Gluten For Punishment

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Model Rosanna Davison and husband Wesley Quirke

You may have seen a recent article on Independent.ie about Rosanna Davison, who has written a book called Eat Yourself Beautiful.

From the article…

Rosanna has adhered to a vegan diet, which is free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar, since she adopted it as a practical college project for a week. She immediately noticed striking benefits in terms of weight loss, glowing skin and shiny hair and decided to keep going. Recently she persuaded her husband of just over a year, Wes Quirke, to go gluten-free too.

“Earlier this year Wes was getting rheumatoid arthritis in his knuckles and knees, as well as back pain. I said to him ‘Stop with the pizzas and beer at the weekend, you can get gluten-free everything these days!’ – and within a couple of weeks these pains had left him. So now he is really receptive to anything that I say to him.”

“…Although Rosanna agrees that proper sourdough bread is easier on the digestive system, she is a believer in non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, and cites research that shows gluten to be the bad guy responsible for a huge range of medical conditions from autism spectrum disorders to schizophrenia to arthritis.”

The article has prompted the following response from Arthritis Ireland…

Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 13.34.14

And on Twitter…

Jaykers.

Natural beauty: Green beauty queen Rosanna Davison (Carolynne Dunne, Independent.ie)

Arthritis Ireland (Facebook)

Mark Stedman/Rollingnews.ie

Update:

Rosanna Davison writes:

Comments I made on gluten and its connection to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine have caused quite a reaction this week, and I would like to explain exactly what I said and what I meant.

Firstly, I completely agree with Arthritis Ireland, in that those who have been diagnosed with RA must manage their disease with the advice of their GP and consultant, and not through diet alone.

My qualification in Nutritional Therapy from the College of Naturopathic Medicine enables me to advise on a client’s diet and nutritional needs, but always in conjunction with their GP if they’re on medication, have a disease or need to get tests done.

During the course of the interview, I was asked whether my friends and family had benefited from my influence on their eating habits. I replied by saying that my husband had experienced huge benefits from embarking on a gluten-free diet. Earlier this year, he began to show the clinical symptoms of RA, with intense fatigue and painful swollen knuckles in both hands and knees, which he would have upon waking and would only ease up a few hours later. I was naturally very concerned, and having treated a number of clients with RA already, I recognised the symptoms of this autoimmune disease.

Possible non coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) was my focus here, along with potential gut permeability, dysbiosis and inflammation.

Wesley decided that he’d rather look at dietary options first, so I designed a diet specific to him and his nutritional needs, that was free from known pro-inflammatory foods, including gluten products, as his diet had been high in them in the weeks and months leading up to the onset of his pain. To our amazement, his pain cleared up completely in under three weeks, which made a huge difference to his life. However, when he decided to see if he could eat gluten-containing foods again, the pain returned within 24 hours and it continues to follow that pattern if he does eat gluten.

I was asked what I thought about gluten-free diets and the controversy surrounding them, to which I explained that non coeliac gluten sensitivity is an emerging concern, with research showing it being possibly implicated in a number of autoimmune and neurological diseases.

I was by no means stating that gluten causes arthritis or any other diseases, or that they can be cured by removing it from the diet. But I felt that it was acceptable to share the experience that my husband had with making dietary changes to control his pain.

Arthritis in all of its forms is a serious and debilitating disease, and sharing my personal story was the intention, not to create any sense of false hope for sufferers or state that a change in diet is all that is needed to cure a disease.

My Statement on Gluten (Rosanna Davison)

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175 thoughts on “Gluten For Punishment

    1. Lan

      It’s like a nasty mould, expose every example of this sort of pseudoscience bull to the cold light of day and the sterilising effect of experts and show them for what they are

      Ignore them and it’ll spread in the darkness of ignorance and fear

  1. Nej

    I love living in a society where celebrities and models are the ones giving diet, nutrition, vaccine and general medical advice to us.

    1. Lan

      Let’s not forget actors from terrible movies, I’m looking at you Rob Schneider and Jim Carey.

      Oh and let’s big forget the Trump himself.

  2. Custo

    On a related note, Chris DeBurgh claimed to have healed Marcus Babbel’s mystery illness when he played for Liverpool in the early 00’s by simply laying his hands on him.

    1. meadowlark

      Please do. I’ll trade you some of his eyebrow trimmings for it. Best not to ask how I acquired them.

