Comments on: Gluten free-for-all

By: tnxplant

tnxplant — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:55:21 +0000

My son is not celiac but has intestinal absorption issues if he eats gluten. My understanding is that the wheat that is grown to make bread today has a much higher gluten content and a different protein content from that of the past. This may have given rise to sensitivities, along with a diet that relies mostly on processed food.

I’m sure some have simply jumped on the latest bandwagon regarding gluten, but it is a genuinely serious issue for others.

It is not hard to eat a gluten-free diet if one eats whole foods instead of processed ones.

By: holmes

holmes — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 15:07:22 +0000

Grass is a grain? I think it’s more like a vegetable leaf. Plus, dogs often eat grass instinctually to help them vomit or get.something that is.upsetting their.stomach through faster.

By: expat

expat — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 11:43:42 +0000

I bet the same people who are complaining about the postwar hybrid wheat are the same ones who now take to the baricades against genetically modified foods. The won’t accept the fact that the changes in today’s GMOs can be identified and the products subjected to mch more rigorous testing re the effects on public health.

How can anyone attribute postwar obesity problems to hybrid wheat? Given the enormous changes in our diet and the increase in all prepared foods since the war, there is no way you can control an experiment to test for a single factor. I tend to think it has more to do with mothers no longer cooking meals from simple ingredients. When today’s kids prefer Kraft mac and cheese to the kind my mom use to make, you get some idea of the total shift in our eating habits.

By: Gary Rosen

Gary Rosen — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:46:11 +0000

There is a local pizzeria that charges $4 more for a “gluten-free” pizza. I have been wanting to ask them if I can order a pizza with extra gluten for $4 less.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 07:43:05 +0000

Sam L: As far as making your own starter, the video I linked above describes a technique devised by Peter Reinhart where you start the first bit of flour with some pineapple juice, and the acidity helps to keep some of the more troublesome microorganisms at bay while encouraging the growth of the ones you want. Smock Puppet wrote: " Dogs weren’t really meant to eat grains." Tell that to the dog eating grass… :^D Since grains are technically the seeds of grasses, your point would apply if the dogs ate the grass seed voluntarily, but most of the time when I see my dogs eating grass, they just tear up the green stalk and chomp on that.

By: Smock Puppet, 10th Dan Snark Master

Smock Puppet, 10th Dan Snark Master — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:58:04 +0000

Dogs weren’t really meant to eat grains.

Tell that to the dog eating grass... :^D

By: Smock Puppet, 10th Dan Snark Master

Smock Puppet, 10th Dan Snark Master — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:55:00 +0000

I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU:

=====================
IT’s ALL ABOUT Meeeeeeeeee!!!
=====================

Yes, *I* am the CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, and

DON’T YOU DAMNED WELL FORGET IT.

If you DO, I’ll puke on your shoes and
blame it on the Gluten you just fed me.

No, it doesn’t matter if we’re hiking in the WOODS.

You need to be paying attention to MEEEEEEEE.

Yes: Meeeeeeeeee…

By: JuliB

JuliB — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 04:08:33 +0000

Recently I read an article in some natural health magazine about a baker who makes bread from older, obscure grains and even people with celiac can eat the bread without a problem. It’s an interesting possibility.

By: RandomThoughts

RandomThoughts — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 03:08:03 +0000

Our allergies have become part of our identity.

True words, foxmarks. At the Store Where I Work, we have a substantial percentage of shoppers who willingly pay hundreds of dollars per visit for various “health supplements,” gluten-free products (we stock a surprising array of them and they are all absurdly expensive) and other “healthy” food items.

We have a running joke that at 4:45 pm we get the “Dr. Oz crowd.” About 15 minutes after his show ends, a large number of people come in eager to buy whatever he’s touted. Chia seeds, raspberry ketone, we can tell what it was just by the sudden volume of it appearing at our checkout stands.

I try to avoid conversations with these shoppers, because they are convinced that they have all kinds of allergies and sensitivities, just from what they’ve seen on TV. No expense is too great when they believe following the latest fad (and gluten free certainly is one) will improve their health.

The quote about a fool and his money often comes to mind…

By: foxmarks

foxmarks — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:31:47 +0000

I enjoy testing and learning about my particular biochemistry. I think I have a sensitivity to gluten, with a reaction like a mild allergy. Nothing severe like celiac.

So I say there’s some truth in the gluten hysteria. But agree that most of it is psychological, not physiological. Our allergies have become part of our identity.