3 ms·

My wife went gluten free and sugar free about 18months ago. That's led to losing 30 lbs, reduced incidence of numbness in the extremities (residual effect of we

My wife went gluten free and sugar free about 18months ago. That's led to losing 30 lbs, reduced incidence of numbness in the extremities (residual effect of west Nile) & heart murmurs. In addition she seems to be functioning at a higher cognitive level. She has suddenly taken a huge interest in reading and has written over 300,000 words of a series of novels. She is negative for celiac or any food allergies. I go on and off gluten free and I'm starting to realize that while the effects are less profound for me, I do better without grain (we do eat a lot of oats). The business of eating exclusively meat and dairy is due to ignorance. You should be eating large quantities of vegetables, particularly leafy greens. The hardest part of changing your diet is re-learning how to eat. OTOH I find the historical perspective somewhat suspect. If you believe Jared Diamond, grain led to the rise of civilization. I think that it's incredibly difficult to understand life for the majority of humans. 100 years ago there were no antibiotics. 200 years ago there was no refrigeration. 300 years ago, the fastest way to move goods was by horse, which meant farming was naturally local. 500 years ago, corn and potatoes were unknown in the European diet. Humans have been around for about 2 million years. The best analogues are the abject poor in underdeveloped parts of the world, which makes the advice in "Born to Run" about "eating like a poor person" take on a new light.

sasas 13y ago
Hey that's fantastic about your wife. I was recently diagnosed with Narcolepsy. After the meds did not seem to help, I decided to experiment with my diet. Removing gluten was the key. I experienced what it was like to wake up refreshed for the first time in over a decade. My productivity has increased to a level where I get the same work done in 8 hours where before I'd push 12 hour days on average. The removal of Gluten has had a profound positive change. Have you any references on gluten sensitivity that is isn't new age rubbish? I would like to know why gluten has caused brain fog and fatigue on such a detrimental level.
unclebucknasty 13y ago
Some believe that the rise in gluten sensitivity may be due to the hybridization of wheat. In general our entire approach to food has become heavily industrialized. Not that hybridization wasn't used in the past, but we are seeing a scale and pace of change in our food supply that is unprecedented. For instance, I think that one thing we are not considering enough is the effect of GMOs in our food supply. Certain foods that we eat in abundance (either directly or in packaged foods), like soy, corn, canola, etc. are almost all GMO. These are unnatural and have never existed in any prior civilization's diets. Further, when I look at the timelines you laid out, we are talking changes that occured over hundreds of years. While that is still a short period in terms of human history, the introduction of GMO is happening on an even shorter arc. In other words, we are making dramatic changes to our diet nearly overnight. We know that GMOs have caused allergies in some. There is very definitely a response. And, given what we know about inflammation and its role in disease, it has to make you wonder whether these foreign substances are impacting more people than we think. And, GMOs are just one aspect of dramatic, rapid changes in the modern food supply. We are not even considering processed foods, etc. So, when I read an article like this one, I have to wonder if the elephant in the room is being ignored. That is, will we someday realize that we were so focused on getting our food groups in just the right proportion, when the truth is that it's all just slow poison?

sasas 13y ago

Hey that's fantastic about your wife. I was recently diagnosed with Narcolepsy. After the meds did not seem to help, I decided to experiment with my diet. Removing gluten was the key. I experienced what it was like to wake up refreshed for the first time in over a decade. My productivity has increased to a level where I get the same work done in 8 hours where before I'd push 12 hour days on average. The removal of Gluten has had a profound positive change. Have you any references on gluten sensitivity that is isn't new age rubbish? I would like to know why gluten has caused brain fog and fatigue on such a detrimental level.

unclebucknasty 13y ago

Some believe that the rise in gluten sensitivity may be due to the hybridization of wheat. In general our entire approach to food has become heavily industrialized. Not that hybridization wasn't used in the past, but we are seeing a scale and pace of change in our food supply that is unprecedented. For instance, I think that one thing we are not considering enough is the effect of GMOs in our food supply. Certain foods that we eat in abundance (either directly or in packaged foods), like soy, corn, canola, etc. are almost all GMO. These are unnatural and have never existed in any prior civilization's diets. Further, when I look at the timelines you laid out, we are talking changes that occured over hundreds of years. While that is still a short period in terms of human history, the introduction of GMO is happening on an even shorter arc. In other words, we are making dramatic changes to our diet nearly overnight. We know that GMOs have caused allergies in some. There is very definitely a response. And, given what we know about inflammation and its role in disease, it has to make you wonder whether these foreign substances are impacting more people than we think. And, GMOs are just one aspect of dramatic, rapid changes in the modern food supply. We are not even considering processed foods, etc. So, when I read an article like this one, I have to wonder if the elephant in the room is being ignored. That is, will we someday realize that we were so focused on getting our food groups in just the right proportion, when the truth is that it's all just slow poison?