Toss the Grain...Stop the Pain

That's right, old guy! Even YOU can wake up in the morning and crawl out of bed in under 5 minutes...pain, and yelp, free.

Here's a nice little anecdote:

Some background: My wife and I decided to go on a low-carb diet over a decade ago. It was a move of desperation, because we were both more than 150 lbs overweight. She had been diagnosed with diabetes, and was on two medications (avandia and glucophage), and was still having wild blood sugar swings, along with extreme fatigue. I wasn’t quite to that point, but I had a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, poor night vision, chronic acne, almost constant heartburn — and a mysterious pain in my hands and knees. That “arthritis” started back in the mid-90′s, and had gradually worsened to the point where I was forced to quit playing my violin in public because I was unable to practice enough to preserve my skill — it hurt too much. I had complained to several doctors about it, and none of them could find anything wrong. One gave me some medication which had side-effects even worse than the arthritis (and, as I discovered when I quit taking it, it was highly addictive!). I decided to simply quit complaining and just live with it after one doctor suggested that I see a shrink. My mother also complained of constant arthritis pain, so I assumed that it was just a genetic thing, and I would just have to live with it.

A little less than a week into the diet, I cut out the grains completely. No more bread. No more raisin bran with skim milk. No more rice, no more oatmeal. At that point, my wife and I went through the kitchen throwing out stuff.

It was almost as traumatic as going through a divorce, throwing out all those boxes of cereal, loaves of bread, bags of flour (we baked our own bread in those days, because we thought it was ‘healthier’ that way…), canned colas, popcorn (along with the air-popper) and other items we decided we weren’t going to eat anymore.

Two days after I had cut out all grains, something amazing happened. I woke up that morning with no hand pain!

Pretty amazing...but, as all of those fad diets and exercise programs say.."Results aren't typical!"

So...I'll just throw some gas on this one and let it burn...

Gluten (from Latin gluten "glue") is a protein composite that appears in foods processed from wheat and related species.

Source: Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org...

rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org...

Conclusion. The data provide evidence that [elimination of gluten] may be of clinical benefit for certain RA patients,

Rheumatoid arthritis treated with vegetarian diets

In a controlled, single-blind trial we tested the effect of fasting for 7–10 d, then consuming an individually adjusted, gluten-free, vegan diet for 3.5 mo, and then consuming an individually adjusted lactovegetarian diet for 9 mo on patients with [Rheumatoid Arthritis].

In summary, the results show that some patients with RA can benefit from a fasting period followed by a vegetarian diet [that is also gluten-free]

Gluten and the Small Intestine in Rheumatoid Arthritis

An entirely new concept of the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and other connective-tissue diseases, a theory in which a genetically determined abnormality of the small imtestine is the basic defect, has been proposed. Shatin's hypothesis1 is that patients with rheumatoid arthritis are heterozygous for nontropical sprue (adult celiac disease). Although they have no intestinal complaints, the intestinal mucosa is abnormal and important metabolites essential to connective tissue are not absorbed. The clinical expression of this heterozygotic condition is rheumatoid arthritis. He further states that the worldwide distribution of rheumatoid arthritis corresponds to the distribution of wheat ingestion, lending indirect support for his hypothesis. The validity of this theory is strengthened by Shatin's report that 18 out of 18 patients with rheumatoid arthritis improved on a gluten-free diet, often within two weeks after the beginning of the dietary restriction of cereal grains.

Duration of exposure to gluten and risk for autoimmune disorders in patients with celiac disease

Conclusions: Our data show for the first time that the prevalence of autoimmune disorders [such as Arthritis] in celiac disease is related to the duration of exposure to gluten

Lectins, sugar binding proteins found prevalently in cereal grains, can ruin your metabolism and cause inflammation and autoimmune problems...and cause arthritis.

Modulation of immune function by dietary lectins in rheumatoid arthritis

Despite the almost universal clinical observation that inflammation of the gut is frequently associated with inflammation of the joints and vice versa, the nature of this relationship remains elusive. In the present review, we provide evidence for how the interaction of dietary lectins with enterocytes and lymphocytes may facilitate the translocation of both dietary and gut-derived pathogenic antigens to peripheral tissues, which in turn causes persistent peripheral antigenic stimulation. In genetically susceptible individuals, this antigenic stimulation may ultimately result in the expression of overt rheumatoid arthritis (RA) via molecular mimicry, a process whereby foreign peptides, similar in structure to endogenous peptides, may cause antibodies or T-lymphocytes to cross-react with both foreign and endogenous peptides and thereby break immunological tolerance. By eliminating dietary elements, particularly lectins, which adversely influence both enterocyte and lymphocyte structure and function, it is proposed that the peripheral antigenic stimulus (both pathogenic and dietary) will be reduced and thereby result in a diminution of disease symptoms in certain patients with [Rheumatoid Arthriritis].

