Went low carb 7 years ago. Not just gluten-free but grain free. Lost a lot of weight and cured my high blood pressure and pre-diabetes.

I lost a ton of weight going to the Atkin's low carb plan...didn't buy the meals, but learned to read the info on the cans in the grocery store aisles.

Was I "smarter"? Maybe not...since I had to restock my closet.

My house mate went gluten free about 6 months ago and she has told me that she has not felt this good in years and she has more engery.

Wheat Belly" is a great read by a cardiologist on the overall effect of gluten on our bodies.

We cut out all grass seed (wheat, corn, rye, oats, etc.) about 12 years ago. It was one of the best dietary decisions we made. Our energy level increased, mild stuffiness was eliminated and slightly puffy face was gone. I highly recommend www.Mercola.com for such health questions.

FYI: Our pets (cat/dog) also went on a grain-free diet. HUGE improvement and elimination of maladies!!

If you have any thyroid issues at all, wheat gluten - glue - bogs down your glandular functions.

Harder than ever to be gluten free unless you eat MEAT and POTATOES - which, believe it or not, is what my family always said was their staple diet on the farm.

lab rat! Go!
Have a good friend who suffered from lots of muscle and joint pain, IBS. 6 Months on gluten free and years of chronic pains went away. was not overnight. If her mental acuity sharpened after the new diet, I do not think she would have said...because there were all those arguments she had with us BEFORE the diet changes she still would have claimed superior mental acuity. what can you do? (Gallic shrug)

I am gluten free and can tell when I break it. As good as I feel when I am gluten free I have to tell myself everytime "how can you ever forget that it is not worth it?"
.

I love to make sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving. I put on quite a bit of weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas a couple years ago by trying to perfect the recipe.. Lol. I tried a gluten-free diet afterwards. I lost the twenty pounds in two months. The increase levels of energy were felt before the end of the first week. It did seem to clear up brain-fog, except, afterwards, I did notice the first time I allowed myself bread after going gluten-free I got a giddy high as my brain was flooded with feel good chemicals. From my own experience, going gluten-free is a great way to lose weight, and get the body and brain balanced, but it’s not something you should do long-term unless you suffer from celiac disease because you could be robbing your body (and your brain) of B vitamins. I once worked a drug-free bodybuilding competition I can tell you first-hand the diets those guys and gals had trained on may create outstanding muscular bodies, but by the time the competitions roll around, it was obvious their brains were suffering. They were all highly irritable beyond the normal stress of competing. (Maybe there’s a reason for the dumb jock stereo-type?) I also like going on a raw diet every once and awhile too. Your body begins to metabolize the food so fast that you can actually feel certain chemicals doing certain things. It’s a very cool experience if you are observant and committed to eating very small portions every few hours.

Initially when I 'tried low carb' I half assed it, and still got encouraging results. All I did was cut bread pasta and rice. It made a huge difference! As I get better and better about low carb, and have learned to embrace healthy fats, it's getting better and better. I'm down 20 pounds in 6 months with no change in physical activity, and I can have all the bacon I want! :)

Recommend the podcasts by Jimmy Moore (ask the low carb experts), as well as the documentary 'Fathead' (available on netflix streaming when I saw it)

You suggested conspiracy theory. For gluten I think its actually the opposite, it is a result of free market choice.
Consumers want low price food, and wheat is the cheapest starch source. But wheat gluten has big advantages for baked foods, it adds moist texture, which again the consumer wants.

I dropped gluten about 7 years ago, after 40 years of living unaware of mild gluten intolerance. I had been living with mild IBS, and only after I gave it up realized how digestion was supposed to work!!
Its worth the small effort, but don't waste money on special "gluten free" substitutes. Just build habits of naturally GF food like potatoes or rice.
In the first month, be very strict. If you accidentally eat gluten you have to start the day-count again. If you have an intolerance, you will notice the improvement not before about 3 weeks. Thats how long the intestine lining needs to repair.
Good luck!

Groan! H.sapiens are omnivores -- we can eat almost anything! If gluten makes *YOU* feel queasy then stop eating it, but stop trying to get the rest of the population to stop eating gluten.

Other people's results from dietary changes are their results. They may not be your results; they may not even be close...

Some folks do well on that screwy all meat diet... I worked with a guy who tried it. I never say a man eat so much wonderful meat and look so utterly malnourished! There is little I love more than a 32oz dry-aged Porterhouse, but I've gotta have potatoes & bread to go with it!

