Wheat intolerance?

[casebro]

This

That site can't possibly be biased, can it?

But it also discusses a wheat sensitivity that is separate from Celiac's.

 

[Ocelot]

That site can't possibly be biased, can it?

I'm aware of the source but still judging the argument by it's merits.

They advise you to seek a diagnosis from an MD, point out the flaws in self diagnosis from unblinded elimination diets. All good scientific skeptic pleasing stuff.

 

[fls]

This

I had a friend who was hypersensitive to a lot of different foods, based on the sort of subjective and vague sensations referred to in this thread. It used to drive me crazy trying to prepare meals to take all of this into account until I discovered that it didn't matter if I slipped up, as long as I didn't tell him about it.

Linda

 

[HansMustermann]

On the other hand, mom also knows someone who ended up in hospital in anaphilactic shock because a friend thought it didn't matter if she doesn't tell him

 

[fls]

On the other hand, mom also knows someone who ended up in hospital in anaphilactic shock because a friend thought it didn't matter if she doesn't tell him

And that's the problem with this particular fad. When we get used to watching people play at being sick, we think that is representative of what to expect from those who actually have a problem.

Linda

(The first time I slipped up was accidental, and I did quiz him thoroughly as to just what kind of reactions he had.)

 

[Myriad]

I'm completely gluten tolerant. Really.

It's just that, I don't think some less experienced guy should be in line for promotion before me just because he's gluten.

Is that so wrong?

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[ponderingturtle]

Accidentally ate more wheat (Taco Bell this time). An hour later, the itching and burning sensations began. This itching has been happening for a while and I hadn't connected it to wheat, presumably because I eat it all the time.

Maybe it is your body telling you not to eat fast food.

 

[Myriad]

Most fast food places do use MSG (or similar things such as yeast extract) so maybe a reaction to that is a possibility here.

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[Richard Masters]

http://www.foodintol.com/celiac.asp

According to this document, wheat intolerance can present itself as watery lesions, without any problems with the lining of the intestines.

Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH) is another form of Gluten intolerance and affects the skin by forming lesions that are watery and itchy blisters. DH only presents when the patient has inherited the gene. In this case they may or may not have the intestinal symptoms as described above.

I used to get these a lot until I started doing aerobic exercise. I'm pretty sure that if I ate more wheat and stopped doing exercise I'd get them again. Of course, I'm not about to stop doing exercise. Then again, confirmation bias and all...

Interestingly, I ate 2 low carb six-dollar burgers today and apparently they don't have any wheat inside them, still, I noticed odd leg sensations.

Does anybody have any idea why eating food would do that?

 

[fls]

http://www.foodintol.com/celiac.asp

According to this document, wheat intolerance can present itself as watery lesions, without any problems with the lining of the intestines.

I used to get these a lot until I started doing aerobic exercise. I'm pretty sure that if I ate more wheat and stopped doing exercise I'd get them again.

Dude. You did not get Dermatitis Herpetiformis. You haven't the foggiest idea what that description is meant to refer to. I do (I treat people with this condition). Just because you saw a picture with a woman in it does not mean you saw the Mona Lisa.

That's the problem with this self-diagnosis stuff. You try to form an idea of what something looks like from the description instead of knowing what that something looks like in the first place.

Linda

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

<snip>

Interestingly, I ate 2 low carb six-dollar burgers today and apparently they don't have any wheat inside them, still, I noticed odd leg sensations.

Does anybody have any idea why eating food would do that?

Depends. Was it two left legs or two right?

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

Description of Dermatitis Herpetiformis here with pictures of the rash on various parts of the body. Probably a bit more reliable than a website which appears to be more interested in selling readers a diet plan than providing useful information.

ETA: And if you do think you have this condition, go and see a doctor and get a proper diagnosis.

 

[Ixion]

Most fast food places do use MSG (or similar things such as yeast extract) so maybe a reaction to that is a possibility here.

Respectfully,
Myriad

I really wish I had more time to respond to allergy concerns, but I don't. However, I do want to point out that MSG is naturally produced in your body and in most living things, and since it is an amino acid salt, allergic reactions to it are pretty much right out. My wife claimed MSG sensitivity for years, but it was as Linda said. The less I made a big deal about it, the less reaction she noticed. Expectation was everything. We haven't bothered checking labels for MSG for years. If it was an allergy, you get more sensitized by exposure, not less. Even controlled double-blinded placebo-based studies have not found any statistical impact upon the population.