    1. dereviled

      Ben Goldacre “Bad Science” – great book.
      (He gives the pharma industry a run for its money too, worth checking out his TED talk)

  3. Lan

    A new word for you “orthorexia”

    This obsession with the type of “healthy eating” your one promotes which is focused on the wearing of a hair shirt and cutting out huge chunks of nutritiounal foods based on nothing but pseudoscience (or junk science).
    That’s right this is actually gotten so big it’s driving the creation of an officially recognised eating disorder!

    1. missred

      Well actually it was coined in 1997 by Dr Steven Bratman. So the term is long established and recognised.

      1. Lan

        That I did not know! Thanks

        My understanding though is that it was only recently added to the list of recognised conditions?

  4. gallantman

    All that said. Bad diet/processed food should be seen as a massive contributory factor in many modern day ailments.

    1. Lan

      Contributing factor sure

      Along with an increasingly stressful life, declining activity levels (particularly in children), jobs which keep us sitting for hours on end etc etc

      Distrust anyone who isolates one factor and claims that by changing it on its own will solve serious diseases.

      Mind you the number one factor: stuff that used to kill us doesn’t anymore. Cancer rates when adjusted for age haven’t changed at all. Yet total rates have jumped because people now live into their 80s regularly

    2. ivan

      It says in the article that she’s a ‘nutritional therapist’. Anybody know what that is?

      I know when I got my coeliac diagnoses, one of the first people they shipped me off to see was a ‘nutritionist’ who had her rooms at the Galway feckin’ Clinic and charged handsomely. (Precis of my appointment – “see that Coeliac association book – read it”)

      Is there a difference between the two gigs? I mean, seriously, if she’s ‘some’ kind of medical professional, she needs to be called on this bullsh*t, no? That the indo shouldn’t be printing this guff is, obviously, a given…

      1. Medium Sized C

        Are you sure they didn’t send you to a Dietician?

        They are the ones with actual qualifications.

        A nutritional therapist is an asshole who doesn’t want to call themselves an nutritionist, because they don’t have the non-existent qualifications required to call themselves an nutritionist.

        Nutritionists are assholes who doesn’t want to call themselves dietician, because they don’t have the qualifications required to call themselves a dietician.

        1. ivan

          you’re quite right. It was a dietician.

          thankfully i *can* remember what i’m meant to eat and not eat, even if i can’t remember the job title of the quack :)

          1. Medium Sized C

            I presume you mean the specific dietician was a quack and not all dieticians.
            Cos they are actually have to go and learn stuff.

          2. ReproBertie

            Daire O’Briain can help remove confusion – Dietitians are like Dentists, Nutritionists are similar to Toothologists.

          3. ivan

            I meant ‘quack’ purely as a shorthand for a person in the medical profession. On re-reading it may come across as dismissive or contemptuous and that really wasn’t the tone I was going for.

            Her what I had the appointment with *did* genuinely know her onions (and presumably all other foods). And lest there be any doubt, I’ve no reason to question the ability of any other dietician that might be practising.

          4. Medium Sized C

            Oh right.

            “Quack” isn’t shorthand for a medical clinician, its shorthand for a medical charlatan.
            T’would be a bit of a whoopsy to call a doctor.

        2. gallantman

          I think anyone can call themselves anything. No regulation is half the problem. I have a friend who is qualified/scienced up to the gills and he is a ‘Nutritionalist’ by description. Confusing alright. I think taking the time to read around reliable sources and inform youself is the only way to go on these type of things.

      2. Lan

        Nutritionist isn’t a protected term, anyone can set up a school give you a few classes print you off a page saying you are. In fact Ben Goldacre (a science writer) managed to get his cat Hettie registered with the American association of Nutritionists. It’s a dietician you’d want to bother going to
        As Dara O’Brien put it “dietician is like dentist, nutritionist is like tootheologist”

        Besides any course which encourages someone “to experiment on themselves for a week” is the educational equivalent of a guy driving a van with darkened windows and candy written on the side

    1. Medium Sized C

      Suggests that before he stopped eating pizza he ignored her dumb ass.

      Moral of the story, pizza is good for you.

    1. Formerly known as @ireland.com

      The FODMAP stuff is interesting. I had repeated spells of fatigue, which were difficult to diagnose. Finally, my GP suggested tests for various food intolerances. The results showed that I have a fructose intolerance. I have reduced my fructose intake, I feel a hell of a lot better.

        1. Formerly known as @ireland.com

          Fructose is natural. It is in apples, pears, watermelon, garlic, and many other foods.

  5. scundered

    so we should listen to her advice over that of medical professionals, because she looks nicer than the average person?

