Wheat Intolerance

Variety Without Wheat

2008-08-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

There are a wide variety of restaurants to choose from and all may have a wheat free meal or a dish that can be prepared wheat free with just a couple of simple substitutions. You can try different kinds of restaurants, such as Chinese, Middle Eastern or Indian and this will keep enough variety in your plans that going out to eat will not become a boring experience.

Fast food restaurants and other chain restaurants have even become more accommodating for people with food allergies or intolerances and offer special foods that are suitable for these sufferers. It is a good idea to always ask about special dishes for people with wheat intolerance and if none are available at least check to see if they have lists with the ingredients used for different meals so that you can get an idea of what is safe to eat and what is not.

If you know other people with wheat intolerance, ask them first where they eat and what meals they usually order. If you don’t know of anyone, then try to base your choice on a restaurant that has promising dishes on the menu. However, it is sometimes not possible to plan ahead or to make reservations and if a spur of the moment idea comes up to eat out, you will have to be especially careful of what you order.

History to Unlock Wheat Intolerance

2007-09-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Wheat was not always a part of human diet and it is a fact that wheat has been grown by people only for the last few thousand years. As a comparison, people were eating meat, fruits and vegetables for a much longer time period. Many researchers claim that this is the reason that so many people around the world suffer from something known as wheat intolerance.

It has been recently published that around 15% of all human have wheat intolerance, but experts say that the real number is a lot higher and that the patients just don’t know that they are patients and that they do suffer from wheat intolerance.

Wheat intolerance shows itself through a number of different symptoms which could also be blamed on many other allergies, diseases or other food intolerances. Some of the most common complaints include sleepiness, bloating, flatulence, fluid retention and swelling of limbs or joints. In extreme intolerance cases you may even suffer from extreme fatigue, depression and obesity and if left untreated it may even develop into diabetes or Celiac Disease. Once other diseases have resulted, you will have to be in medical care for the rest of your life. This makes it important to recognize symptoms and find the cause. A wheat intolerance is hard to diagnose because it shares symptoms with many other ailments, but once it has been diagnosed it is easy to relieve and even reverse symptoms. Although it may sound simple to just leave wheat out of your diet, as many people with a wheat allergy or wheat intolerance would know it is not.

Wheat is not just found in breads and anything else with flour, but also used as a sauce thickening agent, in soups, ice cream and even sausage. This makes it necessary to carefully read all food labels and that is quite a task in the beginning. This does, however, become easier with time and the simplest way to get your grocery shopping done quickly is to stick with basic foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and meat and leave out the sauces.

Helpful Aunty for Wheat Intolerance

2007-09-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

While many of my readers suffer from a wheat intolerance, I would also guess there are many readers who would also be suffering from Celiac's Disease. Even though they are not on a strict wheat free diet, they still find my blog posts useful.

If you don't already know Celiac's Disease means you can't eat gluten, the protein found within wheat. Like wheat, gluten is used in many of the foods you find at the local supermarket.

Recently I had my Aunty Joan ready my blog because she suffers from Celiac Disease. Aunty Joan commented on how useful a lot of my information is for Celiac's, because we write about our difficulties which are just as relevant to these folks. I then suggest she should start her own blog on gluten free living, but she just laughed. Fair enough, it is hard work.

Sorry for going off track but in a strange way it is great she suffers from this disease because she is a great cook and is always having our family round to eat her wonderful food. Plus it is nice to have someone in the family to share and understand our experience of living on a wheat free diet.

Moving on, my Aunty said that when she first discovered that she was a Celiac about 8 years ago the hardest thing was to adjust to the overall lifestyle. I could certainly relate to that. For example eating out was a whole new experience, continually having to educate restaurant and cafe staff that she couldn't eat food with gluten in it. While people are becoming more educated, it is still surprising how many businesses in the food industry don't educate their staff about the disease. Also, checking every food label becomes a fastidious obsession. Thank goodness the new food labeling regulations which have helped a little in that department.

