Is Gluten Really Bad For You?
 

I just want the real scientific truth.

(And I'm not talking about celiacs, because obviously they are a special case. I'm talking about for the general population.)

Billy, and this is not a flip response, it depends on the person. I wouldn't touch it or any other wheat components, however.

If you want the low down, read Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter or Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis.

I just finished Grain Brain yesterday and would not touch gluten - mostly because I don't want a leaky gut, or to adversely affect my brain function.

I firmly believe it's bad for everyone. The effects are wide-ranging and insidious, even though a lot of people poo-poo the idea that it can be related to gluten. Everyone wants a pill for their asthma, arthritis, anxiety/depression, GERD, irritable bowel, obesity, diabetes, etc; no one wants to believe that they might have to give up their donuts and spaghetti for a true solution. I'm not implying that it's a cause for those conditions all the time, but for many, it's the main culprit.

Gluten proteins basically force open the channels in your gut that are supposed to only let in certain nutrients. This is a real Pandora's box and the crux of leaky gut syndrome.

You're looking for straight science, but you're probably not going to get it, because no one wants to spend money on a trial that results in an intervention that only involves cutting out Kraft and General Mills' grainy garbage, rather than an expensive pharmaceutical.

I also don't believe that celiacs are a "special case": they happen to be people on the extreme end of the spectrum whose intestines have been sufficiently wrecked that doctors decided that this was the diagnosis point. To me, that's a lot like only diagnosing alcoholism once someone is in liver failure. The damage doesn't happen overnight.

I love this statement. The damage happens over many years, and people often don't realize it until they are very damaged. That's the danger of wheat consumption over time, and it's insidious because all the while people are being told to eat healthy whole grains, they are hurting themselves. They are unable to identify a root cause for their ever-increasing symptoms until much time has passed. Even worse, they often rationalize the symptoms as a result of aging. It's a slow, damaging process.

There's lots of people that have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. It can cause all kinds of issues ranging from IBS to migraine headaches and into some really severe symptoms. And yes, there's a lot of science behind that.

I was negative on all testing: blood, skin, and stool. I have hla1 genes which my doctor didn’t even know was the neurologically presenting gene. And yet when I gave up wheat my reflux, yawning, shortness of breath, belly pain, bloody stools, loss of voice, arthritis, asthma, fatigue, and hypoglycemai magically went away. A miracle cure. My asthma doctor said maybe the Pepicid started working (it had been two years)!
Now I’m paleo grain and sugar free with intermittent fasting and I’ve never felt better.
I’d rather eat glass than wheat. (And my testing was all negative!)

With what you said, I think I'm better off forgetting all the "healthy" food with gluten in it. Look at those symptoms...