Gluten free

Amberleah21

I'm considering trying to go gluten free for a while to see if it affects some health issues including lupus and thyroid. Don't know how to get started. Any suggestions welcome.

http://www.973fm.com.au/lifestyle/health-beauty/7-signs-of-gluten-intolerance-everyone-ignores/

RodaRose

You can still eat potatoes, rice, Rice Chex, GF oatmeal.
the only thing that some people miss is bread and pasta.
Here is a plan:
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/7_day_gluten_free_meal_plan

Mrscanmore

We are going to try it too for similar reasons. I'm in the same boat. I have no idea what to eat! I've got the book wheat belly and I'm starting there.

nvmomketo

I recommend getting tested for celiac disease before going GF. One must be eating daily gluten in the 8-12 weeks prior to testing in order to get accurate results. If you decide gluten is an issue for you and want to be tested for celiac, you will need to make yourself sick again for two to three months. Not fun!

These are the tests: tTG IgA, tTG IgG, DGP IgA, DGP IgG,EMA IgA, total serum IgA, and possibly the older and less reliable AGA IgA and AGA IgG if the DGP tests are not available.

A gluten free trial should be about 6 months long. Some minor symptoms may resolve within days, like bloating, stomach aches or headaches, but other symptoms like nutritional deficiencies, arthritis, osteoporosis, ataxia, neuropathy and others can take months to years to improve.

A GF diet is not a quick fix for those who need it, just a necessary one.

Good luck.

BoomstickChik

nvmomketo wrote: »

I recommend getting tested for celiac disease before going GF. One must be eating daily gluten in the 8-12 weeks prior to testing in order to get accurate results. If you decide gluten is an issue for you and want to be tested for celiac, you will need to make yourself sick again for two to three months. Not fun!

These are the tests: tTG IgA, tTG IgG, DGP IgA, DGP IgG,EMA IgA, total serum IgA, and possibly the older and less reliable AGA IgA and AGA IgG if the DGP tests are not available.

A gluten free trial should be about 6 months long. Some minor symptoms may resolve within days, like bloating, stomach aches or headaches, but other symptoms like nutritional deficiencies, arthritis, osteoporosis, ataxia, neuropathy and others can take months to years to improve.

A GF diet is not a quick fix for those who need it, just a necessary one.

Good luck.

I love this post so much.

I agree because celiac gose hand in hand with other autoimmune diseases especially thyroid disease. I have both Hashimoto's and celiac disease.

shaumom

I would second MVmomketo's suggestions re: celiac disease, if you think you would ever wish to know if you have it (the celiac dietary compliance has to be much stricter - more like a peanut allergic person avoiding peanuts - and the damage caused by the disease is much greater than simple gluten intolerance. So it can help to know). Especially as, with thyroid issues, you are in a higher risk category for having it. But doctors can often miss it if you have OTHER health problems, because over a third of the cases don't cause outward gut symptoms, so the symptoms it DOES cause can be masked by your other disorders or diseases, you know?

That said...

For starting a GF diet, I've seen a few different way. It seems to depend on how your mind works, you know?
1. If motivation is difficult, I've seen suggested doing it slowly. Start trying out GF recipes, and when you find one you like, start using it and drop a gluten -filled recipe at the same time. And just slowly add in recipes that seem to work, phasing out gluten recipes at the same time. That way, by the time you are fully GF, you have a whole bunch of good recipes already set up.

2. For those of us who believe there may be health issues at stake, going cold turkey is another choice. Just stop eating gluten ASAP. That eliminates the most gluten the most quickly, so the results would be noticed more quickly.


As for how to do the diet? IMHO - don't go for substitutions. Look at recipes that are now - and always HAVE been - gluten free. Because first, they taste better. Foods with substitutions always taste like...well, like you are taunting yourself with the memory of food you used to have, only now it tastes worse and has a poorer mouth feel. On top of that, the substitutions aren't made to be HEALTHY. They are made primarily to imitate the taste, texture, and look of a food you used to have. Nutrition is not really a consideration, so not only does it taste worse, it's worse for you. It's like if we made mashed potatoes, but without potatoes we ended up using flour paste, chalk dust, and water, plus some seasonings. Yeah, it might taste the same, but in now way would we think it was healthy, you know?

The substitution foods are, IMO, better for nostalgia. When you really miss having, say, hamburgers and french fries so you get a GF bun and use that, and you have a meal or two to enjoy remembering what it was like to have hamburgers and french fries. Or cookies. Or pie, or pasta, whatever.


So, for ideas on ideas for what is originally GF?
1. Lots of various ethnic foods. Many foods from Africa, many from south america, many from the middle east, many from Asia (Gluten free soy sauce is the one exception to the no substitutions rule, mostly because actual soy sauce IS the substitution. Wheat based soy sauce - used mostly today - is soy sauce plus a lot of cheap wheat. The original soy sauce ONLY used soy, and is now sold as more expensive Tamari, or GF soy sauce (tamari made to avoid cross contamination). It actually tastes richer and better than regular soy sauce), many from cuba, polynesian islands and so on.
2. Lots of old fashioned, DIY cooked foods. Make your own condiments - usually GF. Make your own meat seasonings and rubs - usually GF. Make your own meats, and cooked or raw veggies, fruits - usually GF. Potato dishes, usually GF. Plantain dishes, usually GF.
3. flat breads tend to work well with the GF 'flours' available. Socca is a traditional french flatbread using chickpeas. There is an Indian chickpea based flatbread too. Ethiopian cuisine has a teff based flatbread called injera that is super soft and supple, after fermenting the flour (traditional recipes only, as modern ones add wheat now), or homemade corn tortillas using masa are wonderful. Rice wrappers for spring rolls are great, as well. Also, many Asian dishes have rice based noodles as well that are quite nice.


Anyway, I wish you good luck and hope that going gluten free helps you out!