The funny thing is, I look at that clip, and I end up wondering whether every bad thing that ever happened to me actually is because of gluten.

This thread reminds me of a boyfriend in college; I don't know if it was a gluten allergy per se, but he broke out in hives if he ate bread, beer, tomatoes, or chocolate. I personally could get by without the chocolate, but it's pretty tough for a college student to have to go without pizza and beer.

This is NOT from The Onion (ie, it's real):

http://www.glutenfreesingles.com/

GlutenfreeSingles is a dating, networking, and informative website where you never have to feel alone, awkward, or a burden because you are gluten-free. Our website is a welcoming place where people can find gluten-free dating partners, friends, and activity groups.

What's next? Kraft Singles Singles? (A dating service for people brought together by their common love of individually-wrapped American cheese?)

"Some people can't eat gluten for medical reasons, and I get it. It annoys me [audience laughs] but I get it."

Interesting that the audience believes that the interviewees of color aren't going to know what gluten is, but believes that the two white guy interviewees will. (In fact, none of the interviewees do.)

The quote from Kimmel is more annoying in print than on video (for me). Something about his tone tells me he's not really annoyed by people with genuine medical gluten issues. (Though I could be wrong.)

A passionate response to the Kimmel video, and gluten-intolerance intolerance in general.

Good piece.

So it turns out even Michael Pollan found Kimmel's bit funny, but it's encouraging that on Twitter he's getting push-back from people who don't find it humorous to bash those trying to avoid gluten (sometimes for legitimate medical reasons): https://twitter.com/michaelpollan/statu ... 2355284993

Research on non-Celiac gluten intolerance repeated with more rigor by same researcher who reported it in the first place, no intolerance found.

As with all studies on diet and health, take this with a grain of salt (which may or may not increase blood pressure!), but...

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity May Not Exist

Interestingly, this study was published by the same author whose previous study had seemingly confirmed the existence of gluten sensitivity.

37 subjects took part, all confirmed not to have celiac disease but whose gastrointestinal symptoms improved on a gluten-free diet, thus fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for non-celiac gluten sensitivity.** They were first fed a diet low in FODMAPs for two weeks, then were given one of three diets for a week with either 16 grams per day of added gluten (high-gluten), 2 grams of gluten and 14 grams of whey protein isolate (low-gluten), or 16 grams of whey protein isolate (placebo). Each subject shuffled through every single diet so that they could serve as their own controls, and none ever knew what specific diet he or she was eating. After the main experiment, a second was conducted to ensure that the whey protein placebo was suitable. In this one, 22 of the original subjects shuffled through three different diets -- 16 grams of added gluten, 16 grams of added whey protein isolate, or the baseline diet -- for three days each.

Analyzing the data, Gibson found that each treatment diet, whether it included gluten or not, prompted subjects to report a worsening of gastrointestinal symptoms to similar degrees. Reported pain, bloating, nausea, and gas all increased over the baseline low-FODMAP diet. Even in the second experiment, when the placebo diet was identical to the baseline diet, subjects reported a worsening of symptoms! The data clearly indicated that a nocebo effect, the same reaction that prompts some people to get sick from wind turbines and wireless internet, was at work here. Patients reported gastrointestinal distress without any apparent physical cause. Gluten wasn't the culprit; the cause was likely psychological. Participants expected the diets to make them sick, and so they did. The finding led Gibson to the opposite conclusion of his 2011 research:

“In contrast to our first study… we could find absolutely no specific response to gluten."

Instead, as RCS reported last week, FODMAPS are a far more likely cause of the gastrointestinal problems attributed to gluten intolerance. Jessica Biesiekierski, a gastroenterologist formerly at Monash University and now based out of the Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders at the University of Leuven in Belgium,* and lead author of the study alongside Gibson, noted that when participants consumed the baseline low-FODMAP diet, almost all reported that their symptoms improved!

"Reduction of FODMAPs in their diets uniformly reduced gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue in the run-in period, after which they were minimally symptomatic."

Coincidentally, some of the largest dietary sources of FODMAPs -- specifically bread products -- are removed when adopting a gluten-free diet, which could explain why the millions of people worldwide who swear by gluten-free diets feel better after going gluten-free.

I honestly had never heard of FODMAPS (Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols) before. Science is hard.