  6. martco

    aha!
    so its the gluten free diet…I just knew there was a good reason she was able to knock out those 10k races @ 43 min pace

    1. Domestos

      She’s a victim of antidermatosispersperosis I’ll have you know, that’s why she wasn’t sweating when she PBed that race.

    1. bisted

      …well Dan Boyle is a great man for the alternative remedies and therapies and he’s a contributor to Broadsheet…so it must be true..

  7. doncolleone

    “Stop with the pizzas and beer at the weekend” oh Wes, it’s all uphill from there pet, I hope you deleted your account details from Ashley Madison, she’s gonna go through those records like a hungry hound.

  8. Tucker

    Eat Yourself Beautiful? How much did she have to eat to earn enough Tesco points for that rotten boob job?

  9. David

    Speaking of gluten, according to a recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) glyphosate (thank you Monsatan) is a “possible carcinogenic”. It is linked to infertility, anti-biotic resistance, digestive problems including coeliac disease and gluten-intolerance and kidney disease in areas with hard water. A recent report stated that 1/3 of all bread in the UK contains glyphosate residues (the same probably applies to Ireland).

    Just sayin’, like.

  10. Mr. T.

    I invited a load of friends to a BBQ. One said they’d like to bring a visiting friend along but that she was vegan. I said she was very welcome but I wasn’t accommodating her food needs. No time for prissy little attention seekers who expect to be catered for at a one off BBQ.

    1. Mani

      No indeed. I’d say you’ve little time for prissy little attention seekers, what with all the commenting you need to do here.

    2. Spaghetti Hoop

      I agree. I would expect vegans, coeliacs, babies and the toothless to bring their own food.

      1. ivan

        And as a coeliac, I’d bloody agree, though I think it would be mannerly to say – as host – ‘look, I haven’t a bloody clue how to cater for you, and rather than leave you with the trots for a few days, you can bring something for yourself and if there’s any grub here you think you’re safe with, you’re welcome to tuck in’

        Hosts should be well able to say that without prissy attention seekers taking offence.
        (though it’d be dead nice if there was a corner of the barbq – just a teensy tiny bit – left ‘clear’ for GF cooking) :)

    3. classter

      So you bought meat for every other guest but a few aubergines, corn-on-the-cob, stick of halloumi was beyond your abilities?

      If you weren’t buying their food, why say anything rude at all?

      1. Mikeyfex

        Brian Ormond says he hasn’t had a single nosebleed since he started placing a cube of al dente turnip in his armpit at noon each day.

  11. JunkFace

    Celebrities are getting dumber. This one’s a real plank.

    So the Gluten free brigade is hot on the heels of last years hippygeddon, anti-vaccination. And that worked out great in California didn’t it? Measles spread like wildfire.

    I blame daytime TV for promoting all of this alternative medicine, new age nutritionists bullplop. Women love this crap in Ireland, some men too in smaller numbers, but Christ its becoming too common with women.

    1. Parochial Central

      Marin county and a few places with a local Whole Foods Market. Not California as a whole.

    2. Spaghetti Hoop

      The Anti-Vaccine movement developed at the beginning of the Millennium…but yes to your point; people are easily fooled by the latest fads which in some way makes them feel ‘special’. Definitely not reserved to women.

      1. Niamh

        I’d have to disagree. I don’t know any women that buy into any of this. I do, however, know a small group of men that are obsessed with this nonsense and believe every pseudoscientific article they read.

        From my limited encounters with these people, I’m not going to conclude that it’s mostly men that fall for it but it’s definitely not mostly women either! There is enough stupidity to share amongst everyone!

        1. JunkFace

          Yeah I said it, because I’ve encountered it so many times. Its usually with women, but I admit I’ve talked to men who believe in the muck but not nearly as many. Its just in my experience.
          Also there’s friends sisters and mothers who get into this stuff too and waste lots of money on it.

          Of course there’s sensible women who see right through it.

    3. Niamh

      I’d have to disagree. I don’t know any women that buy into any of this. I do, however, know a small group of men that are obsessed with this shit and believe every pseudoscientific article they read.

      From my limited encounters with these people, I’m not going to conclude that it’s mostly men that fall for it but it’s definitely not mostly women either! There is enough stupidity to share amongst everyone!

  12. Clampers Outside!

    Remember folks…. a “nutritional therapist” is not the same as a “registered dietitian”, it’s amillion miles and a number of years study off it!
    And completing only a simple Diploma… seriously? Jeremy Kyle’s couch has seen bigger qualifications.

