Paleo=gluten intolerance?

[Canuckssie]

So I've been on the Paleo diet for two months now and I'm feeling great. I went to Bali last week and kept up with the diet pretty easily though I did indulge about 3 times in the whole 9 days on something that wasn't Paleo.

Anyway, as I'm making a batch of egg cupcakes for my breakfasts this week, my housemate who has done food chemistry and in his own way, he does know a thing or two about fitness. But, I really didn't like the lecture he gave me about how sticking to this diet will make me gluten intolerant and that it's really not as healthy as I think it is and yadda yadda yadda. I don't feel like quote the entire 10min speech but I can't help but have my doubts now 'cause I don't want to be gluten intolerant in Australia where everything is expensive (though so far I'm doing pretty well so maybe not all bad).

Anyway, any advice for me who does not want to become gluten intolerant?

[notanartmajor]

I don't think it works that way, and I can't see how it even would, but I'm not a doctor. However, I also don't think Paleo is quite the dietary panacea it's made out to be. Honestly, if you aren't choke-to-death allergic or have some other very obvious problem with a food, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Canuckssie]

The argument that my housemate presents is that by avoiding gluten foods I'm not producing the vitamin that I require to break down gluten and therefore will render myself intolerant.

For the moment, I'm sticking to Paleo because it's the one diet where I don't feel like I'm starving after I eat. And I only plan to stick it out until I reach my weight/fitness goals and then balance things out again.

[Kishi]

I've never heard of paleo or primal making people gluten intolerant. Generally, people hop on it because they have an intolerance that's been undiagnosed, and cutting out gluten and the excess sugar provides some definite benefits that they want.

I mean, if it worries you that much, there's no reason not to eat some bread, but as long as you're feeling great the way you are, it's probably not worth losing sleep over.

[Elastigirl]

Your housemate is wrong. Yo don't develp gluten intolerance just because you don't eat it. Some people(myself included) find out that they are gluten or wheat intolerant when they stop eating it for 30 days and then reintroduce it into their diet. Thats when I figured out the reason for my joint pain and allergies was wheat, But not eating it didn't cause it, it just enabled me to realize the effect wheat had on me.

[Porta]

The abscence of an inflamitory nutrient like gluten doesnt make you intolerant too it. You will just notice the effects of gluten when you reconsume it later......just the same if you abstain from caffine for weekd then have a strong cup of coffee...you'll notice the kick alot more so to speak.

Gluten intolerance isnt in absolutes, liek the above poster commented, thee are different degrees of tolerance ect...whats important is to experiment with your own body and work out which is your prefered level.

Is gluten an essential nutrient, NO it is not...so if it dosent sit well with you.....get rid of it.

[Guest ApptivGames]

In this day and age, where everything is readily available to research on the internet with minimal amount of effort... this kind of ignorance is ridiculous.

Tell your roommate that in fact, nobody can digest gluten (source: http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2011/01/keeping-it-simple-truths-about-gluten.html?m=1 and http://gluten-freeplanet.blogspot.com/2011/04/gluten-glamour-fact-fiction-or-fashion.html and many more doctors with a simple google search).

Even under best of circumstances gluten passes through you without incident. In truth, it irritates most all people to some degree, just some more than others (gluten intolerant, celiac).

Avoiding something will not make you intolerant to it. In fact it's quite the opposite, repeated exposure to something that you are allergic to can actually cause additional allergies and in extreme cases creates auto-immune disorders.

Next time you get a 10 minute lecture from somebody spouting off ignorance, request to see their sources. And don't accept "I saw it on Dr. Oz" as a credible source.

[Thilde]

In this day and age, where everything is readily available to research on the internet with minimal amount of effort... this kind of ignorance is ridiculous.

Tell your roommate that in fact, nobody can digest gluten (source: http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2011/01/keeping-it-simple-truths-about-gluten.html?m=1 and http://gluten-freeplanet.blogspot.com/2011/04/gluten-glamour-fact-fiction-or-fashion.html and many more doctors with a simple google search).

Even under best of circumstances gluten passes through you without incident. In truth, it irritates most all people to some degree, just some more than others (gluten intolerant, celiac).

Avoiding something will not make you intolerant to it. In fact it's quite the opposite, repeated exposure to something that you are allergic to can actually cause additional allergies and in extreme cases creates auto-immune disorders.

Next time you get a 10 minute lecture from somebody spouting off ignorance, request to see their sources. And don't accept "I saw it on Dr. Oz" as a credible source.

^THIS. I have gotten similar reactions from people when I happen to mention that I'm following a paleo/primal lifestyle...as a result, I rarely talk about it with the non-paleo people in my life anymore because I just don't want to have the same argument again and again and again. I figure the physical results they see in my body, fitness, energy, and mood are argument enough for why I'm doing this. Apptiv's remarks are simple yet precise, and he offers sources...most of the arguments against paleo/primal lifestyles, especially coming from the average friend or family member, are none of those things (in my experience). I'm not saying there are no potential issues for paleo (there are, like there is with ANYTHING, which is why research and a focused, mindful approach are key), but there's a whole lot of good research out there supporting it. I say always ask for their sources, and always always do your own research and figure out what works best for you.

[Waltron]

In this day and age, where everything is readily available to research on the internet with minimal amount of effort... this kind of ignorance is ridiculous.

