[ElBorrachoInfamoso]

Some threads have touched on the topic of gluten-free diets. Some commenters think it's just another fad, others are curious to know if there is any point in following a gluten-free diet. I want to share my experience going gluten-free, why I did it, and how it affected my health.

It all started in January 2013. For years, I noticed that I would get gas and bloating whenever I drank beer or ate bread. It was getting worse and worse each year. The bloating wasn't painful but the gas smelled something horrible. I don't remember how I got the idea that it might be gluten, but I decided to test out the hypothesis so I got off gluten. The effects were immediate. No more gas or bloating. To make sure that it wasn't carbs in general that were bothering me, I made sure to increase my intake of rice and corn. Still no gas.

At that point, I decided I was going gluten-free. I'll divide the rest of the post into sections.

Mental Effects
I noticed the first mental effects about 2-3 weeks into the diet and they lasted for about 4 weeks total. I was lethargic, light-headed and had brain fog. I did some googling to see if other people had experienced this and found that it was common when going gluten-free. They call it gluten withdrawal. A couple of times during this period I had a piece of toast or sandwich in order to keep the withdrawal symptoms in check. It gave me gas but it did help the mental symptoms.

After I was over the withdrawals, my mental state returned to normal. Then after another few weeks, I noticed another mental change. I was thinking much clearer and felt smarter. Many people go on a gluten-free diet in order to get rid of "brain fog". Before going on the diet, I didn't feel like I had brain fog but I had noticed that I had gotten dumber during my 20s. I thought this was normal though as I spent most of that time doing theoretical physics and its pretty well established that the type of intelligence needed to do that peaks in the early 20s and then decays.

My thinking clarity and intelligence continued to increase for a few months. By 5-6 months post-gluten I wasn't getting any more mental clarity or intelligence but the difference between then and when I was still eating gluten was huge. Even when I was 17 and super sharp, I was not as smart as I was 6 months after giving up gluten. If this had been the only change, going gluten-free would still have been worth it.

Physical Effects
Besides the lack of gas and bloating, I started noticing physical effects around 3 months after giving up gluten. The effects I noticed were that my muscles were harder and I healed quicker after working out. This was not a huge effect but it was noticeable, especially the muscle hardness. It was like I was better at flexing. I haven't seen any other reports with these effects.

Some people get significant weight loss or gain after giving up gluten but those people are usually nutritionally deficient. I was taking high quality supplements for years so if gluten was causing some kind of nutritional deficiency, I was able to counteract it.

The other minor physical change that I noted started around 9 months. Before giving up gluten, a lot of foods that give most people gas did not give me gas. Broccoli and beans didn't really give me gas. Around 9 months post-gluten, I started getting gas from these foods. This is a pretty strong indication that my intestinal flora completely changed.

Getting Glutened
Besides the withdrawal period during which I intentionally ate gluten a couple of times, I accidentally ate gluten a few times since going gluten-free. It eats a bag of dicks.

The first thing I notice when I have been accidentally glutened is a tingling sensation all over my skin. This isn't so bad and it goes away within 30-60 minutes. The next part is what really blows. I get brain fog for the rest of the day. I can't think clearly and it's hard to be productive.

Conclusions
Going gluten-free was totally worth it. I don't think I have celiac disease, but I clearly have some kind of intolerance or allergic reaction to gluten. I don't miss gluten and it's really not that hard to find food when going out to eat. Meats, eggs, leafy greens, fruits, foods that you should be eating are all gluten free.

If you have symptoms of gluten intolerance then I recommend cutting gluten out of your diet for at least 3 months to see if you get better. Even if you don't have gluten intolerance, the types of foods that contain gluten are the types of foods you shouldn't eat too much of anyway.

[CaptainCrazy]

Gluten is bad for everybody. So-called "intolerant" people just more sensitive to its evils.

[N°6]

Yep, the dead canary in the mine is just more sensitive to the toxic and dangerous environment than the minors.

[ElBorrachoInfamoso]

(05-30-2014 05:35 AM)CaptainCrazy Wrote:  

Gluten is bad for everybody. So-called "intolerant" people just more sensitive to its evils.

(05-30-2014 05:37 AM)N°6 Wrote:  

Yep, the dead canary in the mine is just more sensitive to the toxic and dangerous environment than the minors.

