Gluten. ALL THE GLUTEN. Help?

Help me out, please.

So first, I don't have celiac disease - negative antibody and genetic tests twice over. But my mother DOES have celiac disease (diagnosed by endoscopy) and my brother has suspected celiac. And obviously, I have UC.

That said, for the past several years, I've thought I had an issue with gluten. I followed a strict GF diet for a year, lost my willpower, and got back on the gluten, with a (mostly) tolerable increase in gas, cramping, etc. Basically, I was willing to put up with those issues to eat what I wanted.

Now, diagnosed with UC in February, but flaring since last summer. I've been on and off gluten for about a year, and every time, I find that when I cut the gluten for a few weeks/months, I can tolerate it for a bit when I reintroduce it - which is a bad thing, because I then tell myself it's fine to eat, and little by little it starts to create issues again.

So - I'd love to know - how many of you have noticed a difference in your UC or general GI symptoms when following a gluten free diet? Does anyone else get this thing where the reaction to gluten isn't severe and immediate, but gradual over weeks at a time?

Tell me I'm not nutty for giving up a food group that I *really* don't want to give up, please. I've already given up dairy and am living on about four foods right now (chicken, spinach, bananas and bread). I hate to give up anything else, but the gas and crampiness and brain fog issues seem to come back every time, and there are no other foods left to blame it on but my beloved wheat products

"how many of you have noticed a difference in your UC or general GI symptoms when following a gluten free diet? Does anyone else get this thing where the reaction to gluten isn't severe and immediate, but gradual over weeks at a time? "


yup, that be me -

when I was in a bad flare, I reduced symptoms a lot by cutting gluten. Once I got past that, I reintroduced w/o problem.

of it is just the gas, you can try gas pills. The issue is whether the gluten leads to increased inflammation. if it does, it has to go.

DBwithUC and Soynomore, here's an interesting report I just found on wheat proteins called amylase-trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) and a connection with inflammation:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313514.php

"ATIs only make up a small amount of wheat proteins - around 4 percent - yet the immune response they induce significantly affects the lymph nodes, kidneys, spleen, and brain in some people, causing inflammation. ATIs have also been suggested to exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), asthma, lupus, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as inflammatory bowel disease."

"As well as contributing to the development of bowel-related inflammatory conditions, we believe that ATIs can promote inflammation of other immune-related chronic conditions outside of the bowel. The type of gut inflammation seen in non-celiac gluten sensitivity differs from that caused by celiac disease, and we do not believe that this is triggered by gluten proteins."

"Instead, we demonstrated that ATIs from wheat, that are also contaminating commercial gluten, activate specific types of immune cells in the gut and other tissues, thereby potentially worsening the symptoms of pre-existing inflammatory illnesses."

You are mesalamine intolerant....maybe instead of worryong about gluten, you could look into foods that are lower in salicylates?

q

Quincy - in this flare, I've been so afraid to eat, that for protein, I've had nothing but chicken (and a bit of canned salmon) since February. However, I've pretty much stopped bleeding and symptoms are abating, so I really need to start introducing more foods. To your point, I will check into foods with salicylates - never thought of that!

Sin - I do get the cramping gas (and even some nausea now) after each meal that has wheat, so I think no matter when I eat it, I get the same result. I tried that very experiment a couple of days ago (thinking maybe it was the time of day) and had the issues in the morning They are just getting more intense with each meal that I consume wheat, par for the course.

I think you shouldn't worry so much about food at this point....eat! You need good protein, just ease up on roughage fibre. Eat smaller meals and more often.

You are still tapering pred?

q

I got the best results when I went completely grain free.

With gluten free, try experimenting with all the different varieties of rice noodles, white rice, gluten free bread, and some gluten free cookies/treats. You can also get treats made out of almond flour and cooked butternut/acorn squash tend to be easy to digest. This may curb the craving for wheat/bread. Because I'm grain free, when I have cravings I have cookies made from almond flour with honey as well as cooked butternut squash with honey.

If you are living on 4 main foods, you will get very bored quickly.

Poppie said...
Some of the gluten free breads out there are grim and tasteless, and so I make my own, why not make your own?

ya, and most of the commercial gf breads are full of crap - definitely home made only -

So what have you cut out that's no gluten....exactly?


q

Hey Fletch!
I noticed a difference but not until I was 3 months 100% gluten-free, no cheating.

I've been 100% gluten-free since October 2013 and I really don't miss it. But I like to cook and bake and I have the time to do it--I don't care for most frozen/processed baked goods. Like tonight I made a GF chocolate pizookie (pizza cookie) and we ate it warm with coconut milk ice cream. I have dairy issues and try to sub almond milk or coconut milk for most things, but I tolerate cheese so I eat that.

I have hypothyroid and the first thing the doctor told me was NO soy and NO gluten. And indeed, both bother me and so I don't eat them.

I've been having a lot of gas lately -- and never connected it to the 1/2 slice of sourdough toast I was having in the mornings lately -- until I read this. Now I've cut it out again and the gas is much better. I thought it was the Uceris foam.