Toss the Grain...Stop the Pain

Gluten free food is all well and good, until you see the prices. A small 400g loaf of bread usually goes for about 80p yet a gluten free loaf is £2.99. Likewise with the noodles, a packet of wheat noodles or spaghetti can be as low as 20p but finding rice noodles for less than £1 is impossible. There are unscrupulous people making a LOT of money out of this and they know full well people with celiacs and other conditions that require a specialised diet have no choice but to fork out.

I have asthma is various degrees but always a pain...giving up wheat and grains,along with sugar and dairy(yes I have a taste here and there...) literally changed my life,my body,and no more horrible meeds!
S&F!

reply to post by Firefly_


I make my own bread and crackers. Who knows? I may even branch out into pasta because you are right. The prices are outrageous on gluten-free foods. Even the safe flours (rice, quinoa, etc) are very expensive compared to wheat. I have been cooking EVERY MEAL at home because I simply cannot take the chance of eating out. Celiacs don't have to buy gluten-free foods, but we have to be REALLY careful! (I just got "glutened" the other day from either liquid eggs or a labeled "gluten-free" supplement that I took a few days ago. Still sick today.)

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Sorry to hear that, BH. There certainly are a vast amount of people who have no idea they have celiacs. I'm cure you'll be fine, however. You seem to follow the paleo movement fairly closely.

As a child, I was diagnosed by an allergist with wheat, egg, citrus (and tomatoes), soy, and peanut allergies. Those were just the foods. I was also allergic to grasses and trees, dog and cat dander, feathers, and cockroaches. Cockroaches were also counted in with the food allergies, of course, because it's an allowed component in processed foods. This was 40 years ago.

I had desensitization shots for two years. I could breathe, at least, but other symptoms appeared over time. I have always been very athletic, which served me well, and I only needed to eat twice a week really. I was slim and healthy, but if I ate things I had been "allergic" to, I suffered. So I ate a lot less.

Interestingly, I chose to become a pastry chef. Studied in Paris and all.

Well, in about the mid-90s, I started having all manner of pains and skin rashes start up. Having had children meant that I started to eat "normally", as mothers do to encourage their children to do so as well. It had a profoundly negative affect on my body. Pair that with having taken a desk job too...you can imagine how that turned out for me. Badly.

Now I avoid all grains - even rice causes pain - because I have celiac disease, but even more so than the celiac guides describe. I don't substitute it with something else because you cannot fool your body. All those carbs are bad for us. Starches are not good for us. I eat nothing with any part of the egg in it. I don't eat anything with soy. Try that one! And the citrus allergy is actually a citric acid intolerance. That's E330. Look for it. It's everywhere. It's also a naturally occurring substance in most fruits, berries, and a lot of veggies. They use it in cheese- and wine-making. Peanuts, or more rightly all tree nuts and legumes, are out of the question.

You have to think about what you put into your body. Do you need it? You really don't. I assure you, we do not need the volumes of food we're told we need. We do not need the foods we're told we need. Our foods are now poisons. Eat a lot less. Don't try to fool your body with substitutions for things that already hurt you. Think how you could feel without even those. You'll save a lot of money too. Let yourself feel hunger. It's good for the soul. You'll appreciate food much more when you have it.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Yes, I love meat and I would eat all meat if it didn't cause other problems... It's only recently that I've even started eating bread and pasta again (of course with other flours) but it does cause some arthritis pain. My husband loves grains, though! According to Ayurveda, he's Vata and I'm Kapha, so our natural diets are kind of 180 out from each other, so that makes it kind of hard. We both compromise a little.

Once I get more used to this whole way of eating, I will let the grains go again.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


If you have to eat grains, prepare them the right way. wholehealthsource.blogspot.com...

It should allow for less flare-ups

Originally posted by Firefly_
Gluten free food is all well and good, until you see the prices. A small 400g loaf of bread usually goes for about 80p yet a gluten free loaf is £2.99. Likewise with the noodles, a packet of wheat noodles or spaghetti can be as low as 20p but finding rice noodles for less than £1 is impossible. There are unscrupulous people making a LOT of money out of this and they know full well people with celiacs and other conditions that require a specialized diet have no choice but to fork out.

Absolutely!

When I started my research into the GF World, I was shocked at the prices. When I started offering it for sale I had guilt for the prices I had to charge.

I then started experimented with blended GF flours and little tricks like using Guar Gum instead of Xantham Gum as the binder. 1/3 the price.

The other thing to remember is that even tho you may be switching over to a GF diet, you need not be extreme! This is the common mistake and where a lot of the money is spent.

Some celiacs are extreme and yes, they have to be careful. Some are only sensitive on different levels and a little Gluten won't hurt. If you are doing it for health reasons, the small traces won't hurt you or even effect your diet results.

For example, what's the difference between raisins and GF raisins? A little Flour dusting to keep them from sticking. That's it.

Another thing people should be aware of is if you don't understand your needs or allergies, you WILL be taken advantage of at your food store. Just because it has GF on the label doesn't mean that it has been prepared in a GF environment. It could be baked next to a regular loaf of bread and only prepared on the other side of the kitchen. Trust me, I have seen this. This is why you will see signs not taking responsibility for harm.

A true GF commercial kitchen will have all of its own equipment and a separate air system. No other people will be allowed inside except the employees. One speck of flour in a loaf of bread has killed.

Oats are always on the table for discussion as being GF and in some cases have been approved but in most cases, not. The reasoning behind it is the farm itself. Farm equipment, storage bins and even neighboring fields can cross-contaminate.