Yeah, gluten has been in the human diet for only about 10,000 years. For Native Americans and most Sub-Saharan Africans, it has been less than 1,000 years. We are not evolved to eat this stuff. Some people might do okay with it, but most people don't. It's just that most people are exposed to wheat proteins in breast milk or in their first solid foods. This means that parents attribute the negative effects to inexplicable "grumpy and gassy baby" problems. As babies, we adjust and assume this is how we're supposed to feel so most people never question it. There are probably many more foods that are causing damage. My infant daughter's grumpy and gassy problems went away once I told mom to get off milk and gluten.

The paleo-diet people are mostly right. We should be eating mostly veggies, fruits and meats. The latter possibly because we benefited by getting some lipid metabolism genes from neanderthals, who were eating a mostly meat diet for tens of thousands of years. Some non-paleo foods like yogurt, oats and yams are okay for some people.

[CaptainCrazy]

(05-31-2014 03:51 AM)ElBorrachoInfamoso Wrote:  

(05-30-2014 05:35 AM)CaptainCrazy Wrote:  

Gluten is bad for everybody. So-called "intolerant" people just more sensitive to its evils.

(05-30-2014 05:37 AM)N°6 Wrote:  

Yep, the dead canary in the mine is just more sensitive to the toxic and dangerous environment than the minors.

Yeah, gluten has been in the human diet for only about 10,000 years. For Native Americans and most Sub-Saharan Africans, it has been less than 1,000 years. We are not evolved to eat this stuff. Some people might do okay with it, but most people don't. It's just that most people are exposed to wheat proteins in breast milk or in their first solid foods. This means that parents attribute the negative effects to inexplicable "grumpy and gassy baby" problems. As babies, we adjust and assume this is how we're supposed to feel so most people never question it. There are probably many more foods that are causing damage. My infant daughter's grumpy and gassy problems went away once I told mom to get off milk and gluten.

The paleo-diet people are mostly right. We should be eating mostly veggies, fruits and meats. The latter possibly because we benefited by getting some lipid metabolism genes from neanderthals, who were eating a mostly meat diet for tens of thousands of years. Some non-paleo foods like yogurt, oats and yams are okay for some people.

I never managed to survive on paleo alone. I crossfit heavily and I need this little extra I get from oats and a little bit of milk. Potatoes, breads, rice and other grains are a no-no. Not that I can't eat them but they make me feel like crap afterwards.

[SteveCR]

If you can't handle a food, then of course avoid it - evolution is still in progress. But to suggest to everybody to avoid a food that bothers you is just ludicrous. I'm allergic to penicillin, so nobody should take penicillin. My wife is allergic to soy - so soy is bad for everybody. Kinda sounds silly, doesn't it?

Such a small portion of the population has celiac and/or is gluten intolerant, just as such a small portion is allergic to penicillin or soy.

[Basil Ransom]

"If you can't handle a food, then of course avoid it - evolution is still in progress. But to suggest to everybody to avoid a food that bothers you is just ludicrous. I'm allergic to penicillin, so nobody should take penicillin. My wife is allergic to soy - so soy is bad for everybody. Kinda sounds silly, doesn't it?"

You're over-reacting. Everyone should remove wheat from their diet for a month or more to see how their body responds, and then make their own decision - and it sounds like the OP would agree.

I haven't eaten gluten consistently, at the rate that most people do for years. The last time I had pizza I got acne the day after, and swore off it completely. The only time I got fat (gained about 10lbs of fat) was when was I eating lots of sandwiches from a college cafeteria and pasta. You could get fat off other starchy carbohydrates I'm sure, but the way wheat dishes are made there is usually lots of wheat and little meat. Eg pizza, sandwiches, etc.

[The PerSev]

(05-30-2014 04:54 AM)ElBorrachoInfamoso Wrote:  

and its pretty well established that the type of intelligence needed to do that peaks in the early 20s and then decays.

I'm sorry to go off-topic but could you please elaborate a bit on this? It's the first I'm hearing of it.

[No Habit]

You encourage me ElBorrachoInfamoso.
I'll also give this a try and give feedback to the community.

[ddjembe mutombo]

I'm 100% against gluten being some dietary buzz word. There is nothing wrong with it unless you have celiacs. However, I am all for limiting your intake of carbs that are converted into sugars during digestion.

Our brains are incredibly powerful. If we remove something from our diet and want to feel a certain result then we very may eventually feel that which was desired. Reading others accounts is only going to increase the probability of that happening because you are expecting it. Don't ever underestimate the power of your brain and its control over your body.

Finally, saying "gluten is bad for everyone" is obvious. However, so is alcohol, sodium, sugar, etc. But none of it becomes problematic until consumed in excess. Just because something is harmful in excess doesn't mean we should eliminate it from our lives completely. For instance, running forwards is bad for your knees, but that doesn't mean we should discourage people to stop jogging as exercise.

