Gluten free?

Okay, let me start this by saying that I have almost NO will power when it comes to certain foods! Lol sure I have avoided some foods over the years because it causes the ouch factor. But when I feel better, I'm right back at it.

So let me ask this, how hard is it really to go on a gluten free diet?

I've been toying with the idea for quite a while now to try it but I'm afraid that its going to be too restrictive. The reason I've been thinking about it is because I've been having some really strange reactions within the past few years that I can't help but wonder if perhaps I have developed a gluten sensitivity.

I guess what I'm really asking is.....how to start??? I think I should give it a go, just to see if it makes a difference. So if anyone can help me, that would be awesome! But please keep in mind that I can not have nuts or things that are heavy in sulfites (I have a sulfite intolerance).

Hey sherry,
My family just did this for 6 weeks and it honestly wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I got all the wheat stuff out of my house, since we all went off it, and found it better to go cold turkey.
If the rest of your family will still be eating stuff it will probably be more challenging, but that just depends on you.
DH had a hard time sometimes just plain forgetting that he wasn't eating gluten and he'd accidentally eat something out or food someone brought him at work.

I didn't buy any of the gluten free products, we just ate other stuff. Meat, veggies, rice, corn tortillas, beans, fruit. Had to get creative with certain recipes... Thickening sauces and soups just isn't the same with corn starch.

I did experience some withdrawal, fatigue and depression for a couple of days. That was pretty tough but I made a point to rest completely and that seemed to help me get through it quickly. Some people deal with the withdrawal for quite a while.

Overall we all felt a lot better, but no change in my UC symptoms (I know that's not why you're considering it). DH and I both lost weight and had more energy throughout the day. My kids didn't seem to be as crazy/tired at the end of the day.

It would be worth a good solid try anyway.

Red_34 said...
So let me ask this, how hard is it really to go on a gluten free diet?

If you are addicted to wheat then it's very challenging (at least it was for me) so finding substitutes is important. Rather than having a slice (or two) of bread with breakfast I now usually have none or an SCD compliant almond muffin which are far tastier than a slice of bread. Everyone in the household now prefers the muffins over bread. Most cakes, crackers, cookies, and chips need to go away. I don't do any processed foods so nothing in the supermarket is satisfactory to me. I would recommend searching for paleo recipes for substitutes if necessary.

My addiction was too strong for me to go cold turkey. It took me a half year to get to the point where I could easily turn down a wheat product. I just slowly decreased my consumption and found acceptable replacements.

hekela said...
I didn't buy any of the gluten free products, we just ate other stuff. Meat, veggies, rice, corn tortillas, beans, fruit. Had to get creative with certain recipes... Thickening sauces and soups just isn't the same with corn starch.

hekela, use potato flour for thickening sauces and soups. I use it and it works and tastes better than flour.

Sherry, yes it's tough initially.

And like hekela said, it's alot easier if the whole family agrees to become gluten free, lol.

That being said, I still think it's a good idea.

I just went cold turkey; cleaned out the house of the gluten products.

I did buy a few gluten free products - some bread and sweets, but they didn't taste good and they were filled with corn substitutes which I am intolerant of, so it was not a good solution for me.

But if you love bread and have a bread machine, I'm sure you can find all kinds of interesting and good recipes for non-gluten breads, , and that will make it alot easier for you too.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Thanks everyone :) I think I will go to my local health food store and see what kind of goodies they have there, plus I will look up recipes for gluten free bread.

oh, and my family is still full gluten. I am the only one not eating it. Kids steal my cookies but really it isn't that bad. I did have a really hard time the other day. I made an almond pound cake....my favorite for my family, and I swear it is taunting me.

Red_34, I agree with most here that it's not that big of a deal to go gluten free. As I like to say, as a woman in her 50s I'm not eating a whole lot of bread anyway. It was sad for me to give up that good crusty bread, and birthday cake, but seriously the difference it has made in my life is so remarkable that there is no way I would consider going back. Like a kid who learns that touching a stove will burn you, I have learned over the last 18 months what accidental gluten will do to me and I stay far away.

There were some challenges for me that I took on right from the start: what to have for breakfast. I started with scrambled eggs and corn chips in the beginning, then added gluten-free oatmeal and finally gluten free cereals. I have been having breakfast cereal daily for most of my life, so when I found a product I liked I stuck with it. I also buy gluten free pasta (had to try a few brands to find what worked for me) and sometimes gluten-free cookies. I don't really buy any other processed gluten free products. I'm learning how to bake gluten free and it's going pretty well, but I do buy gluten-free bread and keep it in the freezer. I eat about a slice a week, that's it, and I've learned to toast it first to improve the texture.

Anyway, these are things that I evolved to over time. In the beginning, I simply decided I would go completely gluten free for 2 weeks. That was enough time to really see what the difference might be. My family (DH plus 2 tweens) is not gluten free and we've done just fine.

Since I've gone gluten-free I'm no longer lactose intolerant. I can eat beans prepared by anyone. I had a scope in August and there was NO INFLAMMATION. This is really amazing for me. My DH said last week "your health seems really good these days" and he's right. I feel great.

