The high cost of convenience/ inclusion

[haha]

I'm not saying there aren't people who imagine they are gluten intolerant (funny video, btw), but for someone to hold up existing, and certainly imperfect science as proof that it's all in their head, well, that's a leap I'm not willing to make. Maybe no one here is making that leap either, and that would be good news.

I assume you are jesting.

With many health issues what works is what works. I have celiac, got diagnosed close to 20 years ago, and for the first few years screwed up often enough that I really got to know my toilet. It can be an extremely uncomfortable condition. But my eventual solution was simple. I eat only the things that nature makes gluten free. Steak, fish without breading or flouring, apples, etc. I haven't "gotten glutened" in quite a long while.

A nice side effect of this solution is that I weigh less than I weighed at 20.

If a person is willing to make large adjustments, celiac can be a only a slight disturbance to his life, and thinking of problems that one may have, IMO celiac is much better than many others.

Ha

 

[sengsational]

I assume you are jesting.

Nothing I said was supposed to be taken in jest. Certainly not the main message:

Just because someone hasn't been formally diagnosed with Celiac disease doesn't mean they can't gain a substantial health benefit from removing gluten from their diet. This is true even given that there's not yet science to back it up.

Now, as to the video being funny, it wasn't ALL that funny to me, but I do know a few people who thrive on being "high maintenance", which was the aspect I found funny.

... and thinking of problems that one may have, IMO celiac is much better than many, many others.

This is certainly true. You have a prescribed action that removes symptoms: avoid consuming wheat. Lovely! A "cure".

 

[Walt34]

If a person is willing to make large adjustments, celiac can be a only a slight disturbance to his life, and thinking of problems that one may have, IMO celiac is much better than many others.

That's been my take on it too. There is a bit of a learning curve, and (at the time) thinking that I would never again be able to drink a beer or eat a pizza was downright depressing, but I really haven't found it to be much of a burden. Okay, breads, cakes, pies and the like with wheat flour in them are off the menu, but if that's going to be my worst health problem I'll consider myself fortunate.

 

[TwoByFour]

My wife has Celiac disease and it is anything but funny. And yes, it has been diagnosed in two ways - endoscopy and blood test. Eating no gluten is the easy part of CD. But it causes lots of other problems, such as an inability absorb certain minerals (like iron) and loss of bone density which for DW resulted in several compression fractures of her spine. So those of you making snarky remarks about GF diets being nothing but a fad, please think otherwise.

 

[ERD50]

... So those of you making snarky remarks about GF diets being nothing but a fad, please think otherwise.

Did anyone say they are 'nothing but a fad'? I think everyone acknowledged that it is a serious issue for some people.

But there does seem to be this 'thing' among some people that 'gluten free' equates with 'healthy' for everyone. Having some fun with that is not disrespecting the people with a legitimate problem, IMO.


-ERD50

 

[audreyh1]

Some of the remarks on this discussion certainly seemed dismissive to me. Why does any individual have to justify their dietary choices anyway?

 

[Bestwifeever]

When we host guests in our home we do everything we can to ensure that what we offer will meet their dietary requirements....

Yes x 10. If you walk in our door, you are our guest. I always ask if there is anything our guests do not eat (and mention the one ingredient I don’t eat so they know I really want to know) and then plan accordingly without questioning why they don’t eat something. I don’t expect others to do the same for me but some do and I think of them as true friends.

I noticed in Spain and perhaps this is true for other countries that menus carry a comprehensive legend of ingredients in menu items in terms of gluten, dairy, nuts, etc. Really helpful.

 

[CaptTom]

I have no doubt that many of the allergies and food intolerances we hear about these days have a solid biological explanation which we just haven't discovered yet. My bet would be on the gut biome, and all the things modern society has done to change it. So much research is coming out now that it suggests to me how little we knew about the impact the bug population in our gut has on our lives.

I also suspect that we'll get better at treating these things (everything from Celiac to ulcers to peanut allergies) once we get smarter at manipulating those bugs. Meanwhile, we're each left to try what we think might work for us. The things I'm dismissive of today may well prove to be the silver bullet.

But let's face it, there's a large segment of the population which jumps on every new, unproven health fad like it's the most significant thing to happen to mankind. And they seem very intent on making sure everyone knows how much smarter they are than the rest of us.