My advice to anyone trying to gain control of their 'diet' -- KNOCK OFF the DIET SODA -- No one, not one single person *NEEDS* artificially sweetened beverages, foods, snacks, etc... STOP RATIONALIZING. If you're thirsty drink WATER -- good'old dihydrogen monoxide ;)

Folks that want to change their brain by changing their diet have it all bass-ackwards; change your mind and you will alter your physiology! Eat healthy, eat luxuriously, eat sparingly, eat when you are hungry. Try not to eat when you are *BORED*, if you want to skip a meal then skip it, but don't skip a meal to earn praise; it's an empty reward.

Fix your diet in the *SUPERMARKET* -- don't buy what you don't need, don't but what you know will cause you to over-indulge (that's also the best way to quit smoking -- don't buy tobacco, you won't smoke what you don't have).

As a practitioner of clinical nutrition, you are right to avoid gluten. And we don't really need that many carbs and we have no nutritional needs for sugar. In addition to avoiding these things, it is necessary to supplement with the 91 essential nutrients - 60 minerals, 16 Vitamins, 12 amino acids and 3 essential fatty acids. unless you are supplementing, it is impossible to get your daily nutritional needs in food alone. So avoiding the bad stuff is half the battle and a good start. You will notice great improvement once you get hooked up with a great line of supplements which I will happily provide you - sambdman.my90forlife.com
Visit there and check out the Learn More button for more details.

gluten-free is only part of the picture... add organic, non-gmo, soy free, dairy free to the picture... there are some excellent products out there that match your criteria, among them the purium l.o.v.e. super meal... check it out at www.mypurium.com/michaellinden or email me at emailml@mac.com... good luck...

Wonky -
The first time I tried to go low carb (which unfortunately includes both potatoes and rice), I hit a wall and bounced: I was unable to rid myself of morning-mind-fog. So I modified my diet and had simple carbs for breakfast, but not otherwise. Then - a couple of years later - I tried again...and this time, I did not hit the wall; there was no problem with giving up my morning simple carbs. (Evidently, my body had acclimated.) This stopped my weight gain (~1-2 lb/yr), but I did not loose any weight.
Then I read Wheat Belly and (in spite of several logical flaws in the book) decided to try it as an experiment. I removed all gluten from my diet. I began loosing weight at the rate of about a pound a week* for a while and my occasional digestive problems went away. I am now on the Tim Ferris version of the low-carb diet (which cycles back onto carbs/gluten once a week) and I have started loosing weight again.
As long as I follow the 'do no harm' principle, I am in favor of experimenting with mine own body, and I regard this as a successful experiment.

Jan
*Interestingly enough this was halted by a sting or bite on my arm (arm was pretty swollen) - did not loose any more weight after that happened.

You mentioned that you use Splenda. I was using it regular about two years ago. At the time I was noticing a number of physical problems developing but didn't contribute them to the Splenda use. Then in June 2012 I was hospitalized with a suspected stroke. Long story short, two months passed with no Splenda use. All the issues that had been developing earlier in the year were gone. I've cut out artificial sweeteners except for the occasional product that already has the artificial sweetener included. None of the problems have reoccurred. Just felt I should warn you.

Gluten, being sticky, is a factor in tooth decay, so brush and floss twice daily and it won't be a factor.

When my daughter was about 2 she was diagnosed "failure to thrive" and we had to go up to Primary Childrens. We met with a Doctor, Dietician, and a Social Worker at the same time. They started off thinking you are neglecting your children and then go backwards from there.

Long story short she was diagnosed with Celiac disease and we took our whole family Gluten Free. I have benefitted greatly from this change so I'm sure I have it to. Most of my benefits come in the form of less stomach troubles.

We are different then lots of people I meet who are Gluten Free in that we aren't concerned with super healthy stuff, just Gluten Free of the same things. But overall we probably eat healthier then we otherwise would.

Let me know if you have any Gluten Free questions.

Very interested; please report back!

Last year, after a lengthy divorce process, I decided to change the way I was eating and to stop my brain from deteriorating. I went as close to gluten free, sugar free, wheat free and generally a better diet.
Now, after a year of losing weight and regaining my memory. I feel much better than I have in years. Shedding my 400 pound wife helped as well.

I agree with the low-carb benefits already discussed. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and have been following the low glycemic load, not index, since and have reaped multiple benefits besides the lowering of my blood glucose. Keep in mind that gluten free does not mean low carb. Not at all.

I'll eat my grains and get all the B vitamins and minerals that grains are noted for. I just made a pot of rice and pasta (Rice a Roni) for myself.