Gluten/Wheat Intolerance / Coeliac Disease

Any coeliacs or gluten-free eaters here?

 

I've decided to go gluten-free for 1 month, to see the difference. For the last 3 years I've had skin problems, digestive problems and often poor energy levels. I've always suspected something in my diet to be the root-cause of it all.

 

Whenever I eat poorly (i.e. a lot of junk/processed foods which often contained wheat/gluten), I feel terrible, my performance suffers dramatically, and my skin becomes inflamed in a matter of hours/days, often resulting in acne (which is not as bad as it used to be, but is still there). As a result, for the last year or so my diet has been really strict, eating wholefoods only. This has given me the energy to train and make solid progress in strength training, but I still feel as though something is wrong internally. The problem is that the majority of my diet comes from oatmeal/brown bread (which I'm coming to the conclusion most people can tolerate fine, however some can't). After eating these glutened/wheated foods, I tend to feel tired, and sometimes (but not always) my noses becomes slightly blocked and I feel cold-like symptoms coming on. Obviously this effect is not as notable as when compared to a junk food diet, which is why I never really picked up on it until now.

 

So anyway, it's day 4 of cutting out oatmeal so far. And today is day 1 of replacing my bread for gluten/wheat-free bread, and thus basically the start of a 100% gluten-free diet. Despite only cutting the oats (and not bread) out for 4 days, my digestion & skin inflammation have both improved ALREADY. When I wake up in the morning, my skin actually feels so calm, unlike previously with a wholefood diet, and definitely unlike previously with the junk food diet. I actually think my skin is finally going to clear up.

 

I visited the doctors today and was told that it's up to me if I get a blood test or not. She didn't think I had coeliac disease, and said that unless I'm a coeliac, the tests will come back negative. I.e. gluten sensitivities won't be picked up. I also brought up the fact that I've had a chronic but mild sore throat for over a month (inflamed right tonsil), and she thinks it may be related to gluten as well.

 

Just thought I'd share my experience. I will update this in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to hearing other people's experiences.

My diet has been gluten-free for quite bit now. No sensible difference for me, and when I do eat the occasional gluten piece of food, not much seems to happen. I think I have a tolerance for gluten, but I don't really care. I don't miss bread and/or pasta, etc, so it's just rice for me. Even paleo guys don't mind rice, so that must mean something.   

Although it doesn't seem to affect me too much, I do wonder about long-term benefits of having gluten or not in one's diet if they do seem to tolerate it well.

Oatmeal has gluten too? Damn. Don't notice any negative effects from oatmeal.

What i do notice is when I eat buns, white/black bread and other rye/wheat foods.

 

The problem is - I really like them and I sometimes slip and continue eating them. After some time my skin breaks out, I get increased mucus and my dandruff increases.

Today is only day 5 of 100% free, and day 8 of oatmeal-free.

 

-My digestion/bowel movement/stools have been perfect every single day so far. Have not been able to say that for the last year or so lol.

 

-My skin is dramatically clearer, less inflamed and calmer. Although I think I need more time for this. 3-4 weeks.

 

-In terms of energy levels, I have not felt this kind of energy since I was a kid/early teen. At first I thought it was a one-off day, but it wasn't. It's been like that every day so far!

 

All in all, it's pretty mind-blowing that I was actually able to make progress / get stronger whilst all of that bad stuff was going on. Perhaps my progress will sky-rocket from now on! 

Gluten is an inflammatory protein found in many grains. The problem comes when a "leaky gut" spills these proteins into the blood stream and cause an inflammatory effect as the body attempts to neutralize these proteins or a similar process inside an irritated intestinal tract. Some people may have sub-clinical symptoms from gluten such as some lethargy or mucus buildup, achy joints, etc. Most people that live the typical american lifestyle have serious GI issues due to terrible lifestyle habits.

 

That all being said, most people will find it useful to try a gluten-free diet and see if they notice any positive changes.

 

Drink plenty of water and Good Luck!