[Laurifer]

As mentioned earlier, evolution is on going, its not like there was a cut off point10,000 years ago where everything introduced to the human diet thereafter is going to be bad for us. Of course today we are dealing with a diet and food chain that has been heavily modified by mankind. This is where I see the larger issue. Many people have a more gluten ridden diet than they realize, and as a result are more defficient in the nutrients from the foods that they dont eat or eat less of. If you abstain from gluten, you will increase your intake of non gluten foods, and feel the positive effects of introducing new and more diverse nutrition to your diet.

[Goldmund]

I cut out most gluten (still drink beer) about 3 months ago. Lost 10 lbs within a few weeks and my muscles have gotten much tighter and have a lot more definition. Never going back to any processed wheat.

[Basil Ransom]

Great post OP, by the way.

"If you abstain from gluten, you will increase your intake of non gluten foods, and feel the positive effects of introducing new and more diverse nutrition to your diet."

That's a good point that I hadn't thought of - and it really goes for eliminating other junk foods as well like pastries. Your body is going to substitute that forbidden food with a permitted one, and the permitted one will on balance be more nutritious.

"Finally, saying "gluten is bad for everyone" is obvious. However, so is alcohol, sodium, sugar, etc. But none of it becomes problematic until consumed in excess. Just because something is harmful in excess doesn't mean we should eliminate it from our lives completely. For instance, running forwards is bad for your knees, but that doesn't mean we should discourage people to stop jogging as exercise."

Some things are toxic - i.e. net negative impact - in even small doses. It's always an opportunity cost, if you aren't eating wheat you're eating something else. Provided you're not subbing in junk food, removing wheat will usually lead to a more nutritious diet as alluded to above.

[apoclater]

(05-31-2014 04:33 PM)ddjembe mutombo Wrote:  

I'm 100% against gluten being some dietary buzz word. There is nothing wrong with it unless you have celiacs. However, I am all for limiting your intake of carbs that are converted into sugars during digestion.

Our brains are incredibly powerful. If we remove something from our diet and want to feel a certain result then we very may eventually feel that which was desired. Reading others accounts is only going to increase the probability of that happening because you are expecting it. Don't ever underestimate the power of your brain and its control over your body.

Finally, saying "gluten is bad for everyone" is obvious. However, so is alcohol, sodium, sugar, etc. But none of it becomes problematic until consumed in excess. Just because something is harmful in excess doesn't mean we should eliminate it from our lives completely. For instance, running forwards is bad for your knees, but that doesn't mean we should discourage people to stop jogging as exercise.

I disagree with just about everything in your post.

Whenever I see a gluten-free or paleo diet article in a mainstream online news source the 'voice of reason' guys come out in droves in the comments section to say "Everything in moderation!" and get all high-brow about us fad dieters. If you do some actual research on what wheat does to your body, you'll find there are huge benefits to cutting it out of your diet entirely--not just keeping it to a moderate intake. People have flat-out eliminated issues like eczema, leaky gut, etc just by eliminating gluten. Deny it all you want, but gluten is extremely harmful to your body.

Also, who told you that running forward is bad for your knees? Sprints are part of what humans are designed to do. The type of exercise you mentioned (jogging) is exactly the problem--long, excessive amounts of chronic cardio with running shoes that force us into bad form break down our knees, not the simple act of sprinting.

[ddjembe mutombo]

(05-31-2014 05:30 PM)apoclater Wrote:  

I disagree with just about everything in your post.

Whenever I see a gluten-free or paleo diet article in a mainstream online news source the 'voice of reason' guys come out in droves in the comments section to say "Everything in moderation!" and get all high-brow about us fad dieters. If you do some actual research on what wheat does to your body, you'll find there are huge benefits to cutting it out of your diet entirely--not just keeping it to a moderate intake. People have flat-out eliminated issues like eczema, leaky gut, etc just by eliminating gluten. Deny it all you want, but gluten is extremely harmful to your body.

Also, who told you that running forward is bad for your knees? Sprints are part of what humans are designed to do. The type of exercise you mentioned (jogging) is exactly the problem--long, excessive amounts of chronic cardio with running shoes that force us into bad form break down our knees, not the simple act of sprinting.

Feel free to disagree.

I personally eat very few grain products. It isn't because of gluten though. That is just a silly buzz word. However, if I am eating out at a restaurant then I don't care if my dish has a grain product in it. In the grand scheme, I eat such a small amount that it becomes statistically significant.