Kazbern, I've been reading your posts about your gluten free experience and it has really helped. Thanks so much for sharing.

I think the main reason I want to try is because I want to see if it makes a difference in my gut issues - the cycling of D and C, bloating, gas but also to help alleviate my random rashes and itching.

Ok a lot of people say it's gluten but try cutting out yeast as well. You can buy gluten free bread but it still has yeast. Yeast feeds sugar, fungus, candida in the gut. It can make you feel bloated, gassy, tired. So I have to watch my yeast as well. I LOVE MY CANDIDA FREEDOM AND CANDIDA DIGEST THEY HAVE BEEN A LIFE SAVER!

This is my meals for the day

Eggs (boiled or scrambeled) for breakfast or oats if you can tolerate them. Fruit is always a good option. I drink a glass of chocolate soy milk, its d-lish! Try Glutenfree bread, they sell it at glens in the frozen section.
Lunch-chicken wrap, steamed veggies with rice, more fruit, cottage cheese if you can handle diary, brown rice with toasted seasame oil ( LOVE THIS OIL!!!)
Snack-fruit, rice cake, peanut butter and apple
Dinner- meat loaf, chicken, turkey burgers, canned spinach, vegggies steamed or sauteed
Oh and some people can tolerate smoothies, those are excellent!

You'll probably lose a little weight because you're eating so clean, but you stable out.
Hope this helps!

Good for you Red! Better to test the waters and find out if it could in fact be another issue with colitis.

It took me a while to get a hold on the GF diet, but it can be simple!

1. Look on every single nutrition label. Underneath the ingredients it should provide an allergy statement in bold, ie: Contains: Wheat, Soy, Milk, Egg, Almond, Peanut, Shellfish etc. All of the common food allergens. If it doesn't contain wheat, it is safe. If this allergy statement is not clear, look at the ingredients and determine if it is safe or not.

2. A few unsuspected gluten containing culprits are Soy Sauce, Oats/oatmeal, malt and barley. Soy sauce is almost always prepared with wheat/gluten and oatmeal is normally grown in the same fields as other grains, which can cross pollinate, so its not too safe. Malt for malt milkshakes or vinegar, not safe.

3. Look for the (GF) label.

When cooking, and you need flours, or something breaded, GF breadcrumbs are normally available at a health food grocer. Here is a great flour substitution guide: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/01/cooking-baking-gluten-free-tips-for.html

It may take anywhere from one week to a month to really notice results, if this is a successful trial for you.

If you are still interested after this trial and error, you can ask your doctor if he can do a Gliadin test to check for gluten sensitivity/allergy. Gliadin are polypeptides found in wheat/gluten containing ingredients that may be toxic to susceptible individuals. A standard celiac blood test is on the extreme side

Hope this helps! Good luck

Yes! If anyone cares to share yummy recipes that would be awesome! I'm not a big sweet eater so I'm not worried about deserts. But I am a snacker. But please no recipes that call for strawberries or hazel nuts/paste.

You all are great! I'm going to do this! Or at least attempt lol

kazbern said...

There were some challenges for me that I took on right from the start: what to have for breakfast. I started with scrambled eggs and corn chips in the beginning, then added gluten-free oatmeal and finally gluten free cereals. I have been having breakfast cereal daily for most of my life, so when I found a product I liked I stuck with it. I also buy gluten free pasta (had to try a few brands to find what worked for me) and sometimes gluten-free cookies. I don't really buy any other processed gluten free products. I'm learning how to bake gluten free and it's going pretty well, but I do buy gluten-free bread and keep it in the freezer. I eat about a slice a week, that's it, and I've learned to toast it first to improve the texture.

Anyway, these are things that I evolved to over time. In the beginning, I simply decided I would go completely gluten free for 2 weeks. That was enough time to really see what the difference might be. My family (DH plus 2 tweens) is not gluten free and we've done just fine.

Since I've gone gluten-free I'm no longer lactose intolerant. I can eat beans prepared by anyone. I had a scope in August and there was NO INFLAMMATION. This is really amazing for me. My DH said last week "your health seems really good these days" and he's right. I feel great.

That is great! I think I probably need to move to gluten free. For the breakfast challenge, I'm not gluten free yet but I've stumbled upon something at Whole Foods called a "Perfect Foods Bar." They are gluten free and they keep them in the raw foods case, or sometimes near dairy. It does have dairy/eggs, but they are really good and perfect for breakfast for me. You do have to keep them in the fridge, but we have one at work and I just keep a stack in there.

soystud and stereofidelic- I'm curious of your diets. Did you guys do something like scd as well in the past or just made your own?

red- yes gluten free is tough for me too. I am ADDICTED to that stuff. So I tend to eat 3284732074 gluten things every day when I eat it. very hard to control. always end up sick :(. I struggle with dairy and sugar too. theyre my fav, but the devil.

have been trying scd but mentally struggling due to the restrictions. I can't do eggs at this point either :(. super tough. I can't have a lot of scd foods too. very limited when I do diet mod, then i have to battle depression/weightloss but I don't go potty as much. so one or the other i guess. :/