Gluten!!!!!!!

I agree, John. What's the big deal? If someone wants to go gluten free, why should anyone else care? That article makes me angry....for me, it has nothing to do with fashion or fads. I have never tried any diet before, no matter how big of a fad it was. Never. I don't care about fads, I care about how I feel.

It is so much easier to just eat a normal diet. It's more pleasurable to eat all those goodies and it's damn hard to stick to gluten-free foods and pass up breads, pizzas and cookies. I have a friend with a daughter who has Downs Syndrome and Celiac's; I'm glad that the Girl Scouts now have cookies for her. Why should gluten-free Girl Scout cookies make anyone angry and why is it a big joke?

I'm glad that he did at least say this: “Research is mounting that gluten-free diets may be effective in treating or reducing symptoms in patients with autoimmune diseases,” says Lauren Graf, a dietician with New York’s Montefiore Medical Center. Then he says, "but I'm not afflicted with any of those maladies either". Well, he isn't dead yet and I can bet you anything that if he were to be afflicted, he might be willing to try eating gluten free rather then feeling sick day after day with no end in sight because the drugs just don't cut it.

It's an individual choice that doesn't hurt anyone, so I don't understand the criticism and ignorance that go along with the gluten-free discussion.

Had friends visit recently after dinner & I offered tea/coffee with mini chocolate Christmas puddings containing glucose syrup derived from wheat. One of our guests explained she was avoiding gluten as she had connected severe regular headaches to it. Another of our close friends suffered migraines for years until she avoided gluten. I went gluten free for 5 years when first diagnosed with ITP & have several recipe books & ingredients on hand. I often make gf food plates for functions in case there are some people who have no choice. As it was, I happened to have a gf fruit & nut slice in the freezer which was handy.
The latest 'fad' here is paleo - personally I believe in a good balance. Now - if I could just get off the chocolate wagon. . . !
mj

I've eaten Paleo too and try to stick to it as much as I can. I suppose it could be considered a fad but many people who have gone that route also claim to feel much better after starting it. I am one of them, so I consider it more of a lifestyle change.

Thank you SOwens for bringing up Oxalates and sharing your story. Like gluten, I strongly share your view that Oxalates are a suspect in ITP, which is from my own experience too. Just prior to my ITP onset, I was consuming spinach daily with blueberries and oatmeal in the morning for an extended time, believing they were very healthy for me. Turns out spinach is very high in oxalates which is a plant toxin that harms your health. Further, oxalates are stored in your bones, specifically in your bone marrow, where blood is generated, such as platelets. They interfere with the production of blood, such as platelets, and cause immune responses. Please see the youtube video interview "Oxalates are Ruining your Health with Sally Norton" by Paul Saladino MD. Specifically, go to minute 55:01 in the video which discusses oxalate interaction with the immune system. I believe this highlights the need to cut out high oxalate foods from one's diet, such as spinach, swiss chard, beat greens and relative vegetables high in oxalates. As a sidenote, oatmeal and blueberries are also other "health foods" I have eliminated that have helped me improve my platelet count naturally. Wishing everyone strong platelets!

I don't know yet, if gluten has affected my platelets, I'm still making too many mistakes, because it seems to be in almost everything- especially where I don't expect it. Or a sign on a grocery store shelf says "gluten free", I trust it and don't read the package, until I get symptoms "may contain traces".

I wanted to write, that a lot of doctors don't even test all gluten antibodies: I had so much diarrhea, weight gain, muscle pain, I could barely leave my place for 2 years, and if I did it was in diapers. Then a doctor tested for TG 6 and DGP, and it turned out I had antibodies. For celiac they usually only test TG2 here, maybe for wheat allergy, and do a endo/gastroscopy. So allegedly TG6 only affects the brain... my stomach is better too though. Oh right, I was stumbling a lot, forgetting where I was, light sensitive, skin rashes. Also mostly gone.

So since I quit gluten (but still accidentally had it every once in a while), at least I don't get nauseous as much, and have far less joint pain.

Will update if it's gonna do anything to my platelets.