A New Diet Villain

There are now data to support the concept that starch- which would include starch from grains- is responsible for overgrowth of the intestines by Klebsiella pneumoniae; see the research by Ebringer in the UK. Klebsiella produces proteins that are then confused with certain types of collagen. For those that are HLA-B27 positive, this can result in developing ankylosing spondylitis. For those that are HLA-B27 negative, it can mean developing Crohn's disease. Both are treated with a slew of nasty drugs including tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, when the root of the problem- intake of dietary carbohydrates- is at fault.

It is easier to believe that the human diet has far too many carbohydrates (150-170 pounds of sugar alone!) and that grains- which are less than 10,000 years old and NEVER such a large proportion of the American diet as they are today- are responsible for a broad range of illnesses. Read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Taubes for a better understanding of this matter.

All doctors do not no everything...especially about celiac. My husband keeps showing negative on blood tests, but on stool sample tests, he shows positive - eating gluten free helps A LOT! We had genetic testing done, and at that lab they claimed that in addition to a "celiac" gene there was also a "gluten intolerant" gene (my husband has both, increasing the severity of his symptoms).Many doctors would claim that he does not have celiac, simply because the blood test doesn't show. This is not a "fad diet." If it makes you feel better, you're obviously benefiting from going without. Who cares what scientific research has been done.. if it helps, it helps! Who do doctors think they are deciding what works for who based on scientific matters that have yet to be fully researched? If it doesn't help, don't do it - duh - you're not going to lose weight, you're not going to be any healthier. Also, I have seen documents from many different "Scientific" resources that claim the number of those suffering from celiac is much higher..

Obviously those with Celiac's should be gluten free. There's solid science to support such a recommendation. Not so much for autism, but a gluten-free diet can't really hurt them, so why not try it? Me, I love wheat and all things made from it.

My wife is Celiac (diagnosed 2.5 years ago). I am not. We have a mixed kitchen, with the majority being gluten free and I have a counter against the opposite wall where I store my bread and toaster. (The "Gluten Gulag") It has worked remarkably well. We simply read labels carefully and patronize the local gluten-free bakery. ("The Silly Yak" bakery in Madison, WI is fantastic) I eat a lot less gluten, but I cannot say it has had any effect on how I, personally feel. My wife, on the other hand, feels vastly better than she did during her years of undiagnosed suffering.

As for restaurants, we have had fantastic luck with Outback Steakhouse and several other restaurants. The comment below was correct that you do need to talk to managers/kitchen staff. Most people really do want to do the right thing. We try to be super nice about it and ask that her stuff be prepared seperately and carefully. We have had few problems. (And when we do have problems, we never go back)

I really liked that the article focused on Celiacs. I completely agree with the analysis of "Why do this if you don't have to?" Sure, everyone benefits from eating less processed and junk foods, but that should not be confused with gluten-free. Eating a piece of whole-wheat bread with your veggies and grilled fish is just fine and would be a great positive change for many people.

The diet is not torture!! Im on GF diet but my children are not when I bake something GF like bread pie brownies cake cookies etc I can't keep them away! they will choose the healthier version of a goodie over the precessed wheat version every time. GF cooking is wonderful and you feel good about feeding it to you family.

My son doesn't have celiac and when I took him off of gluten and casien his speech doubled in two weeks. All you need to do is a trial and many people see benefits. For more information go to www.generationrescue.org

I have 2 children who are gluten free. In addition to gluten free - they are free of the Big 8 allergens and corn. I do not believe Green has it right when he states that having children on a gluten free diet is torture. Torture implies abuse. I believe that a gluten free diet allows many possibilities. My children eat a diet rich in fruit and vegies - - is that torture since most kids don't? There are many snacks and goodies that are gluten free as is: Nerds, Starburts, Lay's Chips, Raisins, Whole Fruit Bars by Edy's, etc. My kids have junk food to eat - - but not in the mass quantity of other kids. Isn't that what dr's have been pushing? And now, a gluten free diet is seen as torture? I think that is a little misdirected. I make bread, cakes, cookies, donuts, etc for my kids. They are happy and healthy.

