Should I stop eating wheat?

[Danestress]

I have been off and on with a low carb diet. When I am 'on' I still eat tons of vegetables and blackberries. So it isn't an extreme low carb, and I get lots of fiber.

 

Recently I have discovered (and I am sure I am correct about this) that every time I eat bread, I have gas and or diahrrea. I never have had a problem with wheat or gluten and was pretty much the carb queen until I hit 42 and wanted to drop a few pounds.

 

So I guess I am wondering if not eating wheat has lowered my tolerance for it so I should keep eating it so I stay used to it, or if once someone feels a snsitivity, she should cut it out of her diet. I sort of regret going low carb if its going to make me not able to eat wheat when I want it, though otherwise I feel good on a low carb diet.

 

Any thoughts? I am not sure if small amounts of pasta have the same effect, but sandwich bread I have confirmed without a doubt.

[Brilliant]

I've just been wondering the same thing. I've been low-carbing for 2 months but went carb-crazy for 2 days in a row last week. Lots of wheat and sugar. The effects weren't pretty. :(. And I've never had problems with either before, so it surprised me that I now seem sensitive to either the wheat or sugar.

[Danestress]

I wouldn't even say I went carb crazy. Twice I had a bad reaction to peanut butter on toast. Later I tried peanut butter in celery and was fine. So then yesterday I tried toast with butter and was sick. So I guess it was the toast. Sadly toast has always been a beloved friend and comforter.

[Brilliant]

... I sort of regret going low carb if its going to make me not able to eat wheat when I want it, though otherwise I feel good on a low carb diet.

...

 

...Sadly toast has always been a beloved friend and comforter.

 

 

:grouphug:

 

Going low-carb has really made me think a lot more about the social, emotional, & cultural aspects of food. For example, this coming weekend, sugar and wheat products are SO important to the Easter traditions in my family. (Why we need carbs to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is a mystery, but, there it is).

 

I hope somebody chimes in with advice.

[Orthodox6]

This is a question best answered by a medical doctor. All we here have are good-will guesses.

 

I hope you both feel better soon!

[gardenmom5]

you could get more information specifically about your body chemistry from a naturopathic dr. medical drs are not instructed in nutrition and will not give you very good information.

[lavender's green]

You could look into FODMAPS, which is sometimes why people have issues with wheat or other things (I've heard that this is what most people are sensitive to when they have reactions to bread, as opposed to gluten). I believe there's a plan for taking them out of your diet to let your gut bacteria normalize, and then slowly adding them back in so that you can eat a slice of bread without feeling cruddy.

 

Also, talk to your doctor. We're all just guessing here, really. :)

[Brilliant]

...

I hope somebody chimes in with advice.

 

This is a question best answered by a medical doctor. All we here have are good-will guesses.

 

Also, talk to your doctor. We're all just guessing here, really. :)

 

Are you kidding me? All these years I've been calling Dr Hive, and now this?? ;)

[Danestress]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you kidding me? All these years I've been calling Dr Hive, and now this?? ;)

 

 

I know, right? I never go to the doctor for stuff like this. I go the the doctor when I need medical intervention, which is really rare. I would love it if I could, but honestly can't imagine going to the doctor about something I could research online and troubleshoot for a while first - partly cause I don't want to waste my time and his, and also because of that co pay! You guys have the best advice for free:)

[Orthodox6]

you could get more information specifically about your body chemistry from a naturopathic dr. medical drs are not instructed in nutrition and will not give you very good information.

 

Generally true; however, I would not take this as an absolute (based on experience). By the same token, most naturopathic practitioners are not trained in allopathic medicine. Combining the two strands of training often is most productive for the patient.

[Amy in TX]

Is it possible that you've always been sensitive to wheat, but you're just now putting it together, because going off wheat and then adding it back makes it clear what's causing the symptoms?