ETA: Goddammit.

Well, this study didn't look at the things that many gluten-intolerant folks deal with, like brain fog and joint pain. I know that gluten will cause me to be very sleepy about an hour after I eat it, and I will have an arthritis flare after about six hours that usually lasts a day or so. The way this study has been posted around on social media, it's clear that people think this is all in our heads... but this study didn't even look at those symptoms. Grr!

mamagotcha wrote:Well, this study didn't look at the things that many gluten-intolerant folks deal with, like brain fog and joint pain. I know that gluten will cause me to be very sleepy about an hour after I eat it, and I will have an arthritis flare after about six hours that usually lasts a day or so. The way this study has been posted around on social media, it's clear that people think this is all in our heads... but this study didn't even look at those symptoms. Grr!

So, you are saying you have tried an otherwise FODMAPS free diet then introduced pure gluten, and still had all of these other symptoms?

laikom wrote:So, you are saying you have tried an otherwise FODMAPS free diet then introduced pure gluten, and still had all of these other symptoms?

Honestly, I don't think we know enough yet about the mind-body connection as it affects all kinds of things. Even if certain symptoms are psychosomatic (and I'm not saying that in any particular case they are), they are nonetheless real. "Psychosomatic" has become a disrespected word, but it oughtn't to be. In the hypothetical case that my experience is that I get asthmatic symptoms every time I have, let's say, blueberries in my food, then a restaurant ought to do what it can to make sure I don't get blueberries in my food--no matter whether histamines create the reaction, or the mind creates the histamines that create the reaction.

Mind you, I'm not saying a restaurant has to throw out all its cooking apparatus for the sake of one customer's needs. I'm saying that the restaurant should do what it can. And if a restaurant cannot accommodate, it should inform the customer of its limits so the customer has the information he needs to make a safe food choice. That's just civility.

I read this study and wrote about it on my blog
http://huntgatherlove.com/content/glute ... ntolerance
It didn't really look at things like skin problems or headaches, though wheat, like all plants, has a ton of bioactive components, just just gluten, so unless you are celiac it might not be appropriate to blame that specific protein.

I prefer saying "carbohydrate intolerance" myself rather than FODMAPs, which sounds dumb and is trade-marked.

riddlemay wrote:

laikom wrote:So, you are saying you have tried an otherwise FODMAPS free diet then introduced pure gluten, and still had all of these other symptoms?

Honestly, I don't think we know enough yet about the mind-body connection as it affects all kinds of things. Even if certain symptoms are psychosomatic (and I'm not saying that in any particular case they are), they are nonetheless real. "Psychosomatic" has become a disrespected word, but it oughtn't to be. In the hypothetical case that my experience is that I get asthmatic symptoms every time I have, let's say, blueberries in my food, then a restaurant ought to do what it can to make sure I don't get blueberries in my food--no matter whether histamines create the reaction, or the mind creates the histamines that create the reaction.

Mind you, I'm not saying a restaurant has to throw out all its cooking apparatus for the sake of one customer's needs. I'm saying that the restaurant should do what it can. And if a restaurant cannot accommodate, it should inform the customer of its limits so the customer has the information he needs to make a safe food choice. That's just civility.

I don't think anyone here, nor the studies attributed any symptoms to a psychosomatic effect. And yes, FODMAPS is quite a mouthful, didn't know it was trade-marked.

laikom wrote:I don't think anyone here, nor the studies attributed any symptoms to a psychosomatic effect.

Not explicitly, no.

What I'm saying is that even if a psychosomatic effect is suggested implicitly (which I think it has been), we shouldn't treat psychosomatic as a dirty word, as if it means "fakery." (Or as if it bespeaks an enlarged sense of entitlement.) Psychosomatic effects (which may be said to originate in the brain) are real, every bit as real as effects that originate in every other organ of the human body. If I end up in the emergency room every time I eat rutabagas (to pick another hypothetical), with symptoms that medical professionals concur require real rescue, it matters little that those symptoms were caused by a psychosomatic process. All that matters is that I should not eat rutabagas, and a restaurant should help me not to eat them if it can.