There are tons of anecdotes and case studies demonstrating the therapeutic effects of a grain-free diet. Emelioration of arthritis is one of many such positive effects.

Here's a thread by one of our own describing his own experience with a grain-free diet:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

You got it!

My wife and I just sold our Bakery where we specialized in Gluten Free products along side of the regular.

I can not count the number of people who sent thank you notes and even some phone calls thanking us for our attention to GF products.

So much that we are currently seeking another location to go 100% GF.

There are a few recipes in an earlier thread I started on breads here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Not all GF but some great feed back and recipes from many members.

Thank you!

Very interesting, but do you think just "cutting back" rather than becoming completely gluten free would help?
I'm thinking gradual, not cold turkey.

Jude11, I had been looking at your thread on bread a month ago, and am looking forward to making my own for the first time.

Originally posted by maya27
Very interesting, but do you think just "cutting back" rather than becoming completely gluten free would help?
I'm thinking gradual, not cold turkey.

Jude11, I had been looking at your thread on bread a month ago, and am looking forward to making my own for the first time.

I always recommended people to slowly cut back. Not that there is too much of a shock to the system (There is a little. Some more than others) but more from a psychological point.

It's never easy to cut anything cold turkey and if your mind isn't ready, it won't happen anyway.

Let me know what bread recipe you try!

Originally posted by maya27
Very interesting, but do you think just "cutting back" rather than becoming completely gluten free would help?
I'm thinking gradual, not cold turkey.

Jude11, I had been looking at your thread on bread a month ago, and am looking forward to making my own for the first time.

Due to a childhood illness I have RA even though I am still fairly young. My dr was also considering fibromyalgia.
I have been gluten free for almost two months now.It takes awhile of avoiding it completely for it to get out of your system. As a bread lover I didn't think I could do it. The first week was a little tough, but by the second week all cravings went away. I have more energy at 31 than I ever did in my teens or 20's.

reply to post by jude11


Thank you, I will do. I don't have an oven stone though.

What is the simplest one you would recommend?

reply to post by calstorm


So do you feel the benefits from cutting back, or only once you have completely stopped, and it is out of your system?

Does gluten free bread taste nice?

Originally posted by maya27
reply to post by jude11

 

Thank you, I will do. I don't have an oven stone though.

What is the simplest one you would recommend?

Any oven will do. Don't worry. The stone oven is just a preference.

Try the artisan bread if you don't mind the Gluten. Switch up your flour for healthier results and different flavors.

Scroll thru the thread and there many flat breads, pita and even bannock.

Some of the GF recipes are great as well. Just experiment.

They will all work in a regular oven.

Good Luck!

Huh. I've always thought of giving this a try, but I just moved to a new house so finances are a little limited. I'll have to see if I can budget enough to start this. It could be a fascinating experiment.

Hey there, good post

Theres a documentary out there called "Fathead" that kinda deals with some of the same stuff.

A comedian replies to the "Super Size Me" crowd by losing weight on a fast-food diet (including plenty of double-cheeseburgers and fried chicken) while demonstrating that almost everything you think you know about the obesity "epidemic" and healthy eating is wrong

www.imdb.com...

You can watch it online at netflix, I'm not sure about google and such.

Edit: I guess I should add this; He didn't cut out grains and carbs completely, he just limited his intake to around 100grams a day

Heres the movie's blog
www.fathead-movie.com...

But i think after the movie he cut them out completely

reply to post by jude11


I will do.

I Will try a very basic one, then progress to healthier.

I will pop over to your thread tomorrow for another look.

S & F!!!! This thread is so right on the money!!! Here is my story:

After seeing several doctors and going through a bunch of tests for chronic pain, exhaustion, and gastric distress, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2008 and had probably been suffering from it since about 1998. It was not a happy day when I was given the diagnosis. I was aware of what Fibromyalgia was, but up until that point, I had considered it to be a big joke, a cop-out disease for people who were lazy sissies or were exaggerating or imagining their pain and other symptoms. I still sometimes struggle with believing in the reality of this illness. After the diagnosis, I was put on several different medications that put me in a zombie state (everything from narcotics to anti-seizure drugs similar to Lyrica, which, by the way, is AWFUL and does almost nothing to help most Fibro cases) and barely put a dent in my symptoms.

