Gluten Free Diet

[skinnysomeday]

Anyone here have to follow one? My doctor just diagnosed me as Gluten Intolerant and allergic to wheat.

[daisy73]

Hey Skinnysomeday,

We are in the same boat. My doctor just called me today to tell me I have Celiac's Disease.

Feeling kinda myself today.

As a word of advice, if you have a Wild Oats Natural Foods store in your area, they label their shelves specifying everything that is gluten free.

to you.

[tiva]

I'm gluten intolerant too, and if you're already low-carbing, it's no big deal. Essentially, I eat veggies, fruits, meats, fish, poultry, cheeses, yogurt, other dairy. You can find wheat-free soy sauce in asian markets. It's easy to maintain , since you'll never have to worry about overdoing grains once you're on maintanence! Just stay away from nearly all processed foods (which is a good idea anyway), since many of them do have gluten in them. And focus on all the great things you can eat--steaks, lovely creams and cheeses, wonderful berries, fresh veggies...

[skinnysomeday]

Originally posted by daisy73
Hey Skinnysomeday,

We are in the same boat. My doctor just called me today to tell me I have Celiac's Disease.

Feeling kinda myself today.


to you.

Ditto. Thank you.
I'm at a loss. Website say even marinades and spices have Gluten in them. What am I supposed to put on my protein? I'm really feeling down.

[daisy73]

Hey Skinny,

As for marinades, I would suggest experimenting with different herbs and spices.

This sounds bad, but the thing I will really miss is beer. I'm by no means a big drinker but when the temperature hits 90F and higher this summer, I'm going to be missing a frosty mug or two.

[skinnysomeday]

Thanks,

I guess i'm just at a loss as to finding out if something has Gluten in it. How do I know if my spices that I like to use have gluten in them? It doesn't seem obvious to me.

[One50orBust]

What are the symptoms of having this problem. Just curious. I hope you find strength to battle this. I know you can do it. So many here have been supportive. And my shoulder is always available.

Peggy

[daisy73]

Here is some info on finding out if something has gluten in it that I pulled off of a celiac website.



Which grains are safe, which are not?


Copyright © 1995-2004
Scott Adams.
The common list of forbidden grains is: wheat, rye, barley and oats.
Unfortunately, there are variants out there that go by other names. Durum and semolina are names for certain kinds of wheat that have been bred for specific uses. Both spelt and kamut are versions of wheat. (Other names for these: spelta, Polish wheat, einkorn and small spelt). Bulgur is wheat that's been specially processed. Triticale, a grain crossbred from wheat and rye, is definitely on the toxic list.

Though corn (maize) is one of those grains that many people -- not just celiacs -- may be allergic to, it is not a grain that is thought to cause damage to the villi in celiacs. It is tolerated by most celiacs.

Of the common grains, rice is the favorite as it rarely troubles anyone.

Aside from corn and rice, there is a wide variety of other grains that are used in gluten-free cooking. We even use beans and peas (legumes, pulses).

The following can be milled into flour: amaranth*, buckwheat* (or kasha), chickpeas (garbanzos), Job's tears (Hato Mugi, Juno's Tears, River Grain), lentils, millet*, peas, quinoa*, ragi, sorghum, soy, tapioca, teff*, and wild rice. Many of these flours are available in health food stores. Some (like rice flour) may be available in grocery stores. (The products marked with an "*" are listed as grains to avoid by some physicians and celiac societies. See the discussion below about anectodal evidence and possible contamination of flours for more information.)

To improve the texture of gluten-free baked goods, most cooks use one or more of the following: xanthan gum, guar gum (though this sometimes has a laxative effect), methylcellulose, or a new product called Clear Gel. These can be obtained either through health food stores, specialty cook's stores, or some of the mail order sources listed below.

Oils popular in cooking include: corn, peanut, olive, rapeseed (canola), safflower, soy, and sunflower.

[skinnysomeday]

How do I know if my daily vitamins are Gluten Free? It's not easy information to find.

[daisy73]

I gave up lunch meats a long time ago because of the nitrates/nitrites so I am not sure about them. What does it say the ingredients are on your vitamins?

Did your doctor give you a list of gluten free foods?

[tiva]

Herbs never contain gluten. The spices that contain gluten are the pre-mixed, pre-ground mixes, and ground black pepper. They add a little wheat flour to them to keep them from clumping. The simple solution is to buy whole pepper, and stay away from those mixes. But cinnamon, cayenne, curry, etc are ok. Olive oil and lemon juice, with your favorite herbs, makes a nice marinade or sauce.

