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Drop gluten for 3 weeks; do you feel better? Feel bad when you get back on it? Problem solved, really. Until science supports our observations, I don't need muc

Drop gluten for 3 weeks; do you feel better? Feel bad when you get back on it? Problem solved, really. Until science supports our observations, I don't need much more proof than that.

zwieback 14y ago
Your reply perfectly sums up why anti-gluten and other food crazes periodically sweep through our culture: science's job isn't to support peoples self-observation and that observation does not prove gluten intolerance. The gluten-free + gluten/placebo experiment could show whether someone is gluten intolerant or not, until then the approach you mention is indistinguishable from superstition.
- Shorel 14y ago
  Now this is a good reason to prove if farts can be created by placebo effects and superstition.
- jellicle 14y ago
  For an individual, it doesn't matter whether the effect is placebo or not; it's real to the individual. If standing on tiptoes and spinning around three times each morning makes you feel better, you should do it. It's only for determining what sorts of interventions we should use for a larger population that we care about whether the effect is placebo or not.
- dbrian 14y ago
  Sure, but when you make personal choices for your own diet you should absolutely base it on your own observations.
- mipapage 14y ago
  This has nothing to do with fads or crazes, at least for me and many other's that I know. It is important to apply critical thinking in all aspects of what you do.
dbrian 14y ago
I agree, elimination diets are great. And this is all anyone can really do as an individual to find what works best for them. I did the same thing with dairy. I just feel better without it.
michael_h 14y ago
As pointed out elsewhere in this thread, when you drop gluten, you drop pizza, some ice creams, and a ton of processed foods, so 'not eating garbage' may be helping more than 'not eating gluten'.
- jerf 14y ago
  The key to this test, is not just that you drop the gluten. The key is that you then try it again (3 weeks should be enough time for anyone who is not elderly). Have a nice whole wheat sandwich with nothing but healthy ingredients if you like; if you feel like crap afterwards, stop eating wheat. Do you have Celiac? Do you have gluten sensitivity? Do you have a wheat allergy? Do you really care? If you truly have any of those three things, you will know, because the resulting symptoms are well beyond what you would reasonably want to imagine/reverse placebo up. If you suspect you may have any of these problems, this really is the best test to do. All of the formal, medical tests are varying degrees of unpleasant and distressingly inconclusive. This one is conclusive, and easy, excepting the giving up of the yummies for three weeks.
cooldeal 14y ago
According to the article, a full two third of people who thought the same way did not have gluten tolerance. The mind is a powerful thing.
- mipapage 14y ago
  Sure, so if you do this, be diligent. Awareness is important.
r00fus 14y ago
> Drop gluten for 3 weeks; do you feel better? Feel bad when you get back on it? Problem solved, really. Until science supports our observations, I don't need much more proof than that. Science does support it if you did the observations, recorded fastidiously and properly controlled your experiment. "big name" science does not exclude normal people from conducting scientific experiments. Oblig xkcd: http://xkcd.com/397/ http://xkcd.com/397/

Drop gluten for 3 weeks; do you feel better? Feel bad when you get back on it? Problem solved, really. Until science supports our observations, I don't need much more proof than that.

zwieback 14y ago

Your reply perfectly sums up why anti-gluten and other food crazes periodically sweep through our culture: science's job isn't to support peoples self-observation and that observation does not prove gluten intolerance. The gluten-free + gluten/placebo experiment could show whether someone is gluten intolerant or not, until then the approach you mention is indistinguishable from superstition.

Shorel 14y ago
Now this is a good reason to prove if farts can be created by placebo effects and superstition.
jellicle 14y ago
For an individual, it doesn't matter whether the effect is placebo or not; it's real to the individual. If standing on tiptoes and spinning around three times each morning makes you feel better, you should do it. It's only for determining what sorts of interventions we should use for a larger population that we care about whether the effect is placebo or not.
dbrian 14y ago
Sure, but when you make personal choices for your own diet you should absolutely base it on your own observations.
mipapage 14y ago
This has nothing to do with fads or crazes, at least for me and many other's that I know. It is important to apply critical thinking in all aspects of what you do.

dbrian 14y ago

I agree, elimination diets are great. And this is all anyone can really do as an individual to find what works best for them. I did the same thing with dairy. I just feel better without it.

michael_h 14y ago

As pointed out elsewhere in this thread, when you drop gluten, you drop pizza, some ice creams, and a ton of processed foods, so 'not eating garbage' may be helping more than 'not eating gluten'.

jerf 14y ago
The key to this test, is not just that you drop the gluten. The key is that you then try it again (3 weeks should be enough time for anyone who is not elderly). Have a nice whole wheat sandwich with nothing but healthy ingredients if you like; if you feel like crap afterwards, stop eating wheat. Do you have Celiac? Do you have gluten sensitivity? Do you have a wheat allergy? Do you really care? If you truly have any of those three things, you will know, because the resulting symptoms are well beyond what you would reasonably want to imagine/reverse placebo up. If you suspect you may have any of these problems, this really is the best test to do. All of the formal, medical tests are varying degrees of unpleasant and distressingly inconclusive. This one is conclusive, and easy, excepting the giving up of the yummies for three weeks.

cooldeal 14y ago

According to the article, a full two third of people who thought the same way did not have gluten tolerance. The mind is a powerful thing.

mipapage 14y ago
Sure, so if you do this, be diligent. Awareness is important.

r00fus 14y ago

> Drop gluten for 3 weeks; do you feel better? Feel bad when you get back on it? Problem solved, really. Until science supports our observations, I don't need much more proof than that. Science does support it if you did the observations, recorded fastidiously and properly controlled your experiment. "big name" science does not exclude normal people from conducting scientific experiments. Oblig xkcd: http://xkcd.com/397/ http://xkcd.com/397/