Posted 3/14/2017 4:10 PM (GMT 0)
Mark, I can't say for certain and of course you should be cautious with bleeding, but having been on a strict GF diet myself for a year previously, and now again since my UC diagnosis, I can speak to the gluten issue pretty well. We have two family members with celiac disease, another gluten intolerant, so am very familiar with this diet and ingredients over several years' time.
1. I have had the same observation about less mucus without gluten - and also for me, a quick reduction in bleeding as well. I tried 10 days off gluten during this flare and then tried to reintroduce and had a very bad reaction, so what used to be a "tolerable" intolerance to gluten, now that I have UC, is much worse. Overall my flare symptoms have drastically improved when removing gluten from my diet.
2. Gluten free diets tend to be heavy on rice ingredients, and rice (for some) can be binding, e.g. causes constipation. Also wheat (fructans) feed certain types of bacteria in the gut so when you cut gluten out of the diet, you do change the balance of bacteria a bit too. If you are having constipation, you might consider a little gentle (soluble) fiber or the addition of cooked fruits and veggies if you tolerate them, depending on what your gut likes. A probiotic might also be helpful but I would be cautious, keep a food and symptom diary, and add only one thing at a time before adding another. If you think this could be the beginning of a flare I'd start with your GI first rather than fiber/probiotics since you'd want to get on top of it quickly.
3. Many GF foods also contain brown rice which, if you are flaring, can be irritating for some, so for future reference if you do have a flare, and you need to eat a bland diet, you'll want to double check GF food labels carefully for white rice versus brown. Other whole grains like quinoa, seeds, teff, etc. are often included in GF foods as are psyllium husks (for example, most Schar bread products have psyllium husks but not their pasta). Some GF breads have EXTREMELY high fiber content - one brand I saw last night had 30% of daily recommended fiber in ONE slice of bread. So you want to be careful of high fiber content in GF baked goods for sure.
3. If you have internal hemmies, it's possible that foods heavy in seeds/nuts/whole grain may irritate them, too. I'd keep a close watch on the blood and if it looks like it's headed towards a flare, I'd get on top of it fast with a call to your doc - I'm newly diagnosed so take that FWIW, but I've been dealing with GI issues for many years and that would be my course of action.