Gluten intolerance? heard interesting stuff on the radio...

[owensmom]

I heard about a book (the author was on) called Dangerous Grains. He was basically saying that we (humans) didn't introduce gluten into our diets until relatively recently (in the grand scheme of things). He said that 60% of all people have an intolerance of gluten, and it manifests itself in many ways. He gave examples of people with various ailments who went on a gluten free diet and it cleared up (a man that sneezed every 2 minutes for 30 years, his son being in the 10th %ile for height and having terrible growing pains until he gave him no gluten, then he grew 2 inches in a month). I don't know much about it, thought it was interesting though - seems like food allergies and sensitivities are the last place dr's look when you have chronic symptoms. Anyway, just some food for thought... so to speak!

[ladylee]

I believe there's a lot of truth to this also. Ten years ago I studied natural hygiene, where the ideal diet for humans is thought to be raw fruits and vegetables. I notice a big difference in my wellness when I eliminate gluten from my diet.

[Mothernature]

When I was first married my dh was being medicated for ADHD. It didn't matter what med they gave him, he had little luck. Finally, I'd had enough and we went on an elimination diet. We started out with beans and started adding things as we became more confident that the beans were not the problem. Wheat was a trigger for both of us (migraines for me), as well as many preservatives, msg, food colorings, corn, peas, and some dairy. It makes it difficult to find food that can be tolerated, and completely eliminates Mexican food from the diet, but since we made the change he has mysteriously been cured of his ADHD. HMMMM.

Anyway, on the wheat thing, a friend of mine is reading a book by Sally Fallon (I'll have to think about the title) that describes ways to prepare grains to make them more digestable to humans and it helps make the nutrients more available. I have yet to read it myself but I would be interested in finding out what she says about wheat.