Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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When I first went cold turkey VLC in Aug 2010, I had a hard time finding what to eat. I was tracking my carbs daily and keeping it in the 30-50 range for several months.

I had never previously avoided bread, but most of it was certainly not whole grain bread.

But because I wanted to keep it "healthy" while on low carb, it was suddenly commonplace for me to use the Food For Life sprouted breads as vehicles for butter with my meals. One piece is 12g net carbs, so I'd easily eat 3 pieces most days. I wasn't eating tubers or rice, so most of my carbs were coming from these sprouted breads in those early days. We ate the "7 Sprouted Grains" and "Cinnamon Raisin" bread all the time.

Might a high intake of this have given me a leaky gut?

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flag	asked Oct 14 2011 at 14:39 Jack Kronk 19.9k●2●33●101

i used to eat the plain orange-colored one when I was WAP. I never experienced any acute issues but I'm interested in the responses. – ben61820 Oct 14 2011 at 14:42

why do you think you have a leaky gut? i hope it's not b/c Quilt said that's what's causing your high cholesterol. in any case, i reckon this bread doesn't cause leaky gut any more than any other gluten source would or could, tho it might exacerbate an existing prob. which i kinda don't think you have if high cholesterol is your only 'symptom'. – g. Oct 14 2011 at 19:29

grenadine - i understand the false fears of cholesterol numbers, but my labs actually indicated numbers that even Paleos dont want to see. Plus I do have a physical symptom... a bad feeling in my chest right around my heart area. It is strongest while fasting. It is virtually nonexistent while/after a workout. It is also virtually nonexistent after eating, regardless of what I eat. For example, last night I had it pretty strongly before dinner, than I had a 14oz New York Steak with a baked potato, a salad, and draft beer. I felt perfectly healthy upon leaving the restaurant. Weird. – Jack Kronk Oct 14 2011 at 20:14

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Low magnesium can also cause angina (chest pain) as well as contribute to atherosclerosis and CVD. – Nemesis Oct 15 2011 at 0:11

Yes I think I need to get a mag supp, as I don't really have many sources in my diet. I do eat 85% dark chocolate every now and then, but I doubt that would cover me. What is the best mag supp to get? – Jack Kronk Oct 15 2011 at 5:07

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Travis Culp · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-14 17:35:04Z UTC

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Yeah, it absolutely could. The villous atrophy, crypt elongation and intestinal permeability that so many people in the paleo community refer to as "leaky gut" is almost wholly the result of gluten exposure. Sprouting is more of a means by which phytate can be reduced. Even if it had an effect on gluten content, sprouted bread manufacturers have to add gluten back into the bread or it won't rise. If the loaf looks like standard bread, it really has to have gluten in it.

That all being said, unless you had full blown celiac's or crohn's or something, you would have repaired your gut fairly well by now, though I do seem to recall that you'll have pizza, beer etc. here and there. It may be worthwhile to completely cut gluten out for a while.

answered Oct 14 2011 at 17:35

Travis Culp♦
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haha "in the but".. lol. >>> gut, not but. – Jack Kronk Oct 14 2011 at 18:29

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Yeah, we're trained from very early on to associate bread with food. I often drive by a bread factory and still enjoy the smell and I certainly like the idea of bread, but until they can make it without gluten, I'm going to avoid it. I can eat it now without any of the reactions that people describe, but I'm more concerned with chronic nutrient malabsorption. I also get hungry so much sooner after eating bread than if I don't or even compared to an equal amount of carbs from sweet potato or rice. – Travis Culp♦ Oct 14 2011 at 19:00

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I don't know how "leaky gut" became an ubiquitous catch-all that requires a voodoo ceremony to address. All you need to do is stop eating gluten and be otherwise healthy and your body's self-repair mechanisms should do most of the work. The worse it is when you start, the longer it takes. – Travis Culp♦ Oct 14 2011 at 19:03

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I think an actual significant permeability would have a lot of obvious symptoms. I kind of doubt that someone who's been paleo for a while would have it and I don't really see how it would relate to your TGs at all. – Travis Culp♦ Oct 14 2011 at 22:13

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Good grief . – g. Oct 15 2011 at 16:46

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ulcova · Answer 2 · 2011-10-14 16:45:38Z UTC

I always had more digestive issues and stomach aches after eating the ezekiel breads than after plain white bread. At the time I never understood that, like you said the sprouting and soaking and fermenting and baking should actually make it easier to digest. At the time I thought it probably was the multi-grain aspect in their breads, and that trying to digest several different grains plus legumes at once can cause problems. Then I started sprouting grains myself and adding that to my salad and that nearly killed my intestines for good. That's how I found paleo. I had eaten sprouted grains and whole grain when I was in my twenties and thirties and don't remember having such serious effects. But I am now in my fifties and my digestive tract finally went on strike. Since going paleo a few months ago and avoiding all grains and legumes I am slowly but surely recovering.