So, to those truly struggling with health problems for which there is no known good treatment yet, I sincerely hope you find your answer. But to the rest, I just find you very entertaining and easily dismissed.

 

[Moemg]

Several years ago I hosted Thanksgiving and my niece came who had just gone vegan. She carefully examined all the cracker boxes for non vegan ingredients and then proceeded to eat stuffing from inside the bird and gravy .I said nothing .

 

[aja8888]

My wife has Celiac disease and it is anything but funny. And yes, it has been diagnosed in two ways - endoscopy and blood test. Eating no gluten is the easy part of CD. But it causes lots of other problems, such as an inability absorb certain minerals (like iron) and loss of bone density which for DW resulted in several compression fractures of her spine. So those of you making snarky remarks about GF diets being nothing but a fad, please think otherwise.

Sorry to hear of your DW's bone issues and I hope she got those very painful issues resolved.

My DW had 5 compression fractures of her spine in 2017 but it was not from diet. It was the direct result of the onset of severe osteoporosis after two years of a steady diet of prednisone (steroid) prescribed for her COPD. She ended up having to go through two kyroplasticies, plus a year on Forteo (very expensive drug, administered by daily injection).

I didn't know that Celiac disease caused osteoporosis.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have 2 friends with this disease and when I invite them for dinner I make sure I am having something that they can eat.

 

[Texas Proud]

It is hard to get numbers, but what I see is that less than 1% of the people are considered to have celiac in the US (not sure about other contries)... and that is with only 17% of people who have it being are being diagnosed with it...


So, there are a lot of people who do have it that should not be eating gluten....



From this article it seems that the number of people who do not have celiac but do not eat gluten have gone up by 3X... and for some young women 3X the pct of people who have celiac...


I do feel sorry for the people who have to avoid gluten or have some kind of bad medical condition occur... but if you are not in that population there is still no proof that it helps...


I see a money making slant to this... the food industry is pushing their gluten free stuff saying it is good for you and charging you a premium for their products...







https://www.theguardian.com/society...ee-eating-celiac-disease-marketing-trend-diet

 

[flintnational]

I just wanted to use the gluten free popcorn emoji.

 

[braumeister]

I see a money making slant to this... the food industry is pushing their gluten free stuff saying it is good for you and charging you a premium for their products...

In fairness, I have to think there is a certain amount of hypocrisy in this. I know a family who all have celiac disease, and they very legitimately suffer if they inadvertently consume gluten.

But they are also extremely low key about it, and would never consider asking for special treatment. We once went on a week long camping trip together with a fairly large group, and they brought their own gluten free food along. No fuss, no comments.

But I do honestly believe that there are a number of people who are simply following a trend and have no idea whether there is a valid reason for them to avoid gluten. DW sometimes encounters this and she always asks "Have you had that confirmed?" She has never gotten an answer.

 

[Aerides]

My FIL has celiac confirmed, but my SIL (his daughter) does not have it. Still, several years ago she converted to GF eating and feels better for it. A friend of mine isn't celiac, but he will be in pain if he "cheats" (pizza or something).

Like most things there's a spectrum:
People for whom gluten is basically an allergen, which will do them real harm.
People for whom gluten doesn't sit well, and will leave them feeling unwell, with no real damage, but enough to avoid
then:
People for whom GF is a lifestyle that works for them. They feel better avoiding these foods - much like low carb, a lot of wheat foods can cause inflammation and some people are more sensitive than others.
People for whom GF is simply another way to diet and avoid high calorie foods - folks in this group that start in with the "I CAN'T eat that" - that's a pretty small group, but obviously the ones that are focused on by some posters in this thread.

Either way, if you're coming to my home and can't have certain foods, I certainly expect you to tell me in advance. I don't want to cook a meal and then have someone pull out some pre-packed dietary meal bar and say "no I'm good I brought this".

Similarly, I don't want someone to show up and ask why I don't have ABC special dietary thing (like the kosher example above).

Most decent people you want to invite to your house are not lying to you, and also don't expect you to cater to them - definitely not without asking first. ~1% of all people are selfish twits, and I don't want them in my house anyway.

 

[Texas Proud]

In fairness, I have to think there is a certain amount of hypocrisy in this. I know a family who all have celiac disease, and they very legitimately suffer if they inadvertently consume gluten.

