Gluten Free: The Way to Be?

ilovesparkle

I know this topic has been posted a million times, but I'm asking anyway as I can't find the information I'm looking for.

So I was diagnosed about 5 years ago with PCOS and my doctor told me to lay off the gluten. I ignored this advice and am now at the 80 pounds heavier than my body type suggests. A friend of mine also told me to stay off all grains (corn, soy, etc.) that is used in place of gluten in a lot of foods. So, I'm on day five of this and feel really good. The first day I missed bready items (muffins are a weakness) but now I hardly even notice.

My question is: If anyone else is on the gluten/grain free route, what do you eat? I've been eating chicken, salads, apples, peanuts and broccoli, but I need to mix it up a bit! Any suggestions or substitutions?

Shayztar

Lots of good gluten free recipes out there on the net and in books too. I got a lot of good recipes from an Idiot's Guide to Gluten Free Eating. It's at any Chapters.

Remember to get some grains tho!! It's got very important micro nutrients in it. If no wheat or corn, research ezekiel and other ancient grains. They are necessary! When I got pregnant my Dr. forced me to see a nutritionist to make sure I got the nutrients from grains because they are that important. She apparently could overlook the importance when it was just me (Sarcasm). But if you are making a lifestyle change this way, it's not a good idea to make yourself sick by accident.

BTW: avoiding all corn/soy is virtually impossible in today's boxed food. You'll have to shop on the outside aisles of the grocery store (read: fresh foods) mostly, because corn, soy, and gluten are hidden in almost ALL boxed/bagged foods. For example: if you eat a food with an ingredient called malt, you are eating gluten. The Idiot's Guide will explain a lot of that.

My fave to eat was lettuce wraps. All my fave sandwich topping wrapped in a big green leaf lettuce leaf. Some stores sell lettuce wraps for that reason specifically. Very convenient.

I never ate gluten-free bread. Couldn't get past the nasty taste. But there is a Gluten free English muffin on the market that was to die for on the days I really really wanted a bread-like meal. Comes frozen.

My friend jokes that she eats a "Shannon Dinner" when she makes a meat, vegetable, and potato or rice. Can't find bread there! LOL

Good luck!

ETA: I don't eat GF anymore. But I did for 5 years. My intolerance worked its self out.

Also, Wendy's was my fave place to eat out, because there is no bread crumbs in their patties. I would get two patties and put my toppings on, then eat them with a piece of lettuce. Like a Burger Salad. They will charge you a full price for the combo, even tho it's missing all the food. Jerks.

Lastly, we don't have them in Canada anymore, but the Outback has a special GF menu. And a gluten free chocolate brownie. omg too yummy.

Lina4Lina

I have PCOS and my doctor didn't tell me to lay off the gluten. He even said that seitan (aka gluten/wheat meat) would be good to eat.

I think the GF thing has gotten a little out of hand. I understand people who are celiac and those that truly believe they have gluten intolerance. I do believe there are sensitivities to certain foods for a variety of reasons. I was recently talking to a friend who said she ate gluten free and if she ate gluten, she would have horrible stomach pains but then I realized she actually had quite a bit of gluten in her diet. She had cut some things out that had helped her, either mentally or physically but it didn't seem it was gluten.

Anyway, if you think you have a gluten intolerance, I would recommend checking with a doctor because it could be something else. I personally don't avoid gluten. I do avoid certain things like most breads (I eat sprouted grain bread), pasta and other refined carbs but that is because I find they make my blood sugar wonky.

Marll

Gluten free is a good way to go for PCOS as gluten seems to aggrivate the condition, and they go hand in hand with other conditions:

PCOS
Insulin Resistance
Hypothyroidism
Type 2 Diabetes
Gluten Intolerance

If you really want to learn more about gluten free cooking I suggest actually starting out in low carb sites, paleo/primal sites and there are a ton of grain free baking sites that use other ingredients that are friendly to your way of eating. Whole grains are a load of garbage and just a fancy buzzword, they're as much of a problem for people as refined grains.

http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/

EccentricDad

I know this topic has been posted a million times, but I'm asking anyway as I can't find the information I'm looking for.

So I was diagnosed about 5 years ago with PCOS and my doctor told me to lay off the gluten. I ignored this advice and am now at the 80 pounds heavier than my body type suggests. A friend of mine also told me to stay off all grains (corn, soy, etc.) that is used in place of gluten in a lot of foods. So, I'm on day five of this and feel really good. The first day I missed bready items (muffins are a weakness) but now I hardly even notice.

My question is: If anyone else is on the gluten/grain free route, what do you eat? I've been eating chicken, salads, apples, peanuts and broccoli, but I need to mix it up a bit! Any suggestions or substitutions?

Gluten Free is the way to go. I have been gluten free for 5 months now and I lost 64 lbs by eating better foods and less of it (since there aren't fillers eating up precious calories).

Eat fish, tuna, shrimp, bananas, almonds, carrots, if you can tolerate it greek yogurt, and eggs. Keep a close eye on your portions so you can get enough of the macros you need most.

misskerouac

I eat GF due to an intolerance, but i still eat corn and rice. I don't eat soy as I'm intolerant to that as well. I didn't miss bready things at first but then after a few months every once in a while I REALLY would want a bit of pasta or a muffin, so I found some substitutes I like. I still don't eat them everyday or even every week but they are nice to have.

I do eat quite a bit of rice though, it keeps me full and my husband likes it so I don't have to make 2 different meals all the time.