My grandson has gluten intolerance after having a serious allergic reaction. After testing he was found to have not only gluten intolerance, buy soy and dairy. It has been 4 years now and he is beginning to eat a little dairy, still no gluten and absolutely no estrogen laden soy products, which are bad for anyone to excess, especially young males.
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My grandson has gluten free diet, but also cannot have soy. It is a real problem trying to locate foods without both. Many gluten-free products are on the market and Whole Foods and other healthy food stores have a myriad of offers, BUT finding products without soy?..that's another problem. Soy is in EVERYTHING and loaded with estrogen compound which is no a good thing to load up your children with, gluten-free or NOT!

Gluten free is going the way of Lo GI - it is beginning to be redirected to the correct audience instead of being seen as the panacea diet which it is not. Same thing happened to Lo GI which was intended for Diabetics but was aimed at wt. loss at first. I am glad that all the media attention has gained press for the seriousness of all allergens.

Suzy Badaracco Culinary Tides www.culinarytides.com

I am a 51 year-old male who suffered terribly from undiagnosed gluten intolerance for some 15 - 20 years. It started in my late teens to early twenties: gastrointestinal cramps and pain, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, red skin rashes on my face. My doctors, including gastroenterologists, didn't have a clue, diagnosed me with IBS, and even said it was in my head -anxiety. They didn't even think to test me for celiac/gluten intolerance. I finally WAS diagnosed about 15 years ago by an attorney friend of my wife's who said he had the same thing and to try eliminating gluten for a few weeks. It took a few weeks but the difference was like night and day. I have stayed off wheat, barley (always wondered why beer made me so sick) and rye. In recent years I have had the blood tests for celiac (gliadin antibody) - all negative, but that is to be expected because I don't eat the offending gluten in my diet.

My mother and grandfather have had similar histories of gastrointestinal problems, and it probably runs in the family. Whether it is true celiac, or an intolernance to gluten, doesn't matter because my health problems improved by about 90% by avoiding gluten in my diet. I feel SO much better. The change in diet is not torture, because I have found it easy at coops, health food stores, and recently even major grocery chains to find gluten-free products such as rice pasta, rice bread, and rice cookies, etc.

If you have cramps, diarrhea, and other Irritable bowel symptoms (IBS), particularly combined with joint and muscle pain or skin rashes, and doctors don't know what it is, seriously consider getting tested for celiac. Even if you test negative for true celiac, in my opinion based on my experience, gluten intolerance can cause many of the same health problems. The gluten free diet combined with more healthy fruits and vegetables can improve the way you feel. It certainly did for me - a life altering improvement - and I will NEVER go back to eating gluten!!!!!

Gluten free is going the way of Lo GI - it is beginning to be redirected to the correct audience instead of being seen as the panacea diet which it is not. Same thing happened to Lo GI which was intended for Diabetics but was aimed at wt. loss at first. I am glad that all the media attention has gained press for the seriousness of all allergens.

Suzy Badaracco Culinary Tides www.culinarytides.com

I have Celiac Disease, and I personally do NOT think that it's torture. Yes at first it was, but just like anything, you have to educate yourself and think outside of the box. It's taught me to read lables and WOW- what I was eating before is all processed junk! I enjoy things just as I did before I was diagnosed: Gluten Free & FABULOUS makes phenomenal gluten free pizza, and Enjoy Life's cookies are delicious! My friend's and family really enjoy my gluten free goodies, in fact most of the time they prefer it. It's nice to read the label of your food and actually know what the ingredients are.

