WFPB Diet and Gluten free?

esmereldaSP

I've just been diagnosed with celiac disease. I don't know much about coping with it yet although I am now almost 3 days gluten free. I'm not sure what my question is or if I really have one. I would just like to talk to people who live with celiac, know about it, or have advice about combining it with WFPB diet.

Mihani

Hi esmerelda... I think I remember you from a while back? I'm sure Bisky will have some good advice. She doesn't check in daily though.

bisky

Hi Esmeralda and welcome! I was diagnosed with Celiac's disease July 2022. Since stopping gluten I no longer have stomach pain or acid reflux and have lost 60 lbs. there are so many gluten free foods out there that I don’t feel deprived. I just am always on guard when I go out or reading labels. One of the things I feel I need to warn you about is that a lot of gluten free processed foods have a ton of sugar added to make them better. You can have all fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. I use Banza chickpea pasta that is high in protein, fiber and iron. Cook it for one minute less than directions. I have been making a lot of soups and chilis lately with vegetables and beans. Trader Joe’s has gluten free crackers, chips and breads. I don’t like most gluten free breads and find I have to toast them. Trader Joe’s also has a flour replacement that one cup equals one cup of flour in recipes. Soy sauce has wheat in it. 🤨. Changing to a gluten free diet has really changed the way I feel about food.. I choose foods for my health and do not feel deprived. Other day I was out with friends and it was so easy to say no to all the fattening sugary foods and had a nice coffee instead as a treat. Warning as you eat less gluten and then if you do have something with gluten you might really react. I went about a year with no gluten. Was on vacation and had a corn potato chowder without thinking. My reaction was intense for about 2 days. Stomach pain, nausea , vomiting and then diarrhea. Sorry if TMI. Trader Joe’s gluten free stuffing for Thanksgiving is good.

Mihani

Great advice, Bisky! I don't go to Trader Joe's often but they do have a lot of cool stuff there.

esmereldaSP

Thanks, Bisky! That's a help. The closest TJ to me is about four hours away. But one of my co-workers sometimes visits her parents in San Antonio and she has offered to bring me things from Trader Joes or Whole Foods if there are specific things I need.

esmereldaSP

Bisky and Others,
Sorry, I haven't figured out how to send a private message yet. I have a question about gluten cross-contamination. Is this really as big a danger as it seems? Clearly there are times to worry about that--things processed with wheat, etc.--but if I'm given a vegetable wrap at a meeting, do I have to worry to the extent that I can't eat some of the salad out with a fork? That happened to me today. I was too afraid to actually eat anything so I just pushed it around a lot and said "thanks!" Some possibilities seem more probable than others. Do you judge things low probability or simply not anything that is possibly exposed to gluten?

bisky

My friend who was diagnosed with Celiac’s disease a long time ago does react to gluten contamination. I was a big pasta & pizza eater having lived in Italy. I always had pain after meals. Since I cut out flour and gluten I am fine. I have been known to scrape off cheesecake to the crust and not had a problem. But a year after going gluten free I had a bowl of chowder forgetting it is made with flour. I was sick for 2 weeks. The longer you go gluten free the more you react when you do have something with gluten in it.

esmereldaSP

Thanks, that helps. I never felt sick after eating pasta. Maybe. I have had a lot of days where I just feel plain bad, nothing I could put my finger on. A friend told me that some people may only react to gluten the next day or so? If that's true, I would have never associated it with the pasta. As a matter of fact, I've experienced pasta bliss a couple of times.

bisky

I contributed the pasta pain to heart burn at the time. The longer you go without gluten and heal your intestines then if you have something with gluten you might react more. I use Banza pasta now.