 

This is what I've experienced. My whole life I've had the symptoms of IBS, but didn't quite realize it wasn't normal until my 20s when I was given a diagnosis. Then, until my 40s, it never occurred to me that my IBS was caused, or at least severely aggravated, by wheat. Wheat was such a staple and no one ever suggested that it caused anyone digestive issues. It wasn't until I tried Atkins to lose weight, and my IBS went away, that I connected my lifelong symptoms with wheat.

[catz]

My other thought is this - you may be sensitive to the other ingredients in the bread. I cannot eat processed white flour garbage. Especially stuff that has HFCS. I spend $5 a loaf now on locally baked bread with an ingredient list that looks like - whole wheat flour, water, honey, yeast, salt. I eat 3 ingredient whole wheat pasta too. I am not specifically low carb - I have to balance carefully or I can develop sensitivities. I really have to watch sugar intake in general too. I have been dx-ed IBS. I use flax based fiber, ACV, and probiotics daily as well. Using some homepathic doctors was much more productive for me than general med once I had an upper and lower endoscope and knew nothing really dire was going on.

[mommymilkies]

It might be worth a long trial. Otherwise I would say no if you didn't have to.

[briansmama]

It sounds very likely that you are more aware of the way your body reacts to gluten after not eating it for a while. Maybe try to notice how you feel after eating oatmeal (if you eat it). Oatmeal is very high in gluten.

 

We did an elimination diet with ds when he was much younger because we noticed behavioral changes right after meal times (and his afternoon nap). So, we eliminated all the common culprits for 2 weeks, then re-introduced them 1 at a time. It was very clear that casein and gluten were causing the problems, and had we not eliminated those two in the first place I'm not sure we'd have been able to pinpoint them as the culprits (or at least it wouldn't have been as obvious).

 

Also wanted to add that 50% of those sensitive to gluten are also sensitive to casein. You may want to do an elimination diet.

[twoxcell]

Oatmeal is very high in gluten.

 

Oatmeal does not contain gluten unless it has been processed in a facility with wheat.

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreegrains/f/Is-Oatmeal-Gluten-Free.htm

[gardenmom5]

By the same token, most naturopathic practitioners are not trained in allopathic medicine. Combining the two strands of training often is most productive for the patient.

 

yes, it's very nice when the two sides will work together, as they could complement each other. sadly, most of my experience with allopathic is openly hostile to alternative med of any kind. (even my osteopathic drs were hostile to ND and chiros.) those willing to work together are few and far between - and I'm in an area with lots of options and a ND school. you'd think there would be more tolerance.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Well I will happily tell you to quit wheat and not to bother with your doctor. In my experience, the chances of a typical doctor being aware of the intimate relationship between nutrition and health are only slightly higher than my chances of winning the Miss America contest this year. Are there some who are aware and qualified to have the discussion? Sure. But good luck stumbling onto one.

 

I agree with briansmama. You are noticing something. I know you don't want to give up wheat and that toast is comfort food for you, but it is worth investigating further to see if it is actually damaging your body. I'm curious whether you just started to go low carb to lose weight or for any other issues such as bloating, fatigue, general aches and pains, digestive irregularities, lack of energy, etc. All of these things can be caused by wheat and other sensitivities, not just weight. I initially went low carb for weight loss and because of the list of symptoms I just mentioned. I lost weight steadily. After a while, I would occasionally indulge, have a potato or some rice. No biggie. I would have a good deal more fruit than I ought to in one day. No biggie. I would eat nuts. No biggie. Beans. No biggie. I mean, when I ate nuts and beans, I wasn't losing weight so quickly but, really, no biggie. Wheat. BAM. And I mean BAM! My body told me in no uncertain terms that wheat isn't good for me, and I feel so much better not eating it.