I know running forwards is rough on the knees because of simple statics. Where do you think all of that energy is being diffused? Also, who sprints so much that they will ruin their knees?

Learning moderation is a very good thing. It is very helpful in all aspects of life.

[apoclater]

(05-31-2014 05:55 PM)ddjembe mutombo Wrote:  

(05-31-2014 05:30 PM)apoclater Wrote:  

I disagree with just about everything in your post.

Whenever I see a gluten-free or paleo diet article in a mainstream online news source the 'voice of reason' guys come out in droves in the comments section to say "Everything in moderation!" and get all high-brow about us fad dieters. If you do some actual research on what wheat does to your body, you'll find there are huge benefits to cutting it out of your diet entirely--not just keeping it to a moderate intake. People have flat-out eliminated issues like eczema, leaky gut, etc just by eliminating gluten. Deny it all you want, but gluten is extremely harmful to your body.

Also, who told you that running forward is bad for your knees? Sprints are part of what humans are designed to do. The type of exercise you mentioned (jogging) is exactly the problem--long, excessive amounts of chronic cardio with running shoes that force us into bad form break down our knees, not the simple act of sprinting.

Feel free to disagree.

I personally eat very few grain products. It isn't because of gluten though. That is just a silly buzz word. However, if I am eating out at a restaurant then I don't care if my dish has a grain product in it. In the grand scheme, I eat such a small amount that it becomes statistically significant.

I know running forwards is rough on the knees because of simple statics. Where do you think all of that energy is being diffused? Also, who sprints so much that they will ruin their knees?

Learning moderation is a very good thing. It is very helpful in all aspects of life.

I think you mean "statistically insignificant."

Gluten is not a silly buzz word. It's a harmful protein that exists in wheat and is linked to serious issues such as leaky gut, IBS, and autoimmune diseases. Dismissing it would be like dismissing the fact that lactose is a sugar that exists in milk and some people are lactose intolerant. It sounds like you just haven't done any research on the other side and are standing in your position without understanding the science. See this article:

http://paleoleap.com/11-ways-gluten-and-...ur-health/

Also, your running argument doesn't make sense to me. There is energy diffusion in my knees when I do squats--do my knees wear down as a result? Nope, they are strengthened. As I've pointed out chronic cardio is bad, but doing a natural movement such as a short sprint is something that humans have been doing since the dawn of mankind.

[Basil Ransom]

"I personally eat very few grain products. It isn't because of gluten though. That is just a silly buzz word. However, if I am eating out at a restaurant then I don't care if my dish has a grain product in it. In the grand scheme, I eat such a small amount that it becomes statistically significant."

Says gluten free dieting is bullshit, eats hardly any gluten himself... It doesn't really matter what you call it, functionally speaking you're 98% gluten free, unlike the average person.

The difference between gluten and say artichokes is that, for most people, artichokes are something they have rarely. If eating artichokes caused some specific harm, you'd quickly draw a connection between the harm and eating artichokes. But the standard American diet has wheat at nearly every meal - there's never an amount of time where you go without it long enough to see how your body will fare without it.

The problem with the phrase 'everything in moderation' is moderation according to who? Eating lots of fish and coconuts daily might seem strange to a man in a landlocked desert, but to a Pacific Islander, that's the epitome of normal. There is no objective moderate level for consumption of most foods.

[ElBorrachoInfamoso]

(05-31-2014 10:36 AM)SteveCR Wrote:  

If you can't handle a food, then of course avoid it - evolution is still in progress. But to suggest to everybody to avoid a food that bothers you is just ludicrous. I'm allergic to penicillin, so nobody should take penicillin. My wife is allergic to soy - so soy is bad for everybody. Kinda sounds silly, doesn't it?

Such a small portion of the population has celiac and/or is gluten intolerant, just as such a small portion is allergic to penicillin or soy.

The timescale of evolution is much longer than 10,000 years. Yes, evolution is still in progress. Yes, there is evidence of selection in humans over the last 10,000. No, this selection is not significant when compared to the timescale needed for major evolutionary changes. Lactase persistence was selected for over this same timescale, yet many lactose tolerant people report positive health benefits when abstaining from milk. At best, we are only partially adapted to modern foods. For any particular food, only a small fraction of the population has a major negative reaction, but why would we believe that everyone else is doing just fine with that same food and not suffering from other ill effects that are harder to notice?

Remember, celiac disease is just the most studied form of gluten intolerance. It is not necessarily the only mechanism by which gluten or wheat can lead to negative health effects.

