Also the test for Celiac is not considered to be very reliable if you test negative. Furthermore gluten & grains are still problematic even if you are not celiac. Do you remember when I first joined the big belly & muffin top I had? Have you noticed how much weight I lost & kept off? I did try to lose the weight through cleanses when I didn't know that it was caused by my allergies etc but when I got sick & changed my diet it was not to lose weight but my weight has stayed low, even though I eat lots of food & lots of healthy fats. My belly is much flatter most of the time these days. It is not my reason for new diet but it is a side benefit.

I think technically there is no such thing as "gluten allergy." There *is* wheat allergy and gluten *is* implicated in all sorts of other immunological problems - which for all intents and purposes amount to the same for the sufferer - but it's not quite the same as "allergy" in terms of what goes on below the surface.

And sometimes people let the term allergy ride to encompass all the problems, and sometimes they really mean allergy when they say allergy. So I guess the thing is, read close and understand a benadryl isn't gonna help, if you know what I mean. The treatments you'll want will depend on root causes.

Anyways, as I've now got 4 endocrine/autoimmune problems, I have my own theories. First, is the human-created environment filled with endocrine disruptors and so forth. All the fire-retardant on our clothes, in our furniture; all the plastic bottles and cans of ketchup; perfumes, a favourite holiday gift; processed soy; all the medicines we take and the tossed pills that leak into the environment at large; the pesticides ... Second is stress - and not the stress you feel, but all the stress reactions in your body. So much stress, and you burn out the system eventually. Stress from the disruption of biochronological rhythms with all our lights, sitting 10 hours a day at a desk and hoping an hour at the gym is gonna do something, etc. Third is highly processed food and fruit juice (but not table sugar; that's totally negligible), because these things hit your blood stream at a hundred miles per hour. Fourth is overwhelming plenty - constant eating, snacking, etc. Keeps the blood sugar even, but your body never gets a rest.

Well, I could go on. Could talk about the invention of agriculture as the fall of mankind, too. Lol.

Last comment - Oats are a no-go if you need to go gluten-free and not-so-hot if you are fighting diabetes. Not the same exact proteins, but very close and produce the same problems. Also, they are sooo slow on the bloodstream front, you are really taxing your system for an extended amount of time. You could be keeping your blood sugar even at the cost of your actual insulin-producing cells.

Ok. Just my half-penny.

Through my research in trying to deal with my own thyroid issues I've come across something called the OAT (ovaries, thyroid, adrenals) axis imbalance. It has to do with the fact that the those 3 systems are closely linked and an imbalance in one can throw the others off. I have had hypothyroidism for several years and recently my troubles with endometriosis and also my kidneys. So it's something that sort of seems like a good theory for me anyway. In terms of gluten, I have drastically reduced my processed food intake over the past couple months, and this has included most grains. I have found a huge improvement in digestion, and even my thyroid levels were the best they've ever been. It's actually my hope to get off thyroid medication all together and heal my own body through proper nutrition. I think some people tolerate gluten fine, but others do not, and unfortunately I'm finding I may be one that does not. So far everything seems to be working better, but then again I am eating a ton of better, REAL food now too.

ETA - I also agree with Racheylou and feel that there are so many toxic, endocrine disrupting chemicals in our environment. Because of the fact that most of my issues are autoimmune or thought perhaps to be, I am really trying to avoid all toxic crap. So that includes the processed food but I really got rid of all the toxic chemicals and makeup. I guess it can't hurt to have less of it in my body, right?

I wonder if any of you take beneficial bacteria on a regular basis? I've been reading more about it and have started taking some of these for immune boosting mainly. I can't say I have a bloating problem or sensitivity to foods in particular but I've been eating mostly organic for about the past 30 years and I was vegetarian for about 10 years. I now eat a little red meat, chicken, eggs, fish and mostly vegetables, some fruit, beans, whole grains and organic cheese/yogurt in moderation. I do have hypothyroidism and have taken Armour thyroid for about 10 years I guess. I'm at a very low dose now and have considered stopping.

If you've taken antibiotics or eat most commercial meat which often has antibiotics, you likely need to replenish the bacteria in your gut from all I've read. I don't think you can do this with yogurt alone unless you ate quite a lot of it.

I'm considering intermittent 5:2 day fasting as per Valter Longo recommends. I'm not overweight but I have gained over the past 10 years or so and I'd like to lose that "extra". His research suggests to eat normal on 5 days of the week and limit calories (for women) to 500 (that's the "fast" part) on 2 days a week for better health, to greatly reduce cancer risk and to lose unwanted body fat. I'm going to try using a juicer for those 2 days to make it easier to keep the calories low but I think I will still eat an egg for breakfast and a small mid-day meal.

tex, I don't but I think I should. What's in your gut really has quite the impact.

Having had some serious bloating and gas many hours later from a large Olive Garden pasta lunch yesterday, I'm thinking I could use some digestive help, too. TMI, but a little something that has been bothering me - when I was sick last weekend I saw corn that I'd eaten at least 18 hours prior when I threw up. Surely food should not be sitting in my stomach for 18+ hours! Maybe my middle age middle is really just bloat from food not properly digesting?? I dunno.

Mo, I think corn is particularly hard to digest because we (humans) don't chew it enough and our digestive tracts can't handle the larger pieces of fiber in certain vegetables. The solution may be just to chew really, really well. And doing that probably would make most of us eat less as the chewing action better sends the signals to the brain that we are full. Or something like that. I read too much on nutrition.

Heh, I do too, TexStyle! So many diet and nutrition books over the years. Starting with Fit Or Fat by Covert Bailey back in the 80's. Suddenly I knew about mitochondria and ATP, oh my! Fascinating stuff. But almost 20 hours seems long, even for corn. I don't eat a lot of starchy carbs, but I don't avoid them completely either. Might be worth experimenting a little to see how my belly responds.

Way late to this thread (and I'd like to go back and read all the responses), but as you know I've got autoimmune hypothyroidism so here's my quick 2 cents. I haven't had the gluten test done, but I did switch to whole grains and eliminated most refined sugars along with eating plenty of veggies + less beef + not much bread anyway, my thyroid tests have stabilized pretty amazingly. After having to increase my med dosage annually the first 2-3 years I was diagnosed, after the food change I've been on the same dosage for three years straight now. A lot of it is paying careful attention to what my body metabolizes well and avoiding the things it doesn't (well, at least for the most part), which unfortunately took a whole lot of trial and error