Dairy and gluten

Applepop21

Hi- For the past couple of years i have suffered with CFS/ME and IBS since becoming ill with salmonella infection 7 years ago. Recently, I read about a woman who had very similar symptoms to me and greatly benefited from cutting out dairy and gluten. About two years ago I lost 20 pounds and then another 10 through calorie counting and watching my sugar intake (I was overweight and realized this wasn't helping at all)
I want to try cutting dairy and gluten from my diet whilst keeping my sugar intake low, but this is harder than it sounds. I went food shopping last night and there is a good range of alternatives to things such as pasta, bread and cheese but I was wondering how healthy some of these products are, and also some of them are expensive. Many products contain a lot of sugar as well.
Luckily I do really enjoy healthy food and eat a lot of vegetables and smoothies, so I can continue to eat healthily. I was wondering if anyone had some advice/recipes/ websites that would advise me about my diet,as I would really appreciate some advice. (sorry about the long post)

jkwolly

Nothing wrong with doing an elimination diet to see what foods bother your digestive system more than others.

That being said, cutting out gluten/dairy will not help you lose weight quicker (albeit from any medical reasons).

So do it if it makes you feel better, but you won't drop them lbs quicker.

azure7

Hi. I have an auto-immune hypothyroid disorder. My sister has IBS. We both cut out gluten and dairy. She's feeling immensely better and my antibodies have gone down dramatically (fyi...we both had food allergy tests done and came back positive for glutent and dairy). You'll need at least a good 3 months to really feel the changes in your body. It is a tough change and definitely overwhelming at first, but you can TOTALLY do it.

As far as websites go, there are a million blogs and gluten and dairy free recipe sites out there. To get started, you can search paleo blogs and sites (b/c they are automatically grain and dairy free). I still eat legumes and will sometimes add them into a paleo recipe. Find a blog that looks appealing and then print up a bunch of recipes to try. Keep them if you like them and start building yourself a new recipe library.

Applepop21

jkwolly wrote: »

Nothing wrong with doing an elimination diet to see what foods bother your digestive system more than others.

That being said, cutting out gluten/dairy will not help you lose weight quicker (albeit from any medical reasons).

So do it if it makes you feel better, but you won't drop them lbs quicker.

Thanks for the reply. I don't really want to lose any more weight, I just don't want to gain weight. I would like to feel healthier as my energy is low I can't really exercise much ,and the cfs interferes with my daily life so I'm hoping the elimination of dairy and gluten makes some difference.

jkwolly

Applepop21 wrote: »

jkwolly wrote: »

Nothing wrong with doing an elimination diet to see what foods bother your digestive system more than others.

That being said, cutting out gluten/dairy will not help you lose weight quicker (albeit from any medical reasons).

So do it if it makes you feel better, but you won't drop them lbs quicker.

Thanks for the reply. I don't really want to lose any more weight, I just don't want to gain weight. I would like to feel healthier as my energy is low I can't really exercise much ,and the cfs interferes with my daily life so I'm hoping the elimination of dairy and gluten makes some difference.

Good luck!

And track what you're eating and how you're feeling so that it's more accurate.

HeidiCooksSupper

You might want to try tackling these two issues separately. Start by eliminating dairy and if that works, you are all set. Then try other things. It could be gluten but it could be a host of other things. I can't do onions, tomatoes, melons, tree nuts, chocolate, uncultured dairy, etc. but gluten is fine. I finally found out about my food problems when an ENT who was also an allergist suggested my sinus infections might be due to allergy induced GERD. Yup. Treated the GERD, got rid of the sinus infections. So you never know what will work for you.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

You might want to try tackling these two issues separately. Start by eliminating dairy and if that works, you are all set. Then try other things. It could be gluten but it could be a host of other things. I can't do onions, tomatoes, melons, tree nuts, chocolate, uncultured dairy, etc. but gluten is fine. I finally found out about my food problems when an ENT who was also an allergist suggested my sinus infections might be due to allergy induced GERD. Yup. Treated the GERD, got rid of the sinus infections. So you never know what will work for you.