Rogue Nutritionist · Answer 3 · 2011-10-14 16:00:42Z UTC

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I know for myself, that if I ate a sprouted gluten grain at all, I would have a tidal wave of symptoms that would throw me off for weeks...development of leaky gut can be caused by eating foods frequently, as well as by not digesting properly due a myriad of reasons, including just plain not chewing your food well. There is a really easy way to figure this out for yourself...just don't eat any bread for a month and see what happens when you eat it again(heavily for a few days).

answered Oct 14 2011 at 16:00

Rogue Nutritionist
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Hi Rogue - I havent' had a piece of this bread since last December. I quit it completely and never looked back. – Jack Kronk Oct 14 2011 at 16:04

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Oh, sorry, I missed that part of your question...I do think that anything can cause leaky gut...low hcl production and failure to chew foods thoroughly are relatively easy fixes. Leaky gut happens when molecules of undigested food matter pass through the intestines, which have become weakened and permeable, which you may already know. Anyway, the answer to your question is, yes, your consumption of sprouted grain bread may have caused leaky gut. – Rogue Nutritionist Oct 14 2011 at 21:29

Tiffany · Answer 4 · 2011-10-14 15:18:34Z UTC

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If you have leaky gut you probably need to follow a healing program like GAPS. I highly doubt that this bread would give you leaky guy. I know people with celiac disease who can eat this bread without any problems. You've probably had it for a long time from eating SAD and if you've ever take antibiotics they would contribute to a messed up gut.

I follow WAPF diet, but I try to avoid most grains and gluten for the most part. I buy this bread every once in a while when I'm craving toast or a grilled cheese sandwich. Supposedly, sprouted wheat digests like a vegetable, but I'm not sure how accurate that information is.

answered Oct 14 2011 at 15:18

Tiffany
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Hi Tiffany. Thanks for your comments. Yah the idea is that sprouted the grains essentially turns it into a baby plant or sorts, completely altering the composition of the "seed" and much of the antinutrients. I think I lean toward believing that for the most part, but this bread is also ultra high in fiber. Also, I had never previously eaten this bread before that time, and I rarely at whole grain anything. – Jack Kronk Oct 14 2011 at 15:30

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So I like to identify the "new" and sorta oddball things as being culprits in my quest. Someone could say.. "Maybe it's the amount of eggs you eat" and my knee jerk response would be.. "but I've eaten eggs all my life". – Jack Kronk Oct 14 2011 at 15:30

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I understand your approach, but it's possible to develop sensitivities to foods that you've eaten all your life. In fact, there is even a school of thought that claims regular and high consumption of a food is more likely to trigger problems. – Simibee Oct 14 2011 at 15:34

yah i know. i've heard of people over consuming foods that ultimately lead to an allergy of sorts to that food. happens with wheat, shellfish, nuts... but I guess my first thought is to try to identify what changed that I never used to eat. Whey protein, coconut oil, sprouted breads, coconut flour, heavy cream, sprouted nuts, stevia powder... these things were never on my radar before going Paleo. – Jack Kronk Oct 14 2011 at 15:48

majkinetor · Answer 5 · 2011-10-14 18:12:59Z UTC

Wheat has gluten no matter the type. As Travis said, if you have problem, remove it.

The type of bread u use is probably the best wheat bread available. In Russia, similar type of bread is used as mandatory in nursery because of its very high mineral, amino acid and vitamin E content related to normal white bread, non existent fillers and E numbers and no industry procedure.

3 slices per day is not high intake if we compare that to regular bread eaters. In my country it is considered very low. I didn't have any problems with such bread to be honest, although I don't consume it any more as I fell for gluten free propaganda :) When I do eat bread sometimes, its that one.

Could sprouted whole grain breads cause (or contribute to) leaky gut?

5 Answers