But they are also extremely low key about it, and would never consider asking for special treatment. We once went on a week long camping trip together with a fairly large group, and they brought their own gluten free food along. No fuss, no comments.

But I do honestly believe that there are a number of people who are simply following a trend and have no idea whether there is a valid reason for them to avoid gluten. DW sometimes encounters this and she always asks "Have you had that confirmed?" She has never gotten an answer.

Are you saying that my quote was hypocritical? I have acknowledged that it is a real problem for many people.. less than 1%... but that still means 3 million people have an issue in the country...


But with all the talk on shows and other people pushing this as a lifestyle I do think that the food industry has changed and is filling that market... but at a premium price... just like a lot of people love Whole Foods even though the prices were way higher than other places....



Remember when fat was the problem and everything started to become fat free? At a price no less...



Not saying this is a thing, but it would be like me wanting Kosher food even though I am not Jewish...

 

[Bir48die]

Ok. So someone comes to dinner and they have celiac disease, are lactose intolerant and brought their comfort animal (fill in the blank). Then what are we to do?

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have a friend that didn’t know he had this problem and ended up losing most of his colon so it can be very serious. Some people just follow every fad.

 

[braumeister]

Are you saying that my quote was hypocritical?

Not at all. I was referring to "the food industry" you mentioned in your post.

 

[haha]

Are you saying that my quote was hypocritical? I have acknowledged that it is a real problem for many people.. less than 1%... but that still means 3 million people have an issue in the country...


But with all the talk on shows and other people pushing this as a lifestyle I do think that the food industry has changed and is filling that market... but at a premium price... just like a lot of people love Whole Foods even though the prices were way higher than other places....



Remember when fat was the problem and everything started to become fat free? At a price no less...

Is this not the point of a market economy? When people come here from Cuba or North Korea, do they complain about too many choices in the supermarket?

Ha

 

[candrew]

Ok. So someone comes to dinner and they have celiac disease, are lactose intolerant and brought their comfort animal (fill in the blank). Then what are we to do?

Skip the bread and cheese then cook the comfort animal for dinner.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Ok. So someone comes to dinner and they have celiac disease, are lactose intolerant and brought their comfort animal (fill in the blank). Then what are we to do?

Well, you invited them—just make fun of them all evening?

 

[Chuckanut]

Folks, you all need my new supplement "SinGluten". This supplement is specially made to help people who want to use an all natural supplement to help them not consume gluten. Three pills a day won't add a bit of gluten to your daily diet! They are a simple gel capsule containing the miracle non-gluten substance - dihydrogen monoxide.

My supplement has the the least amount of gluten of any on the market. You would have to not eat over 1000 gluten free muffins to get as little gluten as is in my supplement. Don't delay.

 

[Sue J]

One time I hosted a party for work colleagues and their spouses. This was 20 years ago, before so many people had special diets. The theme was Cajun food, and I let everyone know in advance we were serving red beans and rice with andouille sausage, crawfish etoufee, salad, and pralines for dessert. One couple showed up and asked if I had any Kosher food.

If we have Thanksgiving at my sister and brother-in-law's house we all know to follow Kosher rules. No milk in the mashed potatoes, no real whipped cream on the pie. No sausage in the stuffing. No shellfish.

If her vegetarian step daughter is there my sister makes extra side dishes just for variety. One time she made a tofurkey (tofu turkey substitute) along with the regular turkey. We all tried it. Even the vegetarians agreed it was not worth the trouble.

Now, we all know in advance that they keep a Kosher home. When my BIL visits here I keep that in mind and make sure the entire meal is Kosher or an option is there for him. My sister keeps Kosher in their house but when she eats out she eats anything she wants - shrimp, clams, pork ribs, bacon!

A person who walks into someone else's house looking for Kosher options is going to be disappointed. My Kosher grandmother rarely came to our house and when she did she'd ask for a hard boiled egg and some cottage cheese.

 

[audreyh1]

Is this not the point of a market economy? When people come here from Cuba or North Korea, do they complain about too many choices in the supermarket?

Ha

Exactly!!! Why criticize or worry about whether other people are buying expensive products (for the supposedly "wrong" reasons)? I'm sure there are many, many people very grateful to have these options available. The improved product labeling is much appreciated.

If products are made in smaller quantities, of course I expect them to cost more.

If you are entertaining someone with dietary restrictions, then it's up to you how much you want to accommodate your guest.