Do YOU need to go gluten free?

Not trying to be contentious, just curious...I have a friend whose daughter seemed to be gluten intolerant, but after playing around with various grains, etc. to find what worked for her...it seems she was not allergic to gluten, but to the food additives in commercial bread. Once her family switched to homemade bread with organic flour, her symptoms disappeared entirely.
I know there are true gluten allergies, of course. But I wonder if sometimes it's allergies to all the other crap that we put in our bodies...?
 
I can't eat most store bought breads. Something they add really messes my guts up and I will pay for it later. Homemade or good quality breads from the bakery I have no issues with. Pasta doesn't cause me issues. I try and not eat to much bread or other grains as it really messes up my blood sugars. Potatoes don't do anything to my sugars (except french fries)
 
I am also certain that all those preservatives do have a taste to them. I have noticed that no matter how basic a recipe I use, my homemade stuff ALWAYS tastes better than commercial stuff.
 
Around here, this is almost a taboo subject. I don't have to be gluten free, DH and I don't have issues that are related to gluten. But, by cracky, the rest of the crunchy community in my area will flat shun you if you aren't gluten free or pretend to be. I don't understand a neighbor who screams 'gluten free', but feeds her kids purchased protein bars, rice cakes, no fruit...well, you get the drift, the opposite of what I'd eat.

Individual health, like home remedies, is not a one size fits all. I also believe that for SOME, it's not necessarily the gluten, it's some other stuff, preservatives, etc etc.
Not to be offensive...honest.
 
You are right Marianne, the whole gluten issue has become the "syndrome de jour" in some circles. I remember when sugar was the root of all evil... we found by process of elimination that it wasn't the sugar in his diet that made my youngest son climb the walls; it was red dye. I'm not saying that sugar is good, just that it wasn't the culprit in this particular case.
 
Having been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis about 18 years ago, I think there are some foods that trigger flares, and make my life miserable in other ways as well. I just haven't been able to pinpoint what foods that would be. Recently I have been reading about a modification of the GAPS diet that addresses inflammation. It eliminates all nightshade foods, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant. I think I need to try this but am having a hard time getting my mind around it. What will I eat? I have already eliminated sugar, pre-packaged foods, corn. This diet also takes away dairy and all grains.
I love my raw milk. :oops: It's taking me a while to work up to it.
I may try a specific elimination diet for a couple of weeks....say...just eliminate the nightshades, as they seem to be the most likely culprit. Best to do it before my garden tomatoes start producing, I guess.
 
I think the elimination diet may be your best bet. Otherwise, you will soon be reduced to eating nothing but brown rice and drinking water. (and even the brown rice might be a culprit- it appears to have higher than normal amounts of arsenic)
 
So I'm skeptical about the gluten-free craze.

I think wheat/starch heavy diets are correlated with poor health. If you try to go gluten free, you're forced to eat more meat and non-starchy vegetables, which seems to be good for you. I prefer to think of it as better health due to eating more vegetables.
 
I've seen people who are going gluten-free but seem to spend a lot of time looking for gluten-free substitutes for all their starchy favorites. Seems to me that you aren't really changing your diet to a meat and vegetable heavy diet if you are still eating as much bread, muffins, cakes, pies, pasta, etc. but made with grain that doesn't have gluten in it- as you did before; it's still a grain-heavy diet.
 
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