Help with wheat/gluten issues

[gmiller]

Hi!  I moved to Kenya the first of July and since I have moved here I have been having some serious issues relating to wheat consumption.  It has progressively gotten worse since moving.  At this point, when I eat wheat products, I have serious diarrhea (sorry TMI) within 30 minutes of eating it.  I feel nauseas and have joint pain, headaches and fatigue. I feel great in between these times, and eating other foods do not produce the same results.   

I guess my question is, could the bread which is much less processed (like we find stalks of the wheat in our bread) have a higher amount of gluten in it than I have been accustomed to in the States?

I know I need to cut it out, but how long should I cut it out for before I add it back into my diet to check for specific reactions?  

I am not sure about getting testing done, I will have to find a doctor here and ask if it is possible.  I am okay with not having a definitive answer until I get back to the States if I can do a challenge test and see how my body reacts to the food here.  Can symptoms of gluten sensitivity come up so quickly?

Thanks for your help! 

[babygirlie]

I believe the thing that allows us to eat cereals and what not is that it is milled down and in it's original form is not easily digestable by humans. Since it's not only not processed but not even ground it would be hard on your body to digest it even if you did not have gluten allergies. I would avoid anything that upsets your tummy. Keep a diary. I realize it must be difficult in another country. They are probably more use to eating them as they are.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-grains

[gmiller]

Thanks for your thoughts!  That is what I was thinking, too.  I will continue to avoid the things that are bothering me.  I asked a doctor about it and she said that if I have never had allergies to wheat before, then that could not be it. Really?  Hm.  Not what I have read!  Anyways, I will keep on chugging away on this!  Cheers

[SweetSilver]

Having an allergy is not always as clear-cut as people think.  I wen 42 years without realizing I had my allergies.  3 years ago, some allergic symptoms got worse and, having severe grass allergies I was tested for those and food as well.  Yikes!  I was living in an allergic fog and didn't realize it because my symptoms are not the typical ones people think of when they think of allergies. It is possible that you have had a wheat allergy and just didn't know it.

But there other ingredients that could be causing your problems.  Yeast?  Dairy products?  What else is in the bread?  What about unleavened wheat products?  

[KimPM]

What I have found is that if I am sensitive to a particular food, then eating it in a less processed, more natural form causes *more* symptoms, so the effect is more pronounced.

It's also possible there's something else that's made its way into the bread, causing your obvious reaction. Wherever it's made, ask about the details of what's in it and exactly how it's made. Maybe you can actually watch some of it being made...?

Is there any other source of wheat you could try instead of that bread, to see if it's actually wheat and not something about just that one bread?

[subtlycrunchy]

This is so interesting...I have similar reactions when I eat wheat berries (soaked) and I wondered too if I had a gluten intolerance, but I really think it has more to due with just a tough to digest food. For information on gluten intolerance and celiac disease, here's a pretty good description of each: 

Gluten intolerance and celiac disease — should you be concerned?

Though my gut, ha ha, tells me this isn't the issue for you. Best of luck in Kenya! 

[jocelyndale]

What about tropical sprue?  It's really not at all common in Africa, but it's not totally unheard of.