 

Then, after hearing the words from posts here echoing in my head, and after getting so sick of the sinus problems and (bizarrely) YEAR-ROUND "seasonal" allergies I've had for about 4 years, I sadly quit dairy too. I mean, wheat was pretty easy for me, especially because it was obvious that it made me hurt, physically hurt in my belly and my joints. But dairy. Cheese and I...well, there is a love story there. LOL Three days after quitting dairy, I woke up for the first time in almost 4 years with clear sinuses. My allergies had disappeared. Now, this was incredible enough on its own, of course, but on this particular day, one of my friends who has only seasonal allergies (what my doctors had always told me I had, by the way) mentioned in a text that she just had to get to CVS to pick up some Claritin because her allergies were so bad and she couldn't breathe. Then I remembered that two times in the weeks prior, CVS had robo-called me about allergy season being around the corner and reminding me to be sure my prescriptions were up to date.

 

So, no wheat or dairy for me anymore. And it kind of blows wind...except for the fact that I feel incredible. I can sit at the park and breathe. I can smell stuff, and I'm not constantly short of breath. My tummy is getting flatter every single day because 75% of my problem wasn't weight; it was bloating from eating stuff my body was rejecting. I mourn cheese more than anything. The most helpful thing for that has been to look through all my tried-and-true recipes for those which I already love that do not include wheat and dairy. Instead of thinking of what I can't have, I'm thinking in terms of what I can have that I aleady love.

 

Anyway, yes, quit wheat. It won't hurt you to give it up and you may enjoy the same virtually miraculous results that I have. I have seen 5 doctors in the 4 years that I have had "seasonal allergies." Not one suggested they could be food related. At first onset, I even asked my doc at the time for a referral to an allergist so I could find out what I was allergic to. He just chuckled at me. (Really, he CHUCKLED at me!) He said almost all adults eventually succumb to seasonal allergies in central TX, and that was that. Wouldn't even give me a referral. So I had probably 3-4 sinus infections a year (for which I took antibiotics), even on allergy meds, and suffered for 4 years when, in the end, it was dairy that caused my troubles. So, yeah, I scoff when people think their doctors have any business doling out nutritional advice.

[Orthodox6]

yes, it's very nice when the two sides will work together, as they could complement each other. sadly, most of my experience with allopathic is openly hostile to alternative med of any kind. (even my osteopathic drs were hostile to ND and chiros.) those willing to work together are few and far between - and I'm in an area with lots of options and a ND school. you'd think there would be more tolerance.

 

 

Very sad to see the shared ignorance among practitioners of all types, along with the competitiveness and hostility. So it falls to the patient to research all angles and try to find empathetic practitioners. We have been fortunate over the years to find some good people. One p-doc practiced "standard" psychiatry, but trusted me to bring her information and supportive studies in alternative medicine. Together, we incorporated the best of both worlds. My husband's favorite chiropractor also held an M.D.

[justamouse]

Welcome to my world.

 

I will tell you what my allergist told me. (he's a high fallutin allergist, too, who writes articles for NYT).

 

He said there is no reason humans need to eat wheat, so stop. (this was after he diagnosed my gluten intolerance, that, like yours, developed AFTER I had gone low carb).

 

So. There's an opinion. :grouphug:

 

 

I do make wheat products for my family, but I use the Nourishing Traditions way of reducing the phytic acid in the wheat so that they are better digested and the nutrients are more bioavailable. I also make sure all of my flours are GMO free.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

My non scientific opinion is that, yes, going off carbs for a while renders your body less able to process carbs.

Based on the Whole 30 trend, and Wheat Belly theories, wheat will cause inflammations in the intestine. It takes about 30 days with no wheat to clear it up. Once cleared, you will have problems digesting wheat, but you will also be a lot more regular, and will produce less hahum... gas. Your gut will be a lot healthier.

The same happened to me, so in this scientific trial of one subject (yeah, very scientific :-) ), the theory proved itself.

[MIch elle]

Watch the doctors discuss wheat: http://www.dietdoctor.com/dr-william-wheat-belly-davis-on-the-dr-oz-show

[kitten18]

Oatmeal does not contain gluten unless it has been processed in a facility with wheat.

http://celiacdisease...Gluten-Free.htm

Agreed. I do buy GF oats to make sure they're not contaminated.

