Attempting to go Gluten Free... Help!

DailyGroomer

So I recently discovered that about 95% of my health issues match the symptoms of gluten sensitivity. I am going to attempt and try my hardest to go gluten free. However, this is coming from a girl who loves bread, and sugar in any form of bagel, cake, cookie, etc so from my current standpoint it seems almost impossible.

Does anyone have any tips to help me out with this? SHould I get a breadmaker and make my own treats?

Any success stories would help me in this journey as well.

Day 1 & counting!

Meerataila

Don't change your diet yet. Go to your doctor and get tested to rule out celiac first. If you change your diet then get tested it can screw with the results.

DailyGroomer

My insurance isn't the greatest and the test would be very expensive. I thought it might be easier to try and rule it out on my own by seeing how I feel without gluten in my life.

wkwebby

There are lots of great gluten free things nowadays. Trader Joe's has gluten free pasta (as do many stores) which are made from rice (they take like 3 minutes to cook). Rice, quinoa, and potato can now be your regular carbs of the day. Mix it up but watch for those darn calories. Rice and quinoa are surprisingly high in carbs and calories, but I guess not so different from potato/sweet potato.

Flours made from Quinoa can be found in stores and online and those can be used to substitute regular flour. My friend has a GI issue like yours which is not full blown Celiac's disease and wouldn't show up on the tests so you're not wrong in trying this.\

Good luck in your new way of life! :drinker:

seamandi

If you haven't been tested what makes you think it's a gluten sensitivity? Just curious. It could likely be something else, and if you cut out gluten for a substantial amount of time and it turns out that wasn't the problem, when you add it back you could have created a problem. Only 1% of the population has celiac disease.

kwaz29

+1 for going to the doctor to get tested so you can be sure.

However, because you said that's not really an option you are willing to do...If you are considering cutting out gluten because you feel that it will make a difference and could possibly be seriously affecting your health, you would have to be pretty concerned or feeling pretty awful. It doesn't seem like you have come to this conclusion lightly. So I ask; if it is affecting you that much, can you really not fathom not having bagels if it will make you feel so much better?

I understand liking things with gluten and not wanting to give them up. Donuts and cakes and cookies and bagels are delicious. But it is not impossible to give them up. It is a choice, just like anything else, and if you feel that it will really help you, then you have to decide that is what you want and commit.

anglyn1

I've been gluten free for 5 years and after awhile it just becomes second nature. I don't think I'd bother with a bread maker. Gluten free bread isn't the greatest so it's really easier to just eat less of it. Udi's bread is good toasted. As for treats I've never had an issue just subbing a gluten free flour blend in place of all purpose flour in my recipes. Do keep in mind that most gluten free items actually have more calories than their gluten counterparts. It's better to just avoid the baked goods and stick to potatoes, rice, veggies, meats, etc.

Also I'm sure you've seen all the recent articles about non-celiac gluten intolerance not being real...well if you read the study it showed that a lot people with IBS symptoms who thought they were gluten intolerant were really intolerant to fructose. Of course if you are sensitive to fructose you'll have to avoid wheat anyhow so the titles of those articles are little misleading. So keep in mind that if going gluten free doesn't entirely help your issues you might want to look into a low FODMAP diet.

DailyGroomer

If you haven't been tested what makes you think it's a gluten sensitivity? Just curious. It could likely be something else, and if you cut out gluten for a substantial amount of time and it turns out that wasn't the problem, when you add it back you could have created a problem. Only 1% of the population has celiac disease.

ONly 1% of the population has celiac disease but so many more have a gluten sensitivity. I wouldn't have thought I had it if I had just 1 or 2 matching symptoms. However, when I took a look at all of the symptoms and 95% of my problems and health issues match the symptoms, I'm talking 10+ symptoms are matching. It's pretty convincing to me. I had been through the ringer with testing for my stomach, headaches and sinus issues over many years with no outcome or reason as to why I never feel too great. It would make sense if my issues are stemming from a food that I eat multiple times throughout the day. I think it's worth a shot to try it out. Plus if I can make it to the point where I don't want it and need it anymore in my life, even if it isn't the reason I will still be living a healthier way of life.

I don't see any drawbacks of trying it out

matthawthorneisamyth

Go see your doctor. Self-diagnosing is silly.

Dragonwolf

First, I second getting the test done. It will help to know whether it's Celiac or "just" non-Celiac gluten sensitivity. There's a huge difference, and knowing which you have can help you make judgement calls later on, as well as help determine your path going forward both starting now and if you find your health problems don't entirely clear up (there are a lot of "crossover" things that can keep your body thinking you're ingesting gluten). I highly recommend getting tested first also because if you go off gluten and start feeling better, you're not going to want to go back on it, and you'll probably feel worse going back on it after you're off for a while, which sucks, because you need to be consuming gluten on a regular basis in order to not get a false negative on the test.