I had periodic flareups for the next couple of years until about two years ago, when I started a severe flareup that persisted for more than a year. I ended up losing my job at the time because of it. Subsequently, I sought care at a highly specialized Fibromyalgia clinic where several different physicians and practitioners treated all of the different aspects of the condition. They took me off most of the medications I had been on and began looking at my individual case in great detail. They suspected that I had Celiac Disease, so one of the first things they did was drastically change my diet over the course of a few weeks.

They instructed me to cut out gluten and all wheat products, dairy products, and refined sugar. Obviously, most prepackaged processed foods went out the door. I began eating a very "clean" diet of fruits, vegetables, organic meats, and complex vegetable starches. In a very short time, I experienced a dramatic turnaround in my health. We gradually reintroduced dairy products and sugar into my diet with no ill effects, but when we reintroduced the wheat and gluten, my system went careening back into a distressing tailspin. Subsequently, we permanently cut wheat and gluten from my diet. I'm not saying I was cured of the Fibro entirely or anything like that, but after permanently removing the gluten and/or wheat, the flareup finally subsided and I started to have markedly better "bad" days and fewer bad days altogether.

A few months later, I was diagnosed with a digestive disorder after an early morning trip to the hospital emergency room. Afterwards, I started seeing a gastroenterologist who decided to perform tests to confirm or rule out the tentative Celiac diagnosis. To prepare for the test, I had to go back to eating foods that contained wheat and/or gluten for about two weeks. I have never felt as miserable as I did for those two weeks!! The strange thing was, the tests ended up ruling out Celiac disease! The assumption is that I am allergic to wheat, but that may not be the case either. My husband is healthy and is rarely ill, but in the past, he has had bouts of seemingly random gastric distress. He follows the same diet I do simply because it is easier than cooking for two entirely different diets. While the positive effects for him were not as dramatic as they were for me, almost all of his bouts of gastric distress have disappeared. He has clearly experienced the same benefits of following a wheat free/gluten free diet as I have. When it comes to grains, we eat quinoa, brown rice, and occasionally other non wheat grains in the form of alternative flours like almond flour, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour found in gluten free bread and pasta products.

The truth is, neither of us has ever been definitively diagnosed with any sensitivities to wheat, yet we can both attest to how how much better our health has been after permanently eliminating wheat from our diet. My husband and I are living proof that cutting wheat and gluten from your diet can be life changing, regardless of whether or not there is a medically diagnosed condition that would suggest removal of wheat and/or gluten from one's diet.

Thank you for posting this thread its very interesting..I suffer from chronic pain also and am on a ton of pain meds after reading about this im going to try to cut back and see if it helps id like to get off all pain meds and im hopeing this will help S&F

Great info OP
It is unfortunate that so many people that struggle with weight issues never do any real research
and just listen to the doctors that push pills.
Also some may want to research "Candida".. this involves yeast allergies.
Another topic that packs on weight..
Also some may want to look into "How to balance the body PH levels"
another eye opener.

reply to post by sugarcookie1
Thread will benefit you greatly then.
Allergies like Gluten and yeast can rob you of all needed nutrients which heal you.
Having an acidic system slowly kills you,.drugs make things worse.

I was sick for 16 years, and getting worse all the time, until I finally found out I had Celiac's disease (auto-immune response to gluten).

I had everything from acid reflux, to migraines, to joint pain, to adult onset acne, to debilitating stomach pains that hit without notice. I couldn't go anywhere without a change of clothes because my stomach might suddenly swell to the point of me looking several months pregnant and my pants would no longer fit. I had other problems too embarrassing to talk about publicly! This is not to mention the terrible, terrible fatigue. I felt every single day for years like I had the flu, or was "coming down" with something.

No wonder most of my doctors thought I was a hypochondriac! What do you say to all that??

What I say to this is: I quit gluten at age 32 and I feel better than I have felt since I was an early teenager. All my medical issues have resolved without any other treatment, and I am healthy again.

If you really think there's something wrong, and your doctor tells you it's all in your head, fire your doctor.

Paleo diets seem to be gaining ground.

I'd advise anyone to consider making the change.

The Paleo blueprint is a good book to get started. Written by Mark Sissons.

reply to post by jude11


Thanks for the link Jude, Didn't know we had a baker here on ATS

I just recently discovered that I have Celiac disease (It's getting more and more common) and one little SPECK of gluten sends my body into a frenzy for several days, so I avoid wheat, barley and rye like the plague!

I notice my arthritis is much better when I eat Very low carb.

I have been enjoying rice products, though. I make bread from gluten free flours.

Great Thread!