 

Welcome to my world.

 

I will tell you what my allergist told me. (he's a high fallutin allergist, too, who writes articles for NYT).

 

He said there is no reason humans need to eat wheat, so stop. (this was after he diagnosed my gluten intolerance, that, like yours, developed AFTER I had gone low carb).

 

So. There's an opinion. :grouphug:

 

 

I do make wheat products for my family, but I use the Nourishing Traditions way of reducing the phytic acid in the wheat so that they are better digested and the nutrients are more bioavailable. I also make sure all of my flours are GMO free.

I agree.

[Orthodox6]

My non scientific opinion is that, yes, going off carbs for a while renders your body less able to process carbs.

Based on the Whole 30 trend, and Wheat Belly theories, wheat will cause inflammations in the intestine. It takes about 30 days with no wheat to clear it up. Once cleared, you will have problems digesting wheat, but you will also be a lot more regular, and will produce less hahum... gas. Your gut will be a lot healthier.

The same happened to me, so in this scientific trial of one subject (yeah, very scientific :-) ), the theory proved itself.

 

Seems similar body reactions to other foods, as well. At the end of every Great Lent, I see fellow Orthodox Christians dive in enthusiastically with heavy meat consumption -- only to live, miserable, in the bathroom for days. Meat has to be added back in gradually, starting with small amounts, to avoid this suffering.

[Annie G]

Honestly, it may just be simply that your body isn't used to it after being away from it. I have done low carb at all various levels of strictness for years. If I go very low for a period of time I get the same reaction. But if I keep eating the bread, that goes away pretty quickly. I have a similar reaction when I suddenly go very low carb too though. I feel like I have the flu for the first few days then it goes away.

 

 

Same here. And I have friends who eat vegetarian for 6 weeks then eat a Culver's double butterburger and claim it made them sick. Well, yeah, they felt sick but it's not the burger's fault- it's putting so much meat/fat on their system at once. Kind of like when I go on a brussels sprouts binge- I eat a pound of them in 2 days and feel gassy.

 

There might be a wheat or gluten issue, but there very well might not. I'd have it checked out medically before I eliminated wheat.

[Ellie]

I have been off and on with a low carb diet. When I am 'on' I still eat tons of vegetables and blackberries. So it isn't an extreme low carb, and I get lots of fiber.

A low-carb diet doesn't mean NO carbs. It means also eating high protein and high fat, and choosing veggies and fruits that are low in carbs. That includes many veggies and fruits, especially berries. :-)

 

Recently I have discovered (and I am sure I am correct about this) that every time I eat bread, I have gas and or diahrrea. I never have had a problem with wheat or gluten and was pretty much the carb queen until I hit 42 and wanted to drop a few pounds.

 

So I guess I am wondering if not eating wheat has lowered my tolerance for it so I should keep eating it so I stay used to it, or if once someone feels a snsitivity, she should cut it out of her diet. I sort of regret going low carb if its going to make me not able to eat wheat when I want it, though otherwise I feel good on a low carb diet.

 

I can't tolerate much wheat now after doing Atkins for many years. Such is life. :-) Let's see: prime rib versus a bologna sandwich...hmmm...which do I really want? :D

[AMJ]

 

Yeah I once discovered that yes a person can eat too much broccoli. NOT PRETTY!

 

 

Let me warn you that eating a pound and a half of raw carrots in one sitting isn't exactly a good idea, either. So before you snack or graze MEASURE OUT A PORTION. Don't eat straight from the bag while doing other things.

 

Expecially if you have to explain to anyone just why you spend so long in the restroom....

[Orthodox6]

 

Yeah I once discovered that yes a person can eat too much broccoli. NOT PRETTY!

 

 

Any similarity to when a toddler discovers red grapes and ODs on them -- with nasty results?

[briansmama]

 

 

Oatmeal does not contain gluten unless it has been processed in a facility with wheat.