My advice that I have always given to people that just want a dietary change and are not celiac is to not go extreme for these very reasons.

For those that are, ask your doctor how extreme your case is and go from there.

You'll want to remember this advice when you see licorice advertised as GF and even Yeast at twice the price cause of a GF label.

It's not illegal to put a GF label on anything. I can put a GF label on an apple, charge 3x the price and many will buy it.

Many have asked if I am celiac or even on a GF diet. No. I'm a baker that couldn't stand to turn people away. Many of my customers were celiac, many looked very sick and parents were the hardest. They couldn't find enough variety for their children and felt that they were bad parents because of this.

So, my wife and myself (Mostly my wife) went to work. Completely closed off addition to the bakery, recipe research, trial and error (a lot of error) and it was very well received. More than we could handle. We sold our bakery and are still looking for our new location because we want to go 100% GF. It's needed for 2 reasons actually.

1. Unscrupulous Food Suppliers taking advantage of a disease and people wanting to eat healthier.

2. We're really good at it.

Anyway, too long of a post so I'll end it here. Hope it was of some help.

Thanks

To the OP: I am also going to post this in my thread here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Just because I would want those on that thread to also see this info as I feel it's needed and ATS is a big place.

Thank you for your thread.

reply to post by jude11


...what's wrong with just avoiding those foods with gluten altogether?

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd
reply to post by jude11

 

...what's wrong with just avoiding those foods with gluten altogether?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that approach. For extreme celiacs, it's the only way to go and their doctor can help with that. I won't offer medical advice of course.

For people wanting a diet change, nothing wrong either. It's a personal choice.

I guess the easiest analogy is the person that is always changing diets, throwing out or giving away tons of food because this is the "New Me".

2 weeks later, up goes the food bill because it didn't work with their extreme approach.

Trace amounts will not harm these people and stores will take advantage with the GF label. People will believe labels too many times. Just because it's labeled GF doesn't mean it was ever at risk of having Gluten in it.

Also, an extreme GF diet is challenging. Ask any celiac and it is not easy to do. So many people diagnosed with celiac disease at a later stage in life, miss bread so much! It's getting easier with more choices now tho.

If you make it too difficult, many will fail and then there is only a back slide. Setting realistic goals will allow for a higher chance of success.

Of course, I am NO doctor. I am relating my experience with my bakery, customers and their personal stories, research and an eye on the supermarket labels because of this.

GF free foods may be expensive
And eating HEALthy may seem expensive all together, but
the cost of a doctor and meds are fare worse and more expensive in the long run.
Something else to consider..
I recently had my Amalgam fillings (AKA- mercury) removed
After reading about the hundred or so side affects that mercury poison does to your body
I decided to have them removed,.My specific reason was Tinnitus( ringing of the ears)
this has many causes but one link was mercury poisoning, that was the deciding factor for me.
Another side affect that Mercury causes is food allergies,.(please do some searching on this)
But a word of caution about Mercury filling removal,. it must be done by a dentist that IS concerned for your
health,. as improper removal can cause neurological damage. There are only about 50 or so specialized
dentists that carry a concern for your health when it comes to this procedure. Mercury IS very toxic.
and requires a hazmat licence for disposal.( So how is it the got into our heads in the firstplace?) Do a search.
Anyway, many things can cause food allergies Mercury is one of them,.
Another is a clogged colon and lower intestines.
This is where Candida causes an issue,.(do a search)
For those that can do rice products I like the brand Tinkyada Brown rice pasta.
It comes in all shapes and sizes (spirals, spaghetti, shells,ect.ect.) and is Wheat free, GF free.
and really cant tell it isnt the standard pasta.
Also I would recommend reading the book by Kevin Trudeau "Natural cures they dont want you to know about"
It is a good place to start when it comes to opening the eyes. It is a few years old but has great tips to a healthy body.

reply to post by jude11


Lol...I meant that as a rhetorical question. But thanks for the response.

I was kind of hinting at the idea that, if grains contain gluten...and phytic acid...and lectin, all not so bueno, why try and fix them. Just avoid them. Eat the foods we were meant to eat.

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd
reply to post by jude11

 

Lol...I meant that as a rhetorical question. But thanks for the response.

I was kind of hinting at the idea that, if grains contain gluten...and phytic acid...and lectin, all not so bueno, why try and fix them. Just avoid them. Eat the foods we were meant to eat.

Ok, got it.

AAAUUUUGGGHHH All that typing for nothing!

LOL

reply to post by jude11


No biggie...somebody will come across it and learn something!

reply to post 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.

Go cold turkey. The blasted stuff is POISON! A slow poison but a poison none the less.

I got rid of my High Blood Pressure, Nightly Reflux and have less pain. My low blood sugar is now under control. I am still trying to find the right combo to lose and keep of the weight, but I did lose 25 lbs when I was very careful with my diet.

THE LECTIN REPORT
...High levels of lectins (specialized proteins) may be found in grains (also known as cereals or pulses), legumes (that is 'beans' including peanuts), dairy and plants in the nightshade family [tomato, potato, eggplant]...

Research shows a connecting link between these diets and the improvement in health being reported. Some of the symptoms and conditions that have been reported to respond include

* arthritis, both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis;
* allergy;
* asthma;
* high cholesterol;
* atherosclerosis;
* congestive heart failure;
* high blood pressure;
* diabetes;
.
.
.
www.krispin.com...

The list is quite long.