Gluten free tips needed

MensEtSalvere2013

Hi, all: I have noticed lately that if I have too much wheat, that It makes me feel sick and bloated. I am thinking of trying to go Gluten free to see if that helps. Anybody know of any good Gluten free brands that I should try?

Kaylyn221

I recently bought some Rudi's Organic/Gluten free bread. They sell it in the freezer section {I buy mine at Publix}.

Also Ezekiel Bread, I haven't tried yet but a friend of mine bought some and said it was good {also sold in the freezer section}.

pluckypaleo

even organic/ gluten free things are highly processed. Just look at the labels and make sure you are making good decisions. Check out some Paleo recipes. They are all gluten free because people who follow the paleo lifestyle do not eat any grains.

knittnponder

Unprocessed fruits, meats, nuts and vegetables are naturally gluten free. Dairy products you'll need to read labels as some aren't gluten free but many are. Blue cheese is a little sketchy because they usually grow it on bread but I don't know how strict you're planning to be so that might not matter. Salad dressings, foods with "seasonings", chips with flavors, Ice cream, candy... Gluten is hidden is so many little things that reading labels is imperative.

For purchasing pre-made items Udi's has a reasonably good reputation and I personally like Pamela's baked goods when I wanted a cookie that I didn't want to bake.

DorothyR87

I'm going to say there isn't one particular brand that always has good gluten-free products. I would recommend going to a health food store and take around at what they have. Some of those types of stores have aisles dedicated to just GF products. When I first started eating gluten free I kept a log of which products I liked and disliked (sometimes the GF stuff just tastes awful!) I personally find it better to just eat things that are naturally GF.

angulasalajillo

I developed a love of rice cakes

naariel

Hi

If you think you could have gluten intolerance, go have it checked with your doctor. Anybody can start a low gluten diet if they fancy it, but it is NOT a good thing to start a gluten free diet on your own if you suspect a food intolerance. One reason is, you need to eat gluten to be diagnosed. If you don't, you won't have the signs and it will be impossible for your doctor to diagnose anything. You'll ask, so what, no symptoms = no need to be diagnosed, problem solved, right? But it's different to stick to a diet because you think it's best for you (the increasely popular "low gluten diet") and stick to a diet because your health and feeling good in your body depend on it (proper medical "gluten free diet"). With the former you can have cheat days without problem, drop your diet when going out because it's a b!tch finding gluten free meals in your ordinary restaurant or because you're not feeling motivated or anything that makes people drop their diet and having cheat days. In the latter, it's really not a good idea and you'll have to take it seriously and make permanent changes, but you'll have the motivation by knowing you really can't have it.

So my tip would be to go see your doctor before trying to have your symptoms masked. These days you only need a blood analysis to test your gluten tolerance, it got really less invasive (no more biopsy needed) so totally worth a try.

Smashley1947

Hi

If you think you could have gluten intolerance, go have it checked with your doctor. Anybody can start a low gluten diet if they fancy it, but it is NOT a good thing to start a gluten free diet on your own if you suspect a food intolerance. One reason is, you need to eat gluten to be diagnosed. If you don't, you won't have the signs and it will be impossible for your doctor to diagnose anything. You'll ask, so what, no symptoms = no need to be diagnosed, problem solved, right? But it's different to stick to a diet because you think it's best for you (the increasely popular "low gluten diet") and stick to a diet because your health and feeling good in your body depend on it (proper medical "gluten free diet"). With the former you can have cheat days without problem, drop your diet when going out because it's a b!tch finding gluten free meals in your ordinary restaurant or because you're not feeling motivated or anything that makes people drop their diet and having cheat days. In the latter, it's really not a good idea and you'll have to take it seriously and make permanent changes, but you'll have the motivation by knowing you really can't have it.

So my tip would be to go see your doctor before trying to have your symptoms masked. These days you only need a blood analysis to test your gluten tolerance, it got really less invasive (no more biopsy needed) so totally worth a try.

^^ THIS

I work with several people who are celiac/gluten free, it is a huge hassle for them. Plus a lot of products that are gluten free cost way more. For example a lb of pasta is 0.99 cents with gluten, without gluten its over 4 dollars (I know this because I was looking two days ago)

alexandriax03

Udi's.

GLH2576

Take a look at: www.againstallgrain.com The person who has this site has also recently come out with a very good cookbook (I bought a copy for my daughter-in-law for Christmas). There are a lot of sources for gluten-free.

