheat.

[i-geek]

I think that for many people, wheat and/or gluten is hard to digest even if they don't have celiac disease. Our kitchen is gluten-free except for my husband's beer and brewing supplies and has been for several months now. My husband does eat gluten when we're out. He drinks a beer pretty much every day and the barley/rye ones don't seem to bother him, but the wheat beers will set him off sometimes. Also, he seems to go on gluten binges: he'll eat pizza with the buddies one day, then grab a sandwich for lunch the next, noodles the day after that, and maybe a wheat beer or two in there. After a few days of this, the rash on his face will flare up, he'll be sleeping poorly, and he complains of GI problems. He didn't believe that it could possibly be a wheat intolerance until the third or fourth time it happened and we went over what he'd been eating.

Then again, his uncle (father's brother) has celiac disease and another uncle (father's other brother) has been told to stick to a gluten-free diet (although he ignores it and eats what he wants). So maybe it's a gluten intolerance and the barley/rye beers are simply filtered more than the wheat beers so he's not noticing a reaction.

[ravenwoodglass]

Then again, his uncle (father's brother) has celiac disease and another uncle (father's other brother) has been told to stick to a gluten-free diet (although he ignores it and eats what he wants). So maybe it's a gluten intolerance and the barley/rye beers are simply filtered more than the wheat beers so he's not noticing a reaction.

Especially with his family history it does sound like he should be on the diet. The rash my be DH, if he has active lesions he could try going to a derm to get a biopsy but IMHO the clear corelation between the rash and gluten injestion with the family history is pretty diagnostic in itself.

As to the beer issue, someone posted a while ago that Bud Light was safe for us. Like an idiot I decided to try it out. I did find that just one produced little symptom wise but one weekend I drank one beer a day for three days in a row and boy did I regret it. There is Redbridge, made by the same company that makes Bud, and that isn't too bad. I also recently finally found Bard's Tale available again locally and go a six last night. I prefer that to the Redbridge personally but it is a bit pricer.

[i-geek]

Especially with his family history it does sound like he should be on the diet. The rash my be DH, if he has active lesions he could try going to a derm to get a biopsy but IMHO the clear corelation between the rash and gluten injestion with the family history is pretty diagnostic in itself.

As to the beer issue, someone posted a while ago that Bud Light was safe for us. Like an idiot I decided to try it out. I did find that just one produced little symptom wise but one weekend I drank one beer a day for three days in a row and boy did I regret it. There is Redbridge, made by the same company that makes Bud, and that isn't too bad. I also recently finally found Bard's Tale available again locally and go a six last night. I prefer that to the Redbridge personally but it is a bit pricer.

We actually do like Redbridge. He's also been looking into gluten-free homebrewing and made a batch with sorghum and buckwheat that was pretty decent. But getting him to give up mainstream beer is nigh impossible. Getting him to eat gluten-free when we're out is impossible. We were out of town last weekend and after watching him eat sandwiches, pizza, cookies, pasta, etc. I challenged him to go 24 hours without gluten. He chose Sunday and didn't even make it through breakfast. He has no problem making sure that I don't get glutened, but unless he's diagnosed for sure there's no getting him to even consider the diet.

[ravenwoodglass]

We actually do like Redbridge. He's also been looking into gluten-free homebrewing and made a batch with sorghum and buckwheat that was pretty decent. But getting him to give up mainstream beer is nigh impossible. Getting him to eat gluten-free when we're out is impossible. We were out of town last weekend and after watching him eat sandwiches, pizza, cookies, pasta, etc. I challenged him to go 24 hours without gluten. He chose Sunday and didn't even make it through breakfast. He has no problem making sure that I don't get glutened, but unless he's diagnosed for sure there's no getting him to even consider the diet.

That's too bad. It is not surprising though since gluten is quite an addictive substance for some of us.

[i-geek]

Update on the husband: he went gluten-free for five days last week as a challenge from me (after we ate dinner at a local gluten-free restaurant and he followed it up with a pint of standard beer). By Thursday night he couldn't stand it so we went out for drinks and he had a beer. When I came home from work on Friday he told me that maybe there was something to this gluten thing as he'd had what he termed "digestive distress". He was also drinking a Redbridge instead of his usual standard-ingredient beer. We'll see.

[Juliebove]

I don't have gluten issues. I went gluten-free when daughter did only because I didn't want her to feel bad. Eventually I added some bread (not a lot) and wheat cereal back into my diet. I didn't get sick at all.

[i-geek]

I don't have gluten issues. I went gluten-free when daughter did only because I didn't want her to feel bad. Eventually I added some bread (not a lot) and wheat cereal back into my diet. I didn't get sick at all.

Good to know, thanks. Signs are definitely pointing to my husband having gluten intolerance.