Wine is fine, but not beer.When it's hot, margaritas and daquiris are even better than beer (make them yourself, of course!). Splenda is fine. Canned chicken broth is not ok, usually, although sometimes you can find ok brands.

[skinnysomeday]

The "other ingredients" listed on my vitamins is:

microcrustalline cellulose, vegetable stearin, maltodextrin, magnesium stearate, potassium citrate, silicon dioxide.

This is in addition to the regular ingredients

[daisy73]

Wow, I didn't know that about pepper! Good thing we grind our own anyway.

Aha, margaritas this summer. I can deal with that nicely!

[tiva]

Skinnysomeday--Yep, your vitamins might have gluten in them (maltodextrin is derived from wheat. Sometimes they process it enough so the gluten is gone, but the problem is you have no way of knowing if they did that. Generally, anything with the word "malt" or "starch" in it tends to be a bad idea). Look for vitamins that say "gluten free" on them--most drugstores carry them, and most of the natural foods brands are gluten free.

The web makes finding these things out so much easier--and there are efforts to make food and vitamin processors label their ingredients to let people know there's gluten in them. Many other countries now require this, so the US should eventually get with the program.

[skinnysomeday]

Does cheese an dairy products have gluten in them?

[daisy73]

I get my vitamins from GNC and they specifically say on the bottle that they have NO YEAST, NO WHEAT, NO SOY, etc...very long list.

I don't think fresh cheese has gluten in it but I'm curious to see if someone responds about processed cheeses.

That maltodextrin that Tiva mentioned sounds familiar...probably is in a lot of things.

I'm heading out shortly to run some errands. I think I will stop by a bookstore and look for something like "Celiac for Dummies" if there is such a thing.

I'll let you know what I find.

Hang tough! We are lucky. We have something we can't eat but at least we don't have to have surgery or medication to heal ourselves. Praise God for that!!!!

[la.lady]

Yes, I would like to know what are the symptoms of Gluten Intolerant is too. I think I may be one of them but haven't been checked yet.

[tiva]

Hard cheese is fine (ie, cheddar, swiss). Check the labels for cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream. Good brands only contain cream, milk, and salt, and rennet or another culture. Cheaper brands can contain starch (avoid starch, since it may contain gluten). Don't buy preshredded cheeses, since they contain starch to keep the cheese from sticking together. Sometimes it's potato starch, sometimes it's wheat starch.

Another strategy is to keep sending emails and asking questions of manufacturers, so eventually they'll just label their stupid packages. How hard would that be for them?!

[daisy73]

Here are the symptoms for celiac disease (which is an autoimmune disease healed by a gluten free diet).

Individuals range from having no symptoms (asymptomatic or "latent" forms of the disease) to extreme cases where patients present to their physicians with gas, bloating, diarrhea, and weight loss due to mal-absorption.

In between these two extremes lie a wide variety of symptoms that include:

Diarrhea
Constipation
Steatorrhea (fatty stools that float rather than sink)
Abdominal pain
Excessive gas
Any problem associated with vitamin deficiencies
Iron deficiency (anemia)
Chronic fatigue
Weakness
Weight loss
Bone pain
Easily fractured bones
Abnormal or impaired skin sensation (paresthesia),
Including burning, prickling, itching or tingling
Edema
Headaches*
Peripheral Neuropathy* (tingling in fingers and toes)
Individuals have reported such varied symptoms as:

White flecks on the fingernails
Fuzzy-mindedness after gluten ingestion


In children, the symptoms may include:

Failure to thrive
Paleness
Querulousness, irritability
Inability to concentrate
Wasted buttocks
Pot belly with or without painful bloating
Pale, malodorous, bulky stools
Frequent, foamy diarrhea
In addition to all of these, dermatitis herpetiformis, a disease in which severe rashes appear (often on the head, elbows, knees and buttocks) is related to celiac disease.

Reactions to ingestion of gluten can be immediate, or delayed for weeks or even months.

The amazing thing about celiac disease is that no two individuals who have it seem to have the same set of symptoms or reactions. A person might have several of the symptoms listed above, a few of them, one, or none. There are even cases in which obesity turned out to be a symptom of celiac disease.

[Texoma]

My sister was diagnosed last year. Just a warning for those with Celiac's, the chemicals in certain makeup make her skin go crazy. It is because many chemicals are derived of wheat and just putting them on her skin gets a reaction. I know some of the Clinique products are bad for her. So...if you start to have redness and flaking it may be your products.

[daisy73]

Thanks Texoma! That is interesting about makeup and Clinique in particular. I have never been able to use Clinique because it makes me break out.

Do you know which chemicals are a problem?