I think people are getting the psychosomatic thing from this article
http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/20 ... exist.html

Analyzing the data, Gibson found that each treatment diet, whether it included gluten or not, prompted subjects to report a worsening of gastrointestinal symptoms to similar degrees. Reported pain, bloating, nausea, and gas all increased over the baseline low-FODMAP diet. Even in the second experiment, when the placebo diet was identical to the baseline diet, subjects reported a worsening of symptoms! The data clearly indicated that a nocebo effect, the same reaction that prompts some people to get sick from wind turbines and wireless internet, was at work here. Patients reported gastrointestinal distress without any apparent physical cause. Gluten wasn't the culprit; the cause was likely psychological. Participants expected the diets to make them sick, and so they did.

I don't agree it's necessarily the nocebo effect, though the term is mentioned in the original paper. As someone without genetic lactase persistance (I am genetically lactose intolerant), I can adapt to a high-dairy diet if introduced slowly over time, but if I stop consuming lactose entirely and then all the sudden put it back into my diet I will definitely feel very very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this is not particularly well-studied for some reason. It leads to a lot of misconceptions. I have friends who get dx'd with lactose intolerance and think they can never have dairy again, which just isn't true. Most people can adapt to some level of consumption, particularly of lower lactose fermented products. Same with wheat carbohydrates. I have to be careful with some forms of wheat, but I can tolerate as much beer and sourdough as I want. You can also augment tolerance with probiotics and enzymes.

I have a long history of IBS and have managed to keep it under control while eating "normal" food by being aware and careful.

This is the first time I've heard of FODMAPS, but I have done a gluten-free diet and then introduced gluten, resulting in the brain and joint issues I described. I never had any of the gastro problems (thank goodness!).

mgmcewen wrote:Most people can adapt to some level of consumption, particularly of lower lactose fermented products.

This is true, but speaking as one of those people - my lactose intolerance blew out of control in the Fall, and I cut out all the dairy products I could, then started adding them back in this Spring - try to get that across in a restaurant. "I can have yogurt, and cultured buttermilk, but not cream - sure, a little milk in the cake is probably ok, but not a lot of milk, no, no ice cream." You might as well just say no dairy, because the average restaurant is going to go that route in the end anyway.

Reading up on the FODMAP stuff (through Wikipedia), I have to wonder.
The major groups of FODMAPs are Fructans, Galactans and Polyols.
Galactans are mainly found in beans -- a staple in gluten-free diets.
Polyols are in a number of fruits, cauliflower, and mushrooms.
Fructans would seem like the culprit for the something-other-than-gluten-sensitive... but one of the highest concentrations of Fructans is in Barley (although it does say "kernels, very young"), another staple of the gluten-free diet.

Garlic, Artichokes and Jerusalem Artichokes (aka fartichokes) are also rather high in Fructans - they might be a good thing to use as a qualifying test in your diet.

Prediabetes (glucose intolerance) affects 35% of adults age 20 and older, and half of Americans age 65 and older. This is in addition to the almost 8% of the population who have full blown diabetes.

The startling fact is that it is estimated that 90% or more of people with prediabetes are unaware of their condition. Most of the symptoms people claim to have due to gluten line up exactly with my symptoms from type 2 diabetes.

Just sayin'...

In the past week or so since the study about gluten allergies being BS came out, we've noticed a change in the dialogue with some of our guests. Friday evening a young lady asked if we had any gluten free beer, and before I could even point her to the offerings, she made a point of saying "I'm not trying to be annoying or a pain in the ass or saying I'm allergic or anything like that, I just Can't Have Gluten." It seems diners who are avoiding gluten now see the need to preface it with a disclaimer because they know we have all seen this study splashed across our News Feeds.

Just order what you want. You don't need to excuse yourselves to the restaurant. I assure you, all we want is to accommodate you. And the young lady drank two gluten free beers, blissfully free of any judgement from the staff

Nice work NeroW.

I think the most delicious part of any restaurant meal is the hospitality. Great service elevates good food. Poor service can make it taste like shit. Unfortunately, there are restaurant staff who forget this and guests who don't have the sense to properly appreciate those who do it right.