That said, when you do it, I recommend not trying to replace gluten foods with "gluten free!" analogs (or as I call them, fake-wheat). Frankly, they, by and large, suck, both in taste and in nutrient quality, especially for the price. I've found it better to just re-think how you think about foods and go about planning meals. Start basing your meals around protein and vegetables, instead of bread/pasta/etc.

For recipes, check out Paleo websites. Paleo recipes will, by default, be both gluten and dairy free (this can be important if you find out you're Celiac, because casein, a protein in milk, is one of those things that can keep your body thinking you're consuming gluten).

If you have issues with sugar, too, it might do you good to go a step further and try a whole-foods-diet challenge, such as the Whole 30 ( http://whole30.com/ ), or, if you're more vegetarian-leaning, the Whole Foods 28 day challenge ( http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/take-28-day-challenge ). These types of challenges can help you break the sugar habit and reprogram how you think about food, which can be good even for people who have good diets.

As for success stories -- I went gluten-free as part of going Paleo about 2 years ago. I make no claims to perfection, but I have gotten closer to such over time, and have gotten a number of health benefits from my dietary changes. I have more stable energy, better mood, and clearer skin (both acne and eczema). I'm also not fighting cravings or hunger anymore, which is huge for me, and I'm no longer anemic.

mandez19

There is no such thing as "gluten-sensitivity". You either have celiac disease or you don't.

anglyn1

I want to add that you really must 100% eliminate gluten before you'll know if that is your issue. I know it sounds crazy but just a little bit of gluten, like you'd find in most soy sauces, can cause reactions in someone who is Celiac. During your trial of the diet I would be 100% strict. Going out to eat, even at a restaurant with a gluten free menu, can be very risky due to cross contamination. If I were you i would make everything at home and I would triple check all my ingredients for gluten! Good luck!

ksy1969

My insurance isn't the greatest and the test would be very expensive. I thought it might be easier to try and rule it out on my own by seeing how I feel without gluten in my life.

I had a very good friend of mine that self diagnosed this. She went for almost a year severely restricting her diet trying to eliminate gluten. She, like yourself, didn't want to go to the doctor for the test for celiac's. Well after a year she finally got the test done and turns out she doesn't have it.

Also, read the link below. Turns out Gluten Sensitivity or Intolerance, outside of Celiac's, may be a fallacy. The same Doctor that completed the study proving an issue with Gluten, wasn't' satisfied with his own work and did some more work on the issue and made some startling discoveries.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2014/05/15/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity-may-not-exist/

jcmutch

I did the same thing one year ago. My mother has celiac and I was having a lot of the same symptoms that she had been having prior to diagnoses, so I thought I would try it. My life has changed so much for the better. I used to go to a RMT for chronic pain in my neck shoulders and back as well as headaches and TMJ, I haven't gone back in eight months because I just don't need it anymore. My gastrointestinal issues cleared up as well over time. I have read that it can take 2 years to heal your gut after going gluten free. Anyway, I don't know what difference it makes whether you get a diagnoses or not, if you go gluten free and it make you feel better what is the problem.
The biggest problem with going gluten free however is that you end up consuming more calories if you eat gluten free substitutions for all the bread etc that you used to eat. Also, they aren't very good. You need to be pickier about what you eat, you are better than sub par bread substitutes. Forget about baked goods, eat whole foods, eggs, salads, spaghetti squash etc. I never ate my fruits and veggies before I went gluten free and now I crave them. It is an adjustment though and it is good to find a few recipes in the beginning when you feel you need something baked. I recommend coconut flour muffins and almond butter brownies and there are these really good teff flour wraps to get you over the hump and maybe the odd box of glutino oreos.
Since going gluten free last June I have lost almost 20 pounds and I also started running, life is so much better when you are pain free not tied to the bathroom!

anglyn1

My insurance isn't the greatest and the test would be very expensive. I thought it might be easier to try and rule it out on my own by seeing how I feel without gluten in my life.

I had a very good friend of mine that self diagnosed this. She went for almost a year severely restricting her diet trying to eliminate gluten. She, like yourself, didn't want to go to the doctor for the test for celiac's. Well after a year she finally got the test done and turns out she doesn't have it.

Also, read the link below. Turns out Gluten Sensitivity or Intolerance, outside of Celiac's, may be a fallacy. The same Doctor that completed the study proving an issue with Gluten, wasn't' satisfied with his own work and did some more work on the issue and made some startling discoveries.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2014/05/15/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity-may-not-exist/

These are the types of articles I was talking about. Though I still maintain that the headlines are misleading because if you read the actual study it shows fructose as the culprit of the symptoms and guess what one of the top foods to eliminate is? Wheat. So you still can't eat regular bread, pasta, and baked goods.

Also a test for celiac won't be positive if you aren't eating gluten. That's how you know the diet is working! That is one risk in not having the testing, once you quit eating it the test won't be accurate. My initial EGD was positive for celiac. At my follow up EGD I have no signs of celiac because I am on a strict gluten free diet and I have healed the damage to my small intestine! Same with the blood test. You have to be eating gluten for it to be accurate because you body won't make antibodies to something you aren't eating. So your friend's test would have been negative even if she was celiac because she was gluten free at the time of testing!!!

wkwebby

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I had a very good friend of mine that self diagnosed this. She went for almost a year severely restricting her diet trying to eliminate gluten. She, like yourself, didn't want to go to the doctor for the test for celiac's. Well after a year she finally got the test done and turns out she doesn't have it.