Tell your roommate that in fact, nobody can digest gluten (source: http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2011/01/keeping-it-simple-truths-about-gluten.html?m=1 and http://gluten-freeplanet.blogspot.com/2011/04/gluten-glamour-fact-fiction-or-fashion.html and many more doctors with a simple google search).

Even under best of circumstances gluten passes through you without incident. In truth, it irritates most all people to some degree, just some more than others (gluten intolerant, celiac).

Avoiding something will not make you intolerant to it. In fact it's quite the opposite, repeated exposure to something that you are allergic to can actually cause additional allergies and in extreme cases creates auto-immune disorders.

Next time you get a 10 minute lecture from somebody spouting off ignorance, request to see their sources. And don't accept "I saw it on Dr. Oz" as a credible source.

I was afraid I was going to have to be the one to bring the hammer down, thanks dude!

[notanartmajor]

Gluten intolerance isn't about having a particular enzyme (I believe that's what your friend meant), like with lactose intolerance. Gluten issues are immune-based AFAIK, and you are unlikely to start having problems with gluten if you don't already.

[bjjgrrl]

Gluten intolerance is a sliding scale, too -- some people can actually handle it quite well, and some people, e.g. celiacs, can't even look cross-wise at gluten without having issues. Most people are somewhere in the middle, with varying degrees of systemic inflammation symptoms from eating gluten. Removing gluten from your diet allows you to see where you fall on that scale.

On the other hand, there's Robb Wolf's advice for deploying servicemen to actually add gluten-containing foods back to their diet before they leave so that they don't become ill from the standard fare that will be available to them. Basically, they need to get used to a mild level of inflammation as their "normal" since they can't entirely avoid it.

[Anivair]

a: paleo will not make you gluten intolerant. What it might do is start giving you a healthy reaction to gluten. If you consume gluten a lot and your body is always inflamed from it, then once it heals up you might feel like you're having a stronger reaction to i than you used to (when in fact, you're having the same reaction, but you're just not used ot it anymore).

b: I don' see that as a problem. Gluten is no healthy. There is no compelling reason to eat it beyond (cupcakes are yummy). If that's the only good reason, then accept that once in a while, when you eat some, you might feel bloaty and hung over afterward. People accept that about alcohol all the time.

[Canuckssie]

Thanks for all the info and support! I had a Subway sandwich the other day just to prove to myself (and my housemate) that I can still tolerate gluten. The only side effect was feeling pretty full for a lot longer than I remember resulting in me having a very small late dinner as I didn't really feel hungry come dinner time. But in all, I'm feeling great, I've lost 2 inches on my measurements and things are good. So the next time my housemate decides to open his mouth I'm just going to tune him out. Thanks again everyone! Hopefully this thread will help someone else that's been given a similar lecture.

[Mony]

I have celiac and it took a while for me to finally get diagnosed since symptoms can be really varied and range from barely noticeable to quite severe. When/If you do start consuming gluten again after a long period off, you may want to pay special attention to your reactions. Even mild reactions that you didn't notice before could be a sign of a slight "intolerance" or allergy, and not full-blown celiac (which is a genetic condition, and the most severe expression of gluten allergy). For years, I didn't realize how terrible I felt until I stopped eating gluten. Now, after 5+ years, if I have even a tiny amount of gluten I break out in hives, my stomach cramps horribly, gas, bloating, can't keep anything in my stomach, I even get back pain. But symptoms can be even more varied than just GI distress. Just listen to your body. Let us know how it goes! Good luck!

[Siferiax]

Reintroducing gluten after 30ish days of going without it, didn't have any negative effects at first. I can eat 7 slices of bread, no problem.

However when it comes time to go to the toilet... all my old problems with it had come back... I hadn't really noticed the improvement, till I was back to "normal" and felt horrible.

So I don't see how gluten is healthy, I've had toilet trouble most (if not all) of my life... been told to drink more, exercise more... nothing had an effect... until I stopped eating gluten.

Stopping didn't make me intolerant, but it did make me realize what problems gluten had been causing for me.

[Shoshie]

I think that eliminating an irritant can make the symptoms far more noticeable when you reintroduce the irritant, but that's a function of changing you're body's definition of "normal". My normal used to be constant back pain/headaches/joint pain/intestinal irritation. Now it's not. So when I eat pizza or cake or cookies or whatever I feel HORRIBLE, but that's not because I've become less tolerant to those things, but because I'm no longer used to the constant pain. Which I see as a good thing.

As a caveat, I *do* eat gluten, in the form of seitan. My issue isn't with the specific protein but with starches in general, so feel free to take my advice with a grain of salt. But I have noticed feeling terrible after reintroducing foods, but not for the reason your friend mentioned. And, for what it's worth, I'm pretty close to getting my PhD in chemistry.

[Bacon]

Honestly, even if your roombate is right, does it matter? Say you happily eat a paleo diet for couple years and do develop a horrible gluten intolerance. You've been content for years not eating gluten, does it really matter that you now "can't" eat it instea of "prefer not to"?

(forgive me if I restated something already said... I only browsed the previous posts).

[Relic]

When I cut out sugary drinks I became more 'intolerant' to sugar(now if I drink several sugary drinks for dinner I get a sore throat in the morning). But I no longer get energy crashes in the middle of the day so it's definitely worth it.