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenfreegrains/f/Is-Oatmeal-Gluten-Free.htm

 

 

Yes, but that processing leads to high levels of gluten in popular oatmeal brands:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200411043511924

 

I was told to stay away from GF oats because they are highly processed and typically aggravate those sensitive to gluten (this has been true, in our case).

[WishboneDawn]

This is a question best answered by a medical doctor. All we here have are good-will guesses.

 

I hope you both feel better soon!

 

Ditto.

 

Sometimes I'm puzzled by the questions that are asked here when they should clearly be asked of a doctor with personal knowledge of the asker.

[WishboneDawn]

I know, right? I never go to the doctor for stuff like this. I go the the doctor when I need medical intervention, which is really rare. I would love it if I could, but honestly can't imagine going to the doctor about something I could research online and troubleshoot for a while first - partly cause I don't want to waste my time and his, and also because of that co pay! You guys have the best advice for free:)

 

The doctor has tests for these sorts of things. Dr. Hive doesn't.

[justamouse]

The doctor has tests for these sorts of things. Dr. Hive doesn't.

 

 

My Dr didn't test me. He said there were too many false negatives with the tests. He asked me my symptoms.

 

I told him that I can tell as soon as the bread hits my stomach, and I feel every foot of its passage in my system. He said congratulations, I have gluten intolerance. No test needed.

[Alte Veste Academy]

The doctor has tests for these sorts of things. Dr. Hive doesn't.

 

For what it's worth, I asked my doctor for the celiac panel. She said OK, and ordered it, but she let me know going in that it is very common for the blood test to come up negative when you really do have celiac. So mine came up negative and she said she would order the next diagnostic test, which was a biopsy of the intestine (or something like that...anyway, extremely invasive and expensive) which would require a referral to another doc. However, she recommended just quitting wheat. And maybe I don't have celiac. Maybe I just have an intolerance. Either way, I am miserable when I eat it, so I stopped eating it.

 

I do not believe there is a test for intolerance. It seems to me that getting gas or diarrhea every time a product is consumed would be failing a homemade test of sorts, though.

 

I get the whole thing about food sometimes having digestive consequences. I once ate three cups of blackberries in one sitting and thought I was actually going to die of that. :lol: But, honestly, if a food is giving you diarrhea every time you eat it in a reasonable portion, it sounds like common sense to avoid that food.

[AdventureMoms]

 

Although a lot of doctors don't know much about food oddly enough. They take maybe one nutrition class, if that during their time in medical school. If something involves diet or nutrition they send people to dieticians.

 

And even those dieticians are hit-or-miss. A LOT of dieticians are still prescribing a low-fat, high-carb (150-200g a day) diet for diabetics, and encouraging the use of heavily processed vegetable oils to avoid saturated fat.

[briansmama]

I agree- it is shocking to learn just how little time is spent in medical school on nutrition and sleep (I read peds spend about 3 hours in school learning about infant/child sleep habits). A little disconcerting....

[justamouse]

And even those dieticians are hit-or-miss. A LOT of dieticians are still prescribing a low-fat, high-carb (150-200g a day) diet for diabetics, and encouraging the use of heavily processed vegetable oils to avoid saturated fat.

 

 

I know, everyone keeps telling me to go to a dietician and that's exactly what I say, if they are still saying the low fat diet is the The Way, why would I even bother? I'm only wasting their time and mine.

[stripe]

My other thought is this - you may be sensitive to the other ingredients in the bread. I cannot eat processed white flour garbage. Especially stuff that has HFCS. I spend $5 a loaf now on locally baked bread with an ingredient list that looks like - whole wheat flour, water, honey, yeast, salt. I eat 3 ingredient whole wheat pasta too.

 

Indeed. There's usually more in commercial bread than just wheat. There are a lot of people who do well with bread from organic whole wheat flour that they mill themselves, for example, rather than, say, a commercial white product loaded with chemicals that improve speed and reliability. Similarly, I have heard about people who think they cannot tolerate dairy, who are able to drink certain types of milk, due to the conditions under which the milk was produced.