Being such a resourceful Aunty she said some of my readers might be interested in a really good resource she purchased on the net, the Essential Gluten Free Guide. As I was interested in anything on this topic, I shelled out the $30 and purchased a copy myself. I have to say, normally these types of things are a bit of a waste of time, but I found it to be a great read. It would also be useful to those who suffer from a wheat intolerance or wheat allergy just from the point of view of trying to live a bit more of a normal life.

Anyway, if you would like to purchase a copy you can go to Peter Tremayne's site and get yourself one. I used Paypal to purchase, which then allowed me to download the guide.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Until next time. Joel.

Wheat Intolerance Diagnosis Not easy

2007-09-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Someone who suffers from wheat intolerance will experience many adverse effects on their body and possibly a multitude of symptoms. In order to alleviate these ailments, you will need to understand what exactly is causing your problems, why and what treatments are available and worth considering.

Wheat intolerance symptoms are basically the result of chemical reactions in the body, but which are not related to your immune system and that is what makes it an intolerance and not an allergy. These reactions cause a variety of symptoms such as bloating, vomiting, fatigue, headaches or even nausea. It is absolutely necessary to take the time to keep a log of what you eat and find out what kind of intolerance you have. This should be done as soon as you suspect that wheat intolerance is causing the problems. If wheat intolerance is left untreated, there is even a risk that the wheat intolerance will eventually cause larger problems such as Celiac disease or diabetes. These are serious illnesses and if preventable, should be avoided. Many sufferers of wheat intolerance wrongly believe that this is a harmless food intolerance and do not take the possible problems seriously.

Most wheat products usually contain a substance which is called gluten, and this is the main source of wheat intolerance. Gluten is found in a variety of foods, but mostly those that contain some form of barley, oats or rye. This means that if you know you have wheat intolerance and go shopping, you will also have to avoid foods that claim they contain gluten. This is either good or bad, depending on the situation. Some foods write on their package gluten free, and this is a wise choice for someone with wheat intolerance.

The best way to diagnose wheat intolerance is to work with a doctor and keep a dietary log. This log can only be scrutinized if completed everyday for 30 – 40 days in a row. If you do not want to go immediately to a doctor, there are also many diet diaries that can be downloaded free of charge from the internet and they can help you determine if you have wheat intolerance. If a wheat intolerance is probable you should then definitely see a doctor and accordingly change your daily diet.

The best way to avoid symptoms of wheat intolerance is to just leave wheat out of your daily diet. This may sound simple, but in reality it is not and can be quite difficult to follow in the beginning because wheat is a major part of the normal diet.

Blind to Wheat Intolerance

2007-09-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

There are many people who suffer after eating a meal and sometimes even after eating a snack, such as pastries or cookies. These people suffer from bloating, swollen joints, headaches and even may need to sleep right after eating. These symptoms may be caused by a number of illnesses, but more and more people are realizing that a simple wheat intolerance is the culprit.

Official statistics claim that 15 – 20 % of the population suffers from wheat intolerance and many experts say that this percentage is higher due to the fact that many do not even know that they suffer from some kind of intolerance. This is mostly because wheat intolerance is very hard to diagnose and many doctors do not even recognize it right away. There are many other food intolerances, such as lactose, that have similar ailments and that is what usually is behind a delayed diagnosis.

The best way to determine if you have a food intolerance is to keep a log of what you eat an entire month long. A doctor studying the log will be able to narrow down the problem foods and if a wheat intolerance is suspected you will have to leave wheat out of your diet for a couple of weeks and then you will know for sure.

If you do suffer from a wheat intolerance, there is no need for medications, drugs or any other drastic measures. Just by not eating wheat for a couple of weeks if all that is needed to rid yourself of all the symptoms. Of course by not eating wheat, you will also be missing the fiber, minerals and vitamins found in wheat. The fiber can be replaced by eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, however the vitamins, such as iron or zinc, will have to be replaced by other foods and you will just have to do some research and find the right foods for your taste.

Do I have a Wheat Intolerance?

2007-09-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

Wheat intolerance is when your body reacts sensitively to all wheat products, and this is especially common among wheat containing gluten. There are different reactions, but generally speaking a wheat intolerance is hard to determine, even for experienced doctors, due to the fact that many of the symptoms associated with such an intolerance actually only show themselves in various forms a couple of days after having digested the wheat.

