Gluten or not to Gluten?

The gluten debate is everywhere these days.
I've read multiple articles for, and against the idea of gluten intolerance/sensitivity. Another article came out recently stating that there is no evidence for gluten sensitivity, and that you are either intolerant, or unaffected.

I have a dear friend who has Chrons disease which is made worse by eating gluten (among many other foods). The point of this thread is not to discuss the negative effects on people with Gluten Intolerance (celiac's disease), or those with other medical conditions that are negatively effected by the presence of gluten (i.e. Chrons).

I am curious to see if anyone here who does not have a medical condtion which prohibits gluten intake has CHOSEN to remove gluten from their diet, and if so, were there any positive results? Hopefully I've explained that well enough.
I've read instances where someone has removed gluten from their diet and they claim that some minor intestinal issues have ceased (bloating and other), skin has cleared up, less tired/groggy, etc.

So lets hear it! Anyone experimented with cutting gluten from their diet? My wife has cut dairy from her diet recently due to her asthma issues and claims it's helping her which is what sparked this discussion.

A co-worker with a gluten intolerance had a birthday cake - I had one taste and know that I could never cut gluten from my diet. Worse case try it for awhile and see how you feel.

I would however think about trying something else instead. Rather than giving gluten try flour in bread that hasen't been processed to death. If you bake bread - try natural wheat flour. Don't go overboard all at once because wheat flour has higher fiber content then the bleached stuff in the stores. See how that works and then decide which direction you want to go.

On the contrary, I had a gluten free cake that my neighbor made (straight from the box, nothing special), and it was one of the best cakes I've ever had. I really couldn't believe it was gluten free sponge. I know that's not a typical experience with gluten free stuff though.

Another friend of mine is allergic to gluten, but she swears that when she travels abroad (which is quite often for her job, at least once a month), she can eat anything she wants. Apparently, the wheat strain is different in other countries and doesn't cause her intestinal issues. I find this a very clear indication of just how processed and manipulated our food is here in America.

My wife and I have not cut gluten but do maintain general dietary "awareness" which is a sideways way of stating that we don't cut but enjoy moderation. As to your wife's asthma, I raced bikes for close to 30 years of my life. Much of it in SoCal as it and Colorado were the most competitive regions here in the states. As someone getting anywhere from 400-450 miles a given week, after moving to California, I eventually developed exercise induced asthma.

Many of my fellow teammates also exhibited symptoms and I know a fairly large number had prednisone inhalers as we all had to have exemptions for banned substance to compete. It was not debilitating but symptomatic. I was always of the layperson belief that the SoCal smog, amount of time exposed and the associated level of effort contributed to the asthma.

After moving to Austin, the symptoms have completely disappeared. Granted, I also no longer compete and don't put in the same levels of training but do feel it contributed. As you guys are in SoCal too it may have contributory effect to your wife's symptoms as well?

It is definitely possible, and not at all difficult, to make a gluten free cake that is superb. As with anything "cooking" there are bakers and then there are BAKERS. That's all that I'll say regarding that.

That's interesting about your friends experience in Europe. If she bakes does she experience problems with whole wheat flour made into bread from the health food store? Have her try the hard white wheat flour if she does bake. It will be found in the refrigerator section or don't buy it. It will have the least flavor change when made into bread. To the best of my knowledge European flour, unless milled on site, is milled on the same equipment that US flour is milled with. If it isn't milled and used immediately or refrigerated it has most of the good stuff removed and portions that won't spoil added back to it. But the mind is a powerful thing.

Personally I think the gluten craze is just the latest thing to be "cool" with unless one has a gluten intolerance. I don't disagree with the over processed flour idea being bad, and for that reason when I make my own bread and that's during most of the cooler seasons, I fresh grind my own flour and bake my own bread. I bake REALLY good bread. Unlike store bought flour, mine is from the whole grain and I mostly use white wheat. Red wheat is the dark colored wheat and it also has a very heavy "wheat" flavor. Not everyone is ready for that flavor. But I have yet to have anyone that can eat wheat remark on any thing negative with any of my home ground wheat loaves. Just the opposite in fact. It tastes more like "bread" than bread does, if that makes sense.

I still do use commercial flour but (and I don't work for them) it's always King Arthur. It's uniformly high quality, though processed with modern equipment and just as unhealthy as any other commercial flour. But their bread flour is always of high protein content; that means high gluten and it makes a really nice loaf all the time. When I grind my own (hard white wheat) I need to be cognizant of the area, season, year, and if the flour from the grain works I try to buy more of it. Not all hard white wheat from anywhere, from any year will work for bread. Buying King Arthur I always know that it will be a good bread flour. Some other brands use real garbage and call it flour; technically it is that.

For an excellent book on the subject I highly recommend, "Flour Power", by Marleeta F. Basey, Jermar Press. It will explain far more than most folks want to know about flour and such. But if you bake with whole grain, or flour at all, IMO it's a must read. The paperback is $25.

Moving unfortunately is not an option at the moment. She's had asthma problems her whole life, she even got held back in gradeschool because she missed so many classes due to her illness. Her mother is a smoker which contributed too.

I don't really suffer from any health issues, but have noticed over the last several years that I tend to get acid reflux and upset stomachs much easier now. I was thinking it could be a sensitivity to some type of food, and wheat gluten specifically came to mind when I read an article containing some benefits of removing it from your diet.

It could, however, just be hogwash! I suppose I'll never know until I do it.

The problem with things like cutting out gluten is that there's the whole placebo effect. The only true way to test it is a double blind study. Seems like a topic with enough public interest that some university would do it. Although, perhaps the elimination of gluten is hard to double blind since you'd notice it pretty quickly.

True wetshavingproducts , but even with a positive placebo effect that means it worked!

I need to find that cake mix my neighbor used... it was INCREDIBLE and would gladly make that over any other boxed cake mix. He can't remember what kind it was (and said it was nothing special, he just grabbed a gluten free mix off the shelf). If I can find it I will share here, so you all can experience it.

Moving unfortunately is not an option at the moment. She's had asthma problems her whole life, she even got held back in gradeschool because she missed so many classes due to her illness. Her mother is a smoker which contributed too.

I don't really suffer from any health issues, but have noticed over the last several years that I tend to get acid reflux and upset stomachs much easier now. I was thinking it could be a sensitivity to some type of food, and wheat gluten specifically came to mind when I read an article containing some benefits of removing it from your diet.

It could, however, just be hogwash! I suppose I'll never know until I do it.

As we age "stuff happens". Acid reflux probably won't go away on it's own. When you begin to try to swallow and food gets stuck you'll know it's time for Prilosec, or you can wait until it gets worse and it requires a visit to the emergency room. Or you can talk to your Dr. now and bypass all of that. I'm the last person to stand in line for medications, but trust me on this one. I took the Prilosec before it came time to go the emergency room. No problems since.

Hey, it sucks to get old, but we do. It's also scary to swallow and have it not get to the stomach.

Oh, and you can take all the antacid you want and it will have no effect. The stomach can produce more acid faster than you can swallow antacids.

If it's not time for you, no big deal, just file this info' away until you need it.

I think it's more likely diet related, rather than age (I turn 30 this December, and am not overweight).
I'm not one for junk food, but I do dine out at restaurants fairly frequently.