[Greta]

Danestress, I had a similar experience. Going low-carb either made me wheat-sensitive or revealed my wheat sensitivity -- not sure which. I did have my doctor test me (for celiac) and even though the test was negative he still said that based on my symptoms I have gluten-triggered IBS *and* a wheat allergy (doubly blessed!).

 

But the thing is, while wheat-based foods certainly have tremendous cultural significance and we are very emotionally attached to them, they have zero nutritional value. They're fattening. They're inflammatory. They're filth food. I went through months of denial ("a little bit won't hurt!" "everyone else is eating this, I should be able to as well,") before I could fully face the fact that yes, I can live without wheat.

 

Of course, you have to make that call whether or not you can live without wheat. Why do you want to be able to eat it? And are those reasons worth the costs? You probably can rebuild a certain amount of tolerance to it. But my personal concern with that would be, what if it's still affecting you in ways that you don't immediately feel? Then again MY body's reaction is so clear that there's no doubt in my mind that it's hurting me both immediately and long-term if I were to keep eating it. You may feel differently if your body isn't reacting as badly.

[Dory]

The gas and intestinal problems were something that my son struggled with until we limited him to ancient wheat (Emmer, or Red Fife) and oatmeal. Took a little while but his system cleared up pretty good. We don't often eat out, but if I allow him to eat bread at a restaurant I see the same sort of thing out of him. Oddly it seemed to help a few other problems with my other two kids as well. If ever I can't get my hands on heritage wheat than we would be cutting wheat out of our diet completely.

[Danestress]

 

 

Of course, you have to make that call whether or not you can live without wheat. Why do you want to be able to eat it? And are those reasons worth the costs? You probably can rebuild a certain amount of tolerance to it. But my personal concern with that would be, what if it's still affecting you in ways that you don't immediately feel? Then again MY body's reaction is so clear that there's no doubt in my mind that it's hurting me both immediately and long-term if I were to keep eating it. You may feel differently if your body isn't reacting as badly.

 

I actually think I am ok most of the time without wheat. I like my toast but I also like rice and oatmeal, and like being lchf most of the time. I mostly was wondering whether not eating wheat was sort of enabling my body to learn to not deal with it well, since I never noticed a problem with it before, but others are making me wonder whether the problem has just been ignored. After the day I had yesterday, I don't even want bread right now!

[Danestress]

 

A low-carb diet doesn't mean NO carbs. It means also eating high protein and high fat, and choosing veggies and fruits that are low in carbs. That includes many veggies and fruits, especially berries. :-)

 

 

Yes, thanks. I included information about my diet so no one would suggest that I am just struggling with adding fiber into my diet if they were thinking, as some do, that low carb is essentially a meat and cheese diet.

[Unicorn.]

Quite frankly, I trust the advice on here more than the doctor's. The hive is usually more accurate. :D

OP- yes, quit the wheat! It doesn't mean you have to give up buttered toast! Homemade gf bread is delicious! Gluten free pantry makes a good gf bread that is simple to whip up. I'm a bread-a-holic, and actually like gf homemade bread better than wheat bread!

[Greta]

After the day I had yesterday, I don't even want bread right now!

 

 

This is the point I've gotten to as well. When I look at a loaf of bread, I don't see food, I see sickness (hives, diarhhea, and a PAINFULLY bloated pregnant-looking belly without the reward of a baby). Needless to say, it's not too appetizing.

 

I've learned to make low-carb versions of breads, cakes, crackers, etc. as occasional treats. I love them because they help my husband and daughter eat lower-carb, and I can feel indulged from time to time without getting sick. In case you're not already familiar, I highly recommend Linda's Low Carb and Low Carb Friends for lots of free recipes.

[tex-bex]

Yes, you should stop eating wheat. It's all been covered above, I just wanted to say it, too. You'll not only get used to it, but come to prefer it. I have no desire to eat bread of any kind, and I grew up on fresh sourdough, so I know good-tasting bread.

 

Good luck!