Why doesn't regular wheat have the same effect though and should I just try to stop eating all of it?
Maybe not the species of wheat that's the issue, but the method of preparation. I'm wondering whether lumps of pasta get further down your gut in one piece than, say, bread, because they get to the stomach as larger, denser, pieces. Think about how a slice of bread is completely destroyed by being soaked in water, compared with a length of tagliatelle. If you wanted to do science, you could try making pasta with common wheat, or bread with durum.
Maybe not the species of wheat that's the issue, but the method of preparation. I'm wondering whether lumps of pasta get further down your gut in one piece than, say, bread, because they get to the stomach as larger, denser, pieces. Think about how a slice of bread is completely destroyed by being soaked in water, compared with a length of tagliatelle. If you wanted to do science, you could try making pasta with common wheat, or bread with durum.