    Hell the whole thing is akin to that oft heard saying of the dumbazz…. “I done a course” :)

  13. Bonkers

    “I have found an excellent alternative in quinoa as a protein-packed pizza base infused with a little anti-inflammatory turmeric and antibacterial oregano”

    Thats all I need to know from Rosanna to know that this is guff. Quinoa pizza me hole. Quinoa is the new tofu, its in fashion with vegans and like tofu, tastes of nothing

  14. fluffybiscuits

    Anti vaccinators, anti fluoride campaigners, chem trail fruit and nutters, Rotschild nutters, Holocaust deniers, freemen law (especially hate these bastards), nutritional therapists, fake mediums et al
    Is there no end to this charlatanism? Seriously?

    1. Drogg

      Science has come so far the people are living to long, over populating the planet while destroying it so evolution dictates that people like (Anti vaccinators, anti fluoride campaigners, chem trail fruit and nutters, Rotschild nutters, Holocaust deniers, freemen law (especially hate these bastards), nutritional therapists, fake mediums) evolve to create events that will thin out humanity and bring global population back to a sustainable number.

        1. Drogg

          I think its time to start thinning the herd, so yeah, gluten and vaccinations are bad, kale enemas are good.

        2. classter

          A couple of years ago for the first time, more nappies for adults were sold than nappies for toddlers in Japan.

          *Source: some random article I read in the FT a few years ago.

      1. pedeyw

        The problem is anti vaccinators aren’t just putting their own children at risk. Vaccination depends on herd immunity. There are kids out there with medical conditions (mostly compromised immune systems) that don’t allow them to be vaccinated. If you are ever debating an anti vaccination parent ask them why there willing to kill other people’s children.

        1. dereviled

          Spot-on.
          Also, immunity isn’t guaranteed by the vaccine so ‘herd immunity’ protects these people too, and also babies that haven’t been vaccinated yet (first MMR at 12 months)

      2. Lan

        Ah Drogg, you seemed a man to have more sense than that.

        If you want populations to drop, the last thing you want is disease or disorders.
        You know what you need to drop population, lots of educated women who dont feel like popping out babbies every 10 months cos half of them are gonna die from measles. And tellies. Basically anything to distract from a bit of the auld evolution. Then plenty of johnnies to put another crash barrier there too

        Also tis a bad road to go down with “evolution dictates” cos you know it doesn’t really dictate anything no more than cancer or the sun does.

        Conspiracy theories are a mix of the scared, the discontent, the stupid and just plain mental health problems leading to conspiracy obsession. Nothing new about it, used to be little people stealing your cat now its the glutens making you autistic

    2. ReproBertie

      Your chi is clearly blocked somewhere. You need to get to a reiki healer and have your aura cleansed.

    3. Spaghetti Hoop

      I was blissfully unaware of the Rothschild conspiracy until you listed it here. Just finished reading a long study of the family.
      In some ways, active imaginations and beliefs are not unhealthy – so they wouldn’t annoy me as much as they do you. More of a source of amusement. Discovery Channel is great for this conspiracy lark and I have to say I enjoy it all even if the proclaimers are completely nuts.

  15. 15 cents

    these are our celebs .. dull as dishwater. the only bit of personality shown by either was ‘pizza and beer’ .. which isnt even a characteristic, theyre just things. i wonder how often he thinks about when she used to let Johnny Ronan up on her on the reg. a truly pathetic time in irish history, her, gilson and yer man havin a row in ranelagh .. shudder .. models fighting over a developer .. hope we’re not reverting back to those days. baby we’re back etc.

    1. Daisy Chainsaw

      They’re only celebrities because the Sindo magazine tells us they are. That rag is constanty looking for a replacement for the Blessed St Katy French.

      1. 15 cents

        true! they are the arbiters of our nightmares. with the likes of Niamh Horan leading the charge.

    2. classter

      The Tiger was pathetic but that doesn’t excuse your childish sexism, ‘i wonder how often he thinks about when she used to let Johnny Ronan up on her on the reg.’

      FFS, what age are you?

      1. TheMightyOne

        thats crude but I don’t see why its sexist, it just alludes to sex for obvious reasons (Johnny took her away to Morocco on his private jet after a few drinks in a hotel bar in case you didn’t know )

        1. classter

          I think most grown-ups don’t spend much time dwelling on their partners sex lives before their own relationship.

          15 cents would never have alluded to a man being spoiled/tainted by his earlier sex life.

          So, yeah, childish sexism.