DorothyR87

Hi

If you think you could have gluten intolerance, go have it checked with your doctor. Anybody can start a low gluten diet if they fancy it, but it is NOT a good thing to start a gluten free diet on your own if you suspect a food intolerance. One reason is, you need to eat gluten to be diagnosed. If you don't, you won't have the signs and it will be impossible for your doctor to diagnose anything. You'll ask, so what, no symptoms = no need to be diagnosed, problem solved, right? But it's different to stick to a diet because you think it's best for you (the increasely popular "low gluten diet") and stick to a diet because your health and feeling good in your body depend on it (proper medical "gluten free diet"). With the former you can have cheat days without problem, drop your diet when going out because it's a b!tch finding gluten free meals in your ordinary restaurant or because you're not feeling motivated or anything that makes people drop their diet and having cheat days. In the latter, it's really not a good idea and you'll have to take it seriously and make permanent changes, but you'll have the motivation by knowing you really can't have it.

So my tip would be to go see your doctor before trying to have your symptoms masked. These days you only need a blood analysis to test your gluten tolerance, it got really less invasive (no more biopsy needed) so totally worth a try.

Most of this is sound advice, except you can't always count on the blood test (which only tells you if you have Celiac, not an intolerance). The blood test can also be inaccurate. A biopsy is still the best way to test for Celiac. Additionally, you have people like me in the gluten intolerant subset. I have had the biopsy and it was negative for Celiac so gluten won't kill me, but if I eat it I have a whole host of nasty side effects. I say see the doctor, but if Celiac is ruled out, it still could be a good idea to remove from your diet if it makes you feel better.

WillowWindow

I've been Gluten-free for over 6 years now. I started because of allergies and gut symptoms, along with migraine and it has helped enormously. Later I found that celiac disease is in our family, so I strictly avoid gluten. Bloating and diarhhea are some of the most frequent symptoms people with celiac disease or gluten intolerances experience, but there is no way to know for certain unless you have the diagnostic test. However, if you want to try a gluten-free diet just to see if it helps, there's nothing saying you can't. It's far harder, though, than just giving up bread or baked goods because gluten hides in all kinds of processed foods -- it can even be in flavour coatings on fried foods and snack foods. For the person who must strictly avoid it, a lot of effort and self-education is in order, but then we are strongly motivated by the necessity to maintain our health. Websites like Gluten Free Girl and The Glutten Free Goddess have good information to get you strated and good recipes. Brands I like for bread are Glutino Flax Seed bread ( toasted). They also have amazing prezels, and Udi's. Tinkyada has the best pasta in my opinion, every kind imaginable and there's a healthy brown rice one. It doesn't stick and glom like most of the other kinds and tastes almost identical to wheat pasta. Bob's Red Mill has various mixes and a pretty fair GF pizza crust mix. If you stick with it and bake, then you can make your own flour mixes and that will save you some money and be healthy. The best muffin recipe and mix for a bran/whole wheat muffin I have tasted is the one for Whole Grain Muffins on Gluten Free Girl and the Chef's website.

Lauriesongs

You definitely need to get a diagnosis. If you need to "cut back" on gluten it's completely different than having Celiac disease. Untreated Celiac can lead to a lot of health issues. If you quit eating gluten and then get tested, the test won't be accurate. If you do have Celiac, feel free to send a friend request. My son was diagnosed 3 years ago and I've been cooking gluten free ever since.

dottyb1tchmouse

I've found that when you're cutting out gluten it's easier (and healthier) to change the structure of your diet vs. trying to find gluten-free replacements for things like bread. So I'm low gluten, and I eat more vegetable-based dishes and rice/quinoa/lentils etc, more eastern/Asian cuisine, and things like that. I tried gluten free bread and it is NOT the same, so I just treat myself with real gluten once in a while and avoid it on a daily basis as much as I can.

Gluten free pasta is the only exception for me, because I can't really taste the difference and it's a lot easier to digest. I'm not a big fan of corn-based gluten free pasta but the ones made of rice or other non-gluten grains taste basically the same as regular pasta.

jeardawg

The best advice I can give is don't look to try and replace gluten with gluten free substitutes. Most gluten free alternatives are extremely dense in calories and extremely processed. I use them very sparingly.

rslcarson

My husband has a borderline gluten intolerance (and major dairy, celery, tuna and barley intolerance). After eliminating all gluten from his diet for 12 weeks he slowly started to introduce one type at a time and he can't eat white breads at all. He can take wholemeal bread but has to limit his intake. I cook all our meals from fresh for the whole family now and we are so much healthier for it.
If you are diagnosed Celoiac here in the UK you can get bread and such on prescription from the health service but because he was only borderline he couldn't. The cost of gluten free food was terrible and so I bought the flour and also rice & potato flour as well and baked for him. I don't do bread but I still bake GF biscuits especially when we go to my mums or anything for a special dinner I make a husband friendly desert to bring!
My advice would be to get simple recipes and DIY. bread, shortbread biscuits, oatmeal biscuits and a sauce base will get you through.

His dietician told him he should be able to eat normal pasta as it is made from durum wheat. I hated the texture of the GF pasta so he does but I suppose he's only borderline anyway.