 

[Myriad]

I really wish I had more time to respond to allergy concerns, but I don't. However, I do want to point out that MSG is naturally produced in your body and in most living things, and since it is an amino acid salt, allergic reactions to it are pretty much right out. My wife claimed MSG sensitivity for years, but it was as Linda said. The less I made a big deal about it, the less reaction she noticed. Expectation was everything. We haven't bothered checking labels for MSG for years. If it was an allergy, you get more sensitized by exposure, not less. Even controlled double-blinded placebo-based studies have not found any statistical impact upon the population.

I agree there's a lot of woo regarding MSG out there. However, I have personally experienced effects (maybe "reactions" was the wrong word, as I didn't mean to imply necessarily allergic reactions) from unknowingly consuming large amounts of MSG despite not having previously paid any attention to MSG in any way. On one occasion a whole dining party felt similar effects (and all reported having felt them before anyone spoke up about it). Maybe something else was in the food that time, but when we looked into it the symptoms matched reported effects of MSG "overdoses" on others.

Itchy hands were not among the effects I experienced and maybe that's completely implausible as a possible effect of consuming MSG (though what about the related compounds also used, normally-harmless trace impurities in the extracts, etc.)? But if someone is having a reaction of some kind from eating different types of fast food, in which none of the basic food ingredients seem to be at fault, and if the wheat in the bread is also not the cause, MSG and yeast extracts would seem at least worth looking into.

I could also mention, hopefully again without overstating the case, that both troublesome meals Richard Masters reports also apparently contained cheese (since most Taco Bell offerings do).

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[Gertie]

I'm going to attempt some common sense here.
You were fine. You went somewhere and ate something and experienced uncomfortable sensation in your hands and feet.
Now you are trying to jump to the conclusion it's gluten. Or maybe soy or maybe something else you ate.
Your evidence is completely insufficient.
Reality: You may have indeed come in contact with something you were allergic to on your trip. You may indeed be experiencing something related to something you ate, but as you ate a variety of things, you really can't begin to point to any one food item yet. And you obscurely reference feeling bad prior to this all salad diet, but give no details, making me think it's entirely possible you suffer from some other medical condition completely unrelated to the consumption of the Burger King food.
Now, if you really think food allergies might be the issue, having proper tests would be your best bet. Since you say that's financially impossible for you immediately, you could endeavor to devise some blind testing. You'd have to get someone to regularly provide you food that doesn't contain any of the suspected items (I'd add peanut to that list, and some other things. Many fast food places, including Burger King, use peanut oil or a chemical oil because they last longer before breaking down from the heat rather than regular plain vegetable oil. I think there is also something they can add to regular veggie oil to make it last longer, I know there used to be. You might call and ask them what they use and they might give you the information.) The person would then randomly give you food with the potential problem item included. Example, have them give you pasta couple times a week and occasionally give you wheat pasta. You would have to keep notes on when you feel this hand and foot tingle and it would then be compared to their records of when you were fed what food.
Seems to me, though, the easiest thing would be to just avoid gluten, soy, peanut and whatever until you can see a doctor. Personally, if I ate that mess of Burger King you described I'd be ill. All that fat. There was a time I used to eat at fast food places, but I stopped, started eating a healthier diet, and then found whenever I eat fatty foods, I feel just awful. My doctor tells me this is normal. He said there was even a doctor that did a big diet study, and he called such reactions the fast food flu. Said everyone that ate lots of low fat high fiber food for a while and then tried fatty fast foods got the same reaction.