Wheat intolerance is often underestimated by the people suffering from it, mostly because they do not realize that it can actually cause or influence other illnesses, such as diabetes, anemia, or even forms of arthritis. They best way to determine whether or not you have wheat intolerance is to simply keep track of what you eat over a longer amount of time, for example a one month period. This is commonly referred to as the elimination diet method. There are special logs available which offer guidelines and which can be quite helpful. Once you identified a wheat intolerance, you may have to narrow the possible sources of trouble down even more and see if wheat with gluten is the real cause of your ailments. If left untreated, there is even the possibility of suffering from Celiac disease

Once you are sure that you suffer from wheat intolerance, there are many ways of alleviating the symptoms. The best method is to just avoid foods that have wheat or gluten. This means it is best to avoid foods containing wheat, rye, barley or oats and to plan your meals and grocery shopping lists keeping this in mind. Studies have shown that when patients with wheat intolerance avoided foods with wheat and gluten for a couple of weeks, that the symptoms just disappear and they don’t need the help of any kinds of drugs or medications.

Wheat Free Pizza Recipe

2007-09-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

Found this great wheat free pizza recipe you should look at. There are even pictures provided to help you along the way.

Wheat Intolerance Hobby Transformed into Business

2007-08-31T06:11:00.000-07:00

Another example of the growing market in catering for people who suffer from a wheat intolerance, is Tracey Saunders’s story. Reported in the Express and Star in the UK, Tracey turned her hobby of making meals suited to her dietary needs, into a business that caters for people who suffer from the same problem.

“I love food so when I was diagnosed with a wheat and dairy intolerance I was really upset,” said Tracy, who lives in West Bromwich. “However, it became my hobby to start making meals, which could fit in with my new diet.” Tracey opened the shop in Sandwell at the beginning of July this year, and already she is getting amazing feedback from the customers buying foods to suit their allergy and intolerance dietary needs.

“I have been amazed by how many people suffer with an intolerance or allergy and have struggled to find somewhere to buy good food.”
“I have spoken to Jamie Oliver about the shop and I’m keen for him to focus on food intolerances, because it is something that affects a lot of people,” said Tracy.”
“A lot of doctors are unable to diagnose it.
“People can suffer for years without realizing that they just need to replace something in their diet.”

So if you live near the Sandwell area, you should get down to Tracey’s Pantry and support her new business. The more independent stores like this the better.

Story Source: expressandstar.co.uk/2007/08/28/traceys-hobby-is-new-business/

Wheat Intolerance

2007-08-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Not sure if you have a Wheat Intolerance or Wheat Allergy? Is this related to Coeliac Disease in anyway? These are probably some of the questions you are asking yourself if you have started to have some reaction to foods containing wheat. Also, as you have probably found there is a lot of confusing information on the Internet when it comes to the term wheat intolerance.

To simply state it, a Wheat Intolerance is best described as someone who has difficulty processing wheat through their digestive system. As a result you may find that after eating food containing wheat such as bread, cereals and pasta you have symptoms such as stomach pain and cramping. Importantly your reaction will generally occur a number of hours after you have eaten the food e.g. 8 to 72 hours.

In contrast, a Wheat Allergy is a more severe reaction to the same foods. For example you could expect that after eating a slice of bread you would have a reaction within a couple of hours or even instantly. The reaction could include a skin rash, bloating around the throat region, dizziness, sneezing and vomiting just to name few. Different people react differently and the symptoms can be wide ranging.

Please note that the term “severe” is used to reference how quick the reaction occurs, not necessarily a more painful reaction. People who have a Wheat Intolerance can often have stomach pain that is unbearable. So as you can see there is very much as difference between a wheat allergy and a Wheat Intolerance.

So how is this related to Coeliac Disease (CD)? Well CD is related to someone’s reaction to gluten, the protein in wheat. So Coeliac’s are able to eat wheat as long as the gluten has been extracted. You will frequently see on supermarket’s shelves products labeled “gluten free”, this does not absolutely mean the wheat has also been removed.