This. If you have a sensitivity to something that it upsetting your IBS symptoms, you will not know what it is if you cut both dairy and gluten at once. Eliminate things one at a time so that you can hopefully pinpoint the problem, and then you won't have to spend your life unnecessarily cutting out things that you like.

Applepop21

azure7 wrote: »

Hi. I have an auto-immune hypothyroid disorder. My sister has IBS. We both cut out gluten and dairy. She's feeling immensely better and my antibodies have gone down dramatically (fyi...we both had food allergy tests done and came back positive for glutent and dairy). You'll need at least a good 3 months to really feel the changes in your body. It is a tough change and definitely overwhelming at first, but you can TOTALLY do it.

As far as websites go, there are a million blogs and gluten and dairy free recipe sites out there. To get started, you can search paleo blogs and sites (b/c they are automatically grain and dairy free). I still eat legumes and will sometimes add them into a paleo recipe. Find a blog that looks appealing and then print up a bunch of recipes to try. Keep them if you like them and start building yourself a new recipe library.

Thanks for the advice, I was wondering how long it would take to see any changes.

One of the things I was confused about was whether to eat any oats (the gluten free ones) as I eat a lot of porridge and different websites seem to say different things. And also the gluten free oats i bought say they are made in a factory which handles dairy, but I don't know whether to eat them or not.

Applepop21

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

You might want to try tackling these two issues separately. Start by eliminating dairy and if that works, you are all set. Then try other things. It could be gluten but it could be a host of other things. I can't do onions, tomatoes, melons, tree nuts, chocolate, uncultured dairy, etc. but gluten is fine. I finally found out about my food problems when an ENT who was also an allergist suggested my sinus infections might be due to allergy induced GERD. Yup. Treated the GERD, got rid of the sinus infections. So you never know what will work for you.

This. If you have a sensitivity to something that it upsetting your IBS symptoms, you will not know what it is if you cut both dairy and gluten at once. Eliminate things one at a time so that you can hopefully pinpoint the problem, and then you won't have to spend your life unnecessarily cutting out things that you like.

I will definately consider doing this, it would give me a better idea of what could be causing me problems rather than cutting things needlessly, thanks.

BeginnersBootcamp

I'm gluten and dairy free for health reasons, too! Feel free to add me and check out my diary. I dont eat anything processed so it makes it tough but I'm used to it now

Applepop21

BeginnersBootcamp wrote: »

I'm gluten and dairy free for health reasons, too! Feel free to add me and check out my diary. I dont eat anything processed so it makes it tough but I'm used to it now

Thanks, hopefully I will be able to adapt my diet like you have . I don't eat a lot of junk but its supriseing whats in some foods.

Applepop21

Thanks for the replies everyone- I've cut out both dairy and gluten as I believe dairy may also be affecting my skin.
I made my own gluten/dairy free soup tonight and it was great, feeling very positive about this diet change. I also have noticed i haven't been quite as bloated as usual. Hopefully, I might start feeling better soon.

spzjlb

I have IBS and went off gluten a few years ago for 18 mo. My gut felt better within about a week or two (not immediately). After at least a year of being gluten-free, my antibody tests and colonoscopy were normal, so I then started eating a bit of gluten-containing food again and felt quite fine. Who knows why - maybe my gut microbiota changed over the years, but at least I feel a lot better and life is easier and less expensive with gluten.

As a professor in the field, there are a few things: First, gluten-free alternatives are usually very calorie-dense, so keep that in mind if you switch. Second, gluten-free alternatives are very expensive, so that might be an issue for some people who are just interested in trying (without a medical reason). Third, in many countries (but not all), refined wheat flours that are used for regular pastas, breads, etc. are fortified with folic acid. This supplementation has dramatically cut the number of congenital birth defects in the Canadian and US data sets. If you are truly and strictly gluten-free and might become pregnant, you should consider taking a small supplement. BUT - more is not always better, so don't go nuts!!! (We are also working on the effects of too much folic acid.)

PeachyCarol

You've had some good advice already.

I just popped in with some advice on the oats. I'd wait a little bit on those, and see if you can find another source to avoid cross contamination with the dairy.

I eat gluten free oats without a problem, but not all people with gluten issues can handle them. With that being the case, wait until your system has settled a bit before testing them so you can isolate them as being the cause of any symptoms you might have.