Not sure what is going on with me but ate wheat toast and BOOM. Ankle swelled, got REALLY hungry and ache all over.

I have been tested for a wheat allergy and celiac but came out negative... I love baked goods, but it may be that I have a sensitivity that is not easy to identify??? I am 7 pounds up since yesterday.

Anyone else have something like this??? I have been on low carb diet, feeling great, but missing some of my faves..... don't want to feel like this though, phew! (Staying below 20 grams net carbs per meal-- even with the toast)

There are four different types of issues with gluten or wheat.

1. Celiac disease - basically the body recognizes gluten as toxic and attacks it (and your intestines)
2. Non-Celiac gluten sensitivity - the same as Celiac disease but blood tests are inconclusive for Celiac (I think...I might be wrong on that.)
3. Wheat allergy - the body identifies wheat as a foreign substance and releases histamines to fight it (symptoms are runny nose, itchy throat, rash...like hay fever)
4. Wheat intolerance - the body lacks an enzyme to break down the protein in wheat (The symptoms are identical to Celiac and gluten sensitivity. The difference is that with wheat intolerance you can tolerate items with gluten (rye, oats, etc.) but not items with wheat.)

Your symptoms could be explained by gluten sensitivity or wheat intolerance. Just because you had a negative Celiac test does not mean you do not have one of these other issues. I am wheat intolerant and was diagnosed through an elimination process. My doctor said there is no conclusive test to determine whether or not you lack the enzyme to digest wheat.

I haven't had any wheat on this WOE (Day #29) and, very fortunately, haven't missed it. Yet.
However, before I began it, yes bread was a real ankle-sweller for me.
I've also noticed that since I began this WOE, my joints have improved and I've lost the general achiness ~ but there's so much that I'm no longer eating that I can't swear that it's just the bread that's the cause.

That's exactly how I am feeling, sore joints, swollen ankles, etc. When I was no grains less than 45 g carb, low carb I was fine, now, aaghhh. It is as though I have taken hungry and ouchy pills.

Back on plan tomorrow, I want to feel better!! These swollen ankles have got to go!

Thanks for posting, I was starting to think I was the only one with the sore joints, lack of energy, ankle swelling response.

It's interesting (if painful) to have your body make such a clear response, isn't it?

Good luck with the next bit of your journey.

Since going low-carb, I've found that carbs in general, and wheat most especially cause some unpleasant symptoms. Some of the symptoms are very specific and odd (wheat seems to aggravate a strange skin rash that hubby calls "face rot," and the dermatologist calls seborrheic dermatitis, an inflammation of the skin probably caused by a type of yeast called Malassezia).

Malassezia is common, and many (maybe even most) people have it on their skin with no problem at all, even at much higher levels than normal. Some people have an immune reaction to the yeast (either because it's become overgrown or because the person has an increased sensitivity for some other reason. Some illnesses and health conditions can make a person more susceptible to reactions to the yeast).

Water retention is a reaction to wheat and to a high-carb diet in general. To some degree this is something everyone experiences (if they compare their weight on high-carb to low-carb eating, they'll notice the difference). High carb diets require more water to process than low-carb diets, so almost everyone will gain some weight (though it may only be water) if they increase their carb intake significantly.

I went Paleo low carb back in the late 1990's. I was completely off all grains. When I stopped and ate bread, I became so sick. The doctor was kind, he said we could go through all kinds of testing, or I could simply stop eating grains! lol. I don't question my body's wisdom. Sometimes when we are saturated with a high carb diet we don't pay attention to all of the discomforts and reactions, we think just being "fat" is the answer to it. But I am currently 241 pounds and feel better than I have in many years, including the years I was thin and on 100 carbs a day. I will stay right here in my under 40 range for the rest of my life. It just feels too good to make grains a desire to pine over.

I hope I can get to the point where I don't miss carbs. As long as I skip the grains, I seem to do just fine.

Have any of you read the book Good Calories, Bad Calories? I just ordered it on Amazon. He apparently discusses at length the scientific reasons behind the troubles we have with wheat and grains.

I just went low carb about a month ago and have been reading everything I can get my hands on. Mark Sisson's book Primal Blueprint has made a huge impact on me.

I must say, my stomach has not been bloated a bit, no more gastro issues, and just overall I feel SO GOOD (and I've lost nearly 10 lbs. even though I have only been exercising minimally -- due to being busy).

Interesting stuff about the toast causing your ankles to swell... no more bread for me, thanks.

Good Calories Bad Calories is an exceptional book. A great deal of research went into there and it shows.

That said, it can be a difficult read. The first number of chapters are essentially historical pattern recognition. There is a dense amount of analysis of research as well and then pathophysiology.

Oh, great... it'll kill my brain! Ha! I just want to know/have the science to back up how I'm eating --- I will just have to glean from it what I can (I'm not too science-y, so I know a lot will go over my head). I'm hoping to get it tomorrow.

Well, day three and a half back on plan. Going extremely low carb to start with and already I feel better. Not working on calories or fat restriction yet, but immediately on stopping the carbs again, somewhat normal amounts of food fills me up!!!

I am going to stop looking at the nutrition reports on Sparkday, cause if I read that I don't have enough carb one more time, or that I am eating too much fat, I start to believe it, and that leads to eating more carbs, less fat, then I become an out of control binge eater. I am going to still chart my food, it sure helps, but unless I am totally unclear about something I have done, I am going to follow my plan and listen to my body!

Do you mean sparkpeople.com? It has the option to set your own carb/fat/protein ratios. Go to your nutrition tracker and click on "Change Nutrition Goals." You should base your numbers on some sort of formula, though, not just your own opinion. This is a calculator you could use to set your numbers.

Rochester thanks for the direction to the site with the calorie and nutrient calculator, and the hint about Spark People.

It makes a big difference! figured out calories and nutrients, and changed the nutrition goals on my nutrition tracker. Wahoo!!!!