 

[casebro]

Lessee what ingredients might have been in common between the two fast food meals"

Wheat Flour (it's even in corn tortillas)
Tomatoes
corn starch
modified food starch ( in everything)
Paprika (and the famous "Oleoresin of Paprika)
cabbage (filler in many relishes/salsas)
Cheese (if you call it that)
Sodium Phosphate (keeps processed meats juicy)
MSG
Annatto (natural food coloring)
Yeast
Soy
Turmeric (spice or coloring)
Potato (starch or fries)
Egg (mayonnaise, in guacamole?)
Casein (milk protein)

 

[Richard Masters]

Dude. You did not get Dermatitis Herpetiformis. You haven't the foggiest idea what that description is meant to refer to. I do (I treat people with this condition). Just because you saw a picture with a woman in it does not mean you saw the Mona Lisa.

You are probably right.

That's the problem with this self-diagnosis stuff. You try to form an idea of what something looks like from the description instead of knowing what that something looks like in the first place.

Linda

One of the pictures I saw looked identical. But the others did not.

 

[Richard Masters]

I'm going to attempt some common sense here.
You were fine. You went somewhere and ate something and experienced uncomfortable sensation in your hands and feet.
Now you are trying to jump to the conclusion it's gluten. Or maybe soy or maybe something else you ate.
Your evidence is completely insufficient.
Reality: You may have indeed come in contact with something you were allergic to on your trip. You may indeed be experiencing something related to something you ate, but as you ate a variety of things, you really can't begin to point to any one food item yet. And you obscurely reference feeling bad prior to this all salad diet, but give no details, making me think it's entirely possible you suffer from some other medical condition completely unrelated to the consumption of the Burger King food.

I would disagree with you, except I don't disagree. All I really know is that the sensations seem to flare up whenever I eat, unless it's salad. (And I'm not even sure about that.)

Now, if you really think food allergies might be the issue, having proper tests would be your best bet. Since you say that's financially impossible for you immediately, you could endeavor to devise some blind testing. You'd have to get someone to regularly provide you food that doesn't contain any of the suspected items (I'd add peanut to that list, and some other things. Many fast food places, including Burger King, use peanut oil or a chemical oil because they last longer before breaking down from the heat rather than regular plain vegetable oil. I think there is also something they can add to regular veggie oil to make it last longer, I know there used to be. You might call and ask them what they use and they might give you the information.) The person would then randomly give you food with the potential problem item included. Example, have them give you pasta couple times a week and occasionally give you wheat pasta. You would have to keep notes on when you feel this hand and foot tingle and it would then be compared to their records of when you were fed what food.
Seems to me, though, the easiest thing would be to just avoid gluten, soy, peanut and whatever until you can see a doctor. Personally, if I ate that mess of Burger King you described I'd be ill. All that fat. There was a time I used to eat at fast food places, but I stopped, started eating a healthier diet, and then found whenever I eat fatty foods, I feel just awful. My doctor tells me this is normal. He said there was even a doctor that did a big diet study, and he called such reactions the fast food flu. Said everyone that ate lots of low fat high fiber food for a while and then tried fatty fast foods got the same reaction.

Hmmm. Food for thought.

ETA: What exactly causes the "fast food flu"? For the record, I've noticed these sensations since before I started eating salads regularly. It just so happens that I unintentionally failed to notice them while I was eating salads.

 

[Richard Masters]

Lessee what ingredients might have been in common between the two fast food meals"

Wheat Flour (it's even in corn tortillas)

Is it really?

Tomatoes
corn starch
modified food starch ( in everything)
Paprika (and the famous "Oleoresin of Paprika)
cabbage (filler in many relishes/salsas)
Cheese (if you call it that)
Sodium Phosphate (keeps processed meats juicy)
MSG
Annatto (natural food coloring)
Yeast
Soy
Turmeric (spice or coloring)
Potato (starch or fries)
Egg (mayonnaise, in guacamole?)
Casein (milk protein)

The reason I'm asking is because I had corn tortillas this morning (in Mexican Chilaquiles) and the leg sensations came back. Even stranger though is that it got worse tonight when I went to a salsa/waltz class. It's like a burning sensation and sometimes it feels like the blood flow to my legs was interrupted, kind of like when you get on your feet too fast... That doesn't even sound like food intolerance anymore...

 

[casebro]

I guess you could try anti-histamines?

An H-1 blocker, like Benadryl, plus an H-2 blocker/acid reducer like famotidine or ranitidine? Theory is that histamines constricts arteries, causing poor blood flow. Blocking the histamines opens up the blood flow. Or not....