Also, read the link below. Turns out Gluten Sensitivity or Intolerance, outside of Celiac's, may be a fallacy. The same Doctor that completed the study proving an issue with Gluten, wasn't' satisfied with his own work and did some more work on the issue and made some startling discoveries.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2014/05/15/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity-may-not-exist/
[/quote]

These are the types of articles I was talking about. Though I still maintain that the headlines are misleading because if you read the actual study it shows fructose as the culprit of the symptoms and guess what one of the top foods to eliminate is? Wheat. So you still can't eat regular bread, pasta, and baked goods.

Also a test for celiac won't be positive if you aren't eating gluten. That's how you know the diet is working! That is one risk in not having the testing, once you quit eating it the test won't be accurate. My initial EGD was positive for celiac. At my follow up EGD I have no signs of celiac because I am on a strict gluten free diet and I have healed the damage to my small intestine! Same with the blood test. You have to be eating gluten for it to be accurate because you body won't make antibodies to something you aren't eating. So your friend's test would have been negative even if she was celiac because she was gluten free at the time of testing!!!
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This is correct. The test for Celiac's will only be positive if you are actively having episodes and in the height of your problems. There are many more false negatives than positives, unfortunately, for the disease. Even if there is "no such thing" as gluten sensitivity as some scientific studies suggest, what is wrong with mind over matter? If the patient feels better after cutting gluten, what's the difference if they had a sensitivity to it or if it was a placebo affect? Try it, and go from there. Keeping in mind all the calories that go into ones mouth, there isn't a problem with cutting out gluten. Since we've got to think about what we're eating every meal anyway, what's the difference in asking if there is gluten in the meal or not? Doctors are not the end all be all especially with this possible problem. It is very hard to pinpoint, and ultimately could prove to be falsely negative. With bad insurance, I don't think it is worth the money if you're willing to experiment on this and live with some discomfort for a little bit until you find what you are sensitive to.

Edit: (Don't know why the quotes aren't taking)

pradamary

I have metabolic syndrome x, a kind of glucose intolerance. I read Wheat Belly this weekend, and have given up gluten for less than a week. As of right now, I'm having terrible diarrhea and abdominal issues. I understand it takes time to heal the gut. Has anyone else experienced this?

DailyGroomer

I have metabolic syndrome x, a kind of glucose intolerance. I read Wheat Belly this weekend, and have given up gluten for less than a week. As of right now, I'm having terrible diarrhea and abdominal issues. I understand it takes time to heal the gut. Has anyone else experienced this?

hmm, I was thinking of purchasing that book. Were there specific replacements in the recipes that you might be sensitive too? Or are you feeling ill just from not having wheat?

I hope you feel better!

KCharron20

My daughter was tested for Celiac disease and her testing came back negative. But we have a friend who is a nurse that suggested we try the diet anyways because my daughter had many of the symptons. Let me tell you. If you have a gluten sensitivity you will notice a difference in a very short amount of time. My daughter was 8 years old at the time and the change in her was dramatic. She felt so much better, she dropped the extra weight she was carrying. It was amazing. Two years later doctor's convinced her that there was no need for her to be on the diet. She did not have Celiac's and gluten sensitivity was not real. So she listened and when back to eating normally. Well, my 10 year old daughter put herself back on the diet after less than a week. She is now 20 years old, and to this day she will not cheat. She pays dearly if she accidently gets something with gluten, like from a restaurant, etc. No one will ever convince me that gluten sensitivity is not real.

extra_medium

My daughter was tested for Celiac disease and her testing came back negative. But we have a friend who is a nurse that suggested we try the diet anyways because my daughter had many of the symptons. Let me tell you. If you have a gluten sensitivity you will notice a difference in a very short amount of time. My daughter was 8 years old at the time and the change in her was dramatic. She felt so much better, she dropped the extra weight she was carrying. It was amazing. Two years later doctor's convinced her that there was no need for her to be on the diet. She did not have Celiac's and gluten sensitivity was not real. So she listened and when back to eating normally. Well, my 10 year old daughter put herself back on the diet after less than a week. She is now 20 years old, and to this day she will not cheat. She pays dearly if she accidently gets something with gluten, like from a restaurant, etc. No one will ever convince me that gluten sensitivity is not real.

A strictly restricted diet can often result in weight loss, which almost always results in many conditions clearing up and people feeling "much better" in many ways. I'm glad she's doing well, but it's not really conclusive that gluten is the culprit especially when you factor in that she lost weight while watching her diet carefully.

jkwolly

So glad I live where going to the doctor doesn't cost me an arm and a leg for a silly little test!



But seriously, get tested.