Wow what a load of garbage!!! Just like people used to believe drinking bottled water was better for them before they learned it was really the same tap water out of the faucet. Or that "Airborne" really fought off colds. And now they're learning so called "organic" foods are just marked up with little dietary benefits. People get a clue. And they're finding the same thing with the Acai berries (they're just great anti oxidants). Don't just fall for the next fad please. Make sure there is documented research before you start jumping on that next fad diet. Oprah started this after reading a book by a model??? wow. Thats almost the same as if a doctor did research and wrote a book on his results right?

Our daughter has had Celiac since she turned 15 months. The diet is healthier but can be difficult to follow. I think the last quotation is a little over dramitic however, the diet isn't torture. Whe our daughter was diagnosed 12 years ago their were very few products available to substitute but withing the last 2 years many glutten free products have come on the market making it much simpler to follow a glutten free diet. The variety has also made it much simpiler for our daughter both at home and going out. Major universities like Ohio State and Ohio Universtiy now offer Glutten free dining at their cafeterias which indicates the extent of people requesting and requiring glutten free alternatives. Hopefully we'll see more businesses and institutions offering these choices in the future!

I have two qualms with this article.

1. The initial premise with Celiac, and autism is too tightly bound. When in fact, there are many lower GI issues that benefit from gluten-free diets, and upwards of 40% of autism patients have lower GI issues. This new link is leading researchers to understand there is "something" connecting GI and autism - of which Diet could be an important factor.

2. The other interesting observation is that even if you are a healthy skeptic, it is difficult to argue that a gluten-free diet isn't healthy. So I strongly encourage families to tackle this with a great sense of rigor and excitement - this is a great chance to teach children good eating habits (e.g. ignore the donuts).

I have real qualms with this article on two accounts:

1. It is to narrowly focused on just celiac disease, gluten and autism.
The reality is the studies are showing a high proportion of children with autism have some lower GI issue (e.g. Celiac, or others). The studies (including Harvard) can be found here. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12010627.

2. The second is that the author doesn't explore the opposite, which is - what are the health benefits of gluten and processed foods? Even if you do not subscribe to the autism studies,in my opinion, it is difficult to argue that this diet is not healthy.

Our family did an elimination diet omitting all sugars, starches, salt and dairy for a period of approx. 12 months. We even cut out fruit sugar (sucrose) during that period. Now, as we [gradually and cautiously] reintroduce items into our diet, it is extremely obvious which foods are causing problems because with a clean palate, the reactions are dramatic. (To be quite honest, fruit tastes like candy now that our palates have grown accustomed to normal amounts of sugar. It was well worth the "sacrifice".)

For example, if I eat even one corn chip now, I can literally feel my jaw begin to tighten and ache even before I swallow the thing. I can trace the consumption of dairy directly to acne outbreaks and skin rashes now, too. I suffered from intense ear and tonsil aches accompanied by high fevers throughout childhood, and later, from debilitating bouts of arthritis and wicked P.M.S., all of which is completely gone now. The [severe] arthritis returns within hours if I eat any grains other than rice. Any M.D. would say I was imagining the symptoms. But there you go??? the evidence provided by my own body is irrefutable, and can be traced back directly to the consumption of these foods.

My family have learned to listen to our bodies, and thus, our bodies speak plainly about the consumption of refined and excess sugars, allergenic starches such as potato and wheat crops, and too much sodium. Often, candida overgrowth is a problem for undiagnosed celiacs, so this method is the most efficient way of addressing any secondary problems which may arise due to a poor diet. An elimination diet over a period of a few months helps to eliminate the inevitable candida yeast overgrowth, which is a huge and undetected factor for many sick kids and parents, and it is not "torture" at all. Actually, once our body is cleansed and our taste-buds accustomed to a healthy diet, the bad grains and sugar and salt in the average [disgusting] North American diet taste horrible!

There is no place for candy and excess starch and sugar in the diet of any child, much less one suffering from any health problems. It's simply not worth the risk.

I have been on a gluten free diet for 15 years due to an unpleasent skin rash I get when I consume gluten. It is really not too difficult to deal with. There is the requirement to turndown most of the treats around the office and to read EVERY label at the grocery store.