Gluten free, deathly allergic, I don't like it--does it really matter? It shouldn't. The guest should ask, politely. The more restrictive the diet, the farther in advance and the higher up the chain they should ask. The restaurant staff--server, cooks, chef--should answer honestly, and with as much accommodation as is reasonable. This may vary a lot, depending on the restaurant. But I see no compelling reason why the asking and the responding should be anything other than a civil, easy exchange, as NeroW so professionally demonstrates.

boudreaulicious wrote:Nice work NeroW.

I think the most delicious part of any restaurant meal is the hospitality. Great service elevates good food. Poor service can make it taste like shit. Unfortunately, there are restaurant staff who forget this and guests who don't have the sense to properly appreciate those who do it right.

Gluten free, deathly allergic, I don't like it--does it really matter? It shouldn't. The guest should ask, politely. The more restrictive the diet, the farther in advance and the higher up the chain they should ask. The restaurant staff--server, cooks, chef--should answer honestly, and with as much accommodation as is reasonable. This may vary a lot, depending on the restaurant. But I see no compelling reason why the asking and the responding should be anything other than a civil, easy exchange, as NeroW so professionally demonstrates.

Agree completely.

riddlemay wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Nice work NeroW.

I think the most delicious part of any restaurant meal is the hospitality. Great service elevates good food. Poor service can make it taste like shit. Unfortunately, there are restaurant staff who forget this and guests who don't have the sense to properly appreciate those who do it right.

Gluten free, deathly allergic, I don't like it--does it really matter? It shouldn't. The guest should ask, politely. The more restrictive the diet, the farther in advance and the higher up the chain they should ask. The restaurant staff--server, cooks, chef--should answer honestly, and with as much accommodation as is reasonable. This may vary a lot, depending on the restaurant. But I see no compelling reason why the asking and the responding should be anything other than a civil, easy exchange, as NeroW so professionally demonstrates.

Agree completely.

Second.

JoelF wrote:Reading up on the FODMAP stuff (through Wikipedia), I have to wonder.
The major groups of FODMAPs are Fructans, Galactans and Polyols.
Galactans are mainly found in beans -- a staple in gluten-free diets.
Polyols are in a number of fruits, cauliflower, and mushrooms.
Fructans would seem like the culprit for the something-other-than-gluten-sensitive... but one of the highest concentrations of Fructans is in Barley (although it does say "kernels, very young"), another staple of the gluten-free diet.

Garlic, Artichokes and Jerusalem Artichokes (aka fartichokes) are also rather high in Fructans - they might be a good thing to use as a qualifying test in your diet.

Yeah, I personally got slightly better on a gluten-free diet, but still had huge IBS flareups. I kept a record of it for my doctor and I'd have one every two weeks. I suspect it was a lot of the gluten-free subs I was eating– cauliflower "rice" and that kind of thing.

Once I learned about FODMAPs and became more vigilant about them I reduced the number of issues significantly. I've only had three issues in the past year, two were from Jerusalem Artichokes, which sadly I love, and one that I'm pretty sure was from either raw onions or beans. But having read the research on increasing lactose tolerance by slowly adding lactose-containing foods to your diet, I started doing the same with these kind of carbohydrates, adding a prebiotic supplement very slowly along with probiotics. I seem to have managed to make my digestion fairly robust at this point. Which is great since just a few years ago I hardly ever ate out because I worried about getting sick.

Barley contains gluten though. The FODMAPs app and book are pretty good. I recommended them in my post for Chicagoist on the subject
http://chicagoist.com/2014/05/19/being_ ... but_it.php

I think overall intolerance is a sticky one whether lactose or fructans because it's not that you can't have ANY of the ingredient, it's just that you have a limit. And even asking about it at a restaurant might be a hair trigger for staff, who might assume you are allergic. I stopped telling people about the lactose thing when I was at a dinner and got a very unappetizing soy cheese dish while everyone else got a aged cheddar (hardly any lactose) dish. I also don't want to be pegged as gluten-free and miss out on dishes containing things like soy sauce, which have hardly any carbohydrate. Like Leek says– it's hard to strike a balance.

The best restaurants for dining with these limitations are very clear on their menus so I don't even have to ask. I would say some of the best in this regard would be Mott St., Table Donkey & Stick, and Cellar Door. I'd say one of the worst is Publican Quality Meats, where I consistently order things that don't mention raw onions (which is kind of odd since they are a very strong flavor) and then get a dish absolutely covered in them.