  16. Teresa

    Ok, so first things first. The husband did NOT have RA – she just maintained that he had the symptoms of RA. This was NOT diagnosed by a doctor. So the diet has no impact on RA (Duh). Also, diet has no impact on autism spectrum disorder- this is a genetic, behavioral and neurological condition, and saying that going on a specific diet will “cure” or ameliorate the symptoms associated with it, is incredibly condescending and insulting. While a balanced diet absolutely ensures that we function to our best potential (no matter what your diagnosis may or may not be) it has NO impact on ASD. Seriously.

    1. Spookwoman

      Just saw that was he ever properly diagnosed by a rheumatologist or did she diagnose him. If it was her and he never got a proper medical diagnosis then her comments are even more insulting and possibly dangerous.

  17. Anne

    Sh*t I just made a rhubarb tart. If only I had seen this earlier..
    Has it got gluten Rosanna?
    What should I do Rosanna?

    Is it ok for the birds, Rosanna?

  18. Frenchfarmer

    Like sheep to the slaughter, baaing all the way and avoiding the obvious at all costs.
    Have you ever asked yourself why you all feel so opposed to a ” Gluten free diet”?
    Firstly Gluten is the stalking horse, wheat is the beast.
    The Gliadin in wheat is like an opiate and locks on to your opiate receptors.
    We’re talking modern short stalk, high yield, make as much cash per acre and as many cakes per kilo and, oh my goodness gliadin; it’s addictive; better get the discussion over to gluten, its in all the grains.
    Stop eating wheat for three days but carry on using other cereals and then see how you feel about it all.
    25kg lighter, out of the fog and way happier now.
    Mines a brown ale thank you it’ll go nicely with these maize fajitas.

    1. dereviled

      Crickey!
      There are lorry loads of crap written about this subject and only a few scraps of science- wheat has been successively bred for the structural properties of these proteins, like gliadin and gluten, which create elastic strings on kneading and trap the air that makes our bread so spongy and soft. Some people are affected more than others by the body’s response to these proteins and possibly other constituents:
      http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gluten-sensitivity-may-be-a-misnomer-for-distinct-illnesses-to-various-wheat-proteins/
      Given the scale of work still to be done on understanding the interplay of proteins and starches there will be ample scope for toothologists and their woo for years to come…

  19. Kieran NYC

    Stop Rosanna! Yer blindin’ me with science!

    Presumably this is training so she can spend her old age lying about miracle anti-wrinkle cremes.

  20. Darragh Byrne

    So has all the trolling and begrudgery and misogyny and slagging off her father finished yet? In interest of fairness consider this. Rosanna Davison has an honours arts degree and has been an outspoken vegan for many years all the while working as a model. She recently studied nutrition and decided to use her fame to write a book about food as this is a growth area and her modeling career is coming to an end. Then in an interview one paragraph of reported speech is used by other journalists to create a non-story which trolls will love on the internet. Anyone who hates celebrities,thinks models are all stupid, vegans, fad diets and Chris De Burgh can have a go at her. She never said autism, arthrithis or schizophenia can be cured or are caused by gluten. Only that some research which sites on her website which is scientifically proven shows that it can alleviate it. In my view the brainwashing by Big Agriculture and Big Pharma and Supermarket advertising makes it very hard to get that message out. The so-called experts do not have all the answers either. Nueroscience is as much in it’s infancy as nutrition. That is not to dispel all doctors and pharmacists either. Most of them are decent people who are trying to do their best. Rosanna’s ideas on food are complimentary to their work. There is proof that bad diet can affect these conditions. That is all she is saying. Better promoting that than wasting her life in parties like most celebrities.

    1. Atticus

      Your rant reads like it was issued from her PR team.

      “Rosanna’s ideas on food are complimentary to their work”

      No, her ideas are anecdotal. Whereas the ideas of doctors and pharmacists are based on scientific evidence.

    2. Frilly Keane

      “… In parties like most celebrities”

      Now who would they be
      Darragh Byrne

      I’d like to know

    3. ReproBertie

      The article says “she is a believer in non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, and cites research that shows gluten to be the bad guy responsible for a huge range of medical conditions from autism spectrum disorders to schizophrenia to arthritis”

      Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity has been proven not to exist by the guy who believed he had found it in the first place.

      If she cites reaseach showing gluten to be responsible for autism and schizophrenia then she is very much saying “autism, arthrithis or schizophenia can be cured or are caused by gluten”.

  21. Atticus

    For anybody interested she was the Anton Savage show earlier trying to defend herself. I didn’t hear it all but the main just was that she was misquoted.

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