Philosophical Vegan Forum

Gluten free and vegans unite!

glutenfreegf wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 11:28 pm Gluten free and vegans unite!

Why do you write that? Being vegan is a good thing, being gluten free is usually a big mistake.

Hello glutenfreegf, welcome to the forum.
As far as I know, there aren't any real health concerns with gluten. Unless you have some kind of condition, particularly celiac disease, it's overall safe to consume gluten (besides, gluten makes a lot of foods actually good, a lot of gluten-free foods just aren't the same).

I have an intolerance and I should be tested for celiac

I was asking to see what other gf vegans do who are in a similar situation. I do not think there should be any shame in going gluten-free by preference. @r@Red what do you think about elimination diets and very strict no gluten/no legumes/no sugar diets?

glutenfreegf wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2019 11:40 am I have an intolerance and I should be tested for celiac

If you haven't been tested for Celiac, how do you know you have an intolerance? I'm asking since about 85% of everyone who thinks they have an intolerance are wrong.

glutenfreegf wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2019 11:41 amI do not think there should be any shame in going gluten-free by preference.

I think the concern would be, if it's not a medical issue and just personal preference, that you could be missing out on a lot of foods that are healthful and contain some gluten.
Like if somebody decided not to eat anything green, from lettuce to Green icing cookies. Some things with gluten in them are bad for you, some good for you (unless you have a medical issue).
Some extreme gluten free diets even exclude soy sauce, which is in... seemingly almost everything savory.

Avoidance of gluten without a medical reason could be a form of orthorexia, an irrational and harmful focus on eating rules that don't really have a philosophical or evidence based basis.

That said, if you feel bad after eating it, definitely avoid it until you can get tested for allergy or celiac. It could be nocebo, but even if you're not sensitive to gluten it might be something else that often correlates with it like a dough conditioner or something that's not inherent to wheat but is just often in gluten containing things.
It can also make sense to avoid gluten as a challenge to better empathize with people who do have those conditions, so we can help make sure there are gluten free options for those who need them.