(05-31-2014 12:31 PM)The PerSev Wrote:  

(05-30-2014 04:54 AM)ElBorrachoInfamoso Wrote:  

and its pretty well established that the type of intelligence needed to do that peaks in the early 20s and then decays.

I'm sorry to go off-topic but could you please elaborate a bit on this? It's the first I'm hearing of it.

This picture does a nice job summarizing.



You can research Physics Nobel Laureates to see the ramifications of this. Although most laureates are awarded the prize in old age for "contributions in X". If you read up on the laureates you'll find the same story played over and over again. They typically made a major breakthrough in their 20s or 30s while a graduate student or post-doc. They then spend the rest of their careers refining that breakthrough and applying it to different areas. Other people figure out how important the breakthrough was and start citing the paper. Finally, they are awarded the Nobel Prize when they're old men, but it's usually based on work they did in their 20s or 30s.

Einstein is probably the most famous example of this. He published his most influential papers when he was 26.

[Sigurd]

Removing gluten has made a large positive difference to my health too.

It's an anti-nutrient, the wheat plant's biochemical defense against being eaten. If you've lost your tolerance to it, it can mess you up.

[Sonsowey]

I have noticed no different on and off gluten.

Eating a ton of any carb can make me feel groggy and low-energy, and I don't usually eat big bowls of Pasta or anything, but having some cake or bread now and again doesn't affect me poorly.

I urge people to do this kind of self-experimentation honestly. If you really feel good without Gluten, then great, don't eat it! I bought the hype, gave up gluten for a while, went back to it and found no negative side effects.

I ate a sandwich today. But then, I've always been a daredevil.

[RawGod]

(09-10-2014 05:50 PM)Sonsowey Wrote:  

I urge people to do this kind of self-experimentation honestly.

Exactly. Everybody should be willing to try, say a wheat-free diet for a month and just see what happens. Do the same with dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, legumes etc at different times. You will learn a lot about your body and mind and you will probably fix long-standing problems you never knew you had.

Personally my revelation was dairy. My family all swear by it back to my grandparents. Milk, cream by the bucketload. Turns out I was intolerant and never knew it. Digestion is way better now.

[RIslander]

An interesting fact is that 10,000 years, the amount of time humans have existed alongside agriculture, is only around 250 generations. Can we really evolve to an entire shift of diet during that small a time frame? Bacteria evolve quickly to antibiotics because their lifespan is only a few hours. They see 250 generations in less than a week.

My stance, after years of research and reading on this topic, is that gluten is bad for everyone. Sure, you may not feel any different with or without it, but it's still having a negative effect somewhere in your body and you'd be better off without it. Also, gluten has become more "gluteny" over the last few decades as foods have become processed. For example, I feel shitty after eating gluten in the US. But I had no problem eating bread in Peru, where it's minimally processed (still better off without it) Milk is another example of how bad our food is in America. I had it still-warm from the grass-fed cow in the Peruvian countryside and felt fine after, but half a glass of it from a US supermarket and I'm shitting myself for the next 2 days.

[peterfoo22]

Yeah gluten free is the way to be!

Yeah I've too decided to go on gluten free diet. I recently read the book Wheat Belly by Dr.William Davis.

He gives some examples why wheat gluten has been terrible for the human body for nearly 100 years now. He noticed that people in the 50's were not nearly as obese as the people today.

Through some of his personal findings he shares some serious reasons why wheat gluten has caused some serious health problems over the last 50 years or so. Many of the problematic diseases have been caused by the over consumption of wheat gluten.

If you want to know more about wheat gluten I suggest you take a look at this book.

Best of Luck man!

[Bad Hussar]

Went 100% gluten free for three weeks, and have now been 99% gluten free for a few months. Results are a bit underwhelming. Some benefits re gas/bloating but not really very big. I keep at it since I have a psychological aversion to cheap and nasty carbs, unless I am doing a lot of physical activity. And then I'd go for liquid carbs or fruit rather than bread anyway. In my mind most foods made with wheat are rip-offs. They just add the cheapest possible calories to a meal. Nearly every Italian restaurant in this country is running the same scam. Having pizza and pasta dishes as main meals. It's ridiculous. If there are any Italians reading can you confirm whether in Italy, or Italian communities abroad, this is acceptable behavior? I always thought pasta was a side dish/appetizer in a real Italian meal.

One thing I noticed when re-introducing the odd gluten product is that wholewheat gives a much bigger adverse reaction(indigestion/bloating) than white flour products. Has anyone else found this as well?

[germanico]

Just because you can tolerate it, just because your body can process it, does not means its good for you.

Just look at high fructose corn syrup.