I also found a GREAT GF muffin (like Shayztar) did and they are frozen which is great because I can just have one and then maybe I don't eat another one for a week or more and it's fine because it's frozen.

Otherwise I eat the same as you, fruit, veggies, chicken, Peanut butter, fish and beans.

Lina4Lina

Whole grains are a load of garbage and just a fancy buzzword, they're as much of a problem for people as refined grains.

Why are things like brown rice a problem?

RickBriggs

Only 1%of the general population are gluten intolerant. All of the rest are gluten intolerant wannabees.

gauchogirl

Remember to get some grains tho!! It's got very important micro nutrients in it. If no wheat or corn, research ezekiel and other ancient grains. They are necessary! ...

Ask a question, you will always get multiple answers.
Grains are absolutely NOT necessary, so don't buy into that. Eliminating them ALL is the best thing I ever did and there are many, many people who would agree here. Look up anything on Paleo lifestyle and you can easily see why. Eating them is definitely a CHOICE, not a necessity. Gluten is not the entire face of the enemy when it comes to grains. I have heard so many women with PCOS say how Paleo eating changed their life, so if it were me, that's the first place I would look for help.

jteammom

My adult daughter was recently diagnosed with celiac disease so is now eating totally gluten free. She does eat other grains, though. I am eating (mostly) gluten free because when she was first diagnosed I wanted to understand what she was going through. When I went gluten free, my allergies and psoriasis improved immensely, so I'm sticking to it most of the time. If you stay away from anything that has barley, wheat or rye in it, you are staying away from gluten.

Check out facebook and pinterest for gluten free sites and recipes. You will be pleasantly surprised at what's out there.

HypersonicFitNess

It depends on the reason; I don't think everybody has to eat Gluten Free; but I try and this is why:

I get migraines
Triggers are PMS, change in the barometric pressure (or lots of air pressure/high humidity), not enough sleep or not enough food
PMS is worsened by Dairy and Gluten

So while gluten doesn't cause migraines (for me); it is a link to what causes migraines for me....so I try to keep to GF or limit my gluten altogether. I also limit my dairy (limit cheese b/c let face it the non dairy cheeses out there are hideous, however I love almond milk and love coconut yogurt when I can get it).

jteammom

Only 1%of the general population are gluten intolerant. All of the rest are gluten intolerant wannabees. Sort of the same thing as 3% of the GP being inherently gay. All of the rest are gay wannabees.

Here is a more accurate statistic. This can be found on www.celiac.com as well as in many other reliable sources.

"Celiac disease, also known as gluten intolerance, is a genetic disorder that affects at least 1 in 133 Americans."

And that's just celiac disease. Add in everyone else who responds negatively to gluten and the number is even greater.

ilovesparkle

Thanks for all the advice! I know this is a controversial topic of sorts, so I appreciate everyone's feedback!

As for the PCOS thing, I've had many people tell me the same thing. People with PCOS who avoid gluten lose weight easier and maintain their weight over time. I lost a lot of weight when I first diagnosed and didn't eat gluten, so I'm giving it another go after weeks of NO progress, despite working out and eating within my calories.

Marll

Whole grains are a load of garbage and just a fancy buzzword, they're as much of a problem for people as refined grains.

Why are things like brown rice a problem?

Considering that rice is pretty devoid of nutrition compared to other options I personally don't see the point. If you are going to eat a grain though, I suppose rice is in the neutral category. Wheat is crap and so is corn for the most part. This wasn't necessarily always the case, but the wheat and corn that we get today is NOT the same stuff that people were eating even 50 years ago.

ilovesparkle

I have PCOS and my doctor didn't tell me to lay off the gluten. He even said that seitan (aka gluten/wheat meat) would be good to eat.

I think the GF thing has gotten a little out of hand. I understand people who are celiac and those that truly believe they have gluten intolerance. I do believe there are sensitivities to certain foods for a variety of reasons. I was recently talking to a friend who said she ate gluten free and if she ate gluten, she would have horrible stomach pains but then I realized she actually had quite a bit of gluten in her diet. She had cut some things out that had helped her, either mentally or physically but it didn't seem it was gluten.

Anyway, if you think you have a gluten intolerance, I would recommend checking with a doctor because it could be something else. I personally don't avoid gluten. I do avoid certain things like most breads (I eat sprouted grain bread), pasta and other refined carbs but that is because I find they make my blood sugar wonky.

Was this a general physician or endocrinologist? Mine was an endocrinologist that specialized in PCOS.

Marll

Only 1%of the general population are gluten intolerant. All of the rest are gluten intolerant wannabees. Sort of the same thing as 3% of the GP being inherently gay. All of the rest are gay wannabees.

Here is a more accurate statistic. This can be found on www.celiac.com as well as in many other reliable sources.

"Celiac disease, also known as gluten intolerance, is a genetic disorder that affects at least 1 in 133 Americans."

And that's just celiac disease. Add in everyone else who responds negatively to gluten and the number is even greater.

Exactly. My wife isn't a diagnosed Celiac, but she swells, gets aches and pains and feels like crap for roughly a week after eating even a small amount of wheat. My son gets rashes when he eats wheat, I also get itchy when I eat wheat. It's just not worth it. I couldn't care less about bread and pasta any more personally.

mlb929

Read the book Wheat Belly, it will probably answer many of your questions. Wherein not everyone is gluten intolerant, it does explain why you may be struggling with other things related to gluten.

Lina4Lina

I have PCOS and my doctor didn't tell me to lay off the gluten. He even said that seitan (aka gluten/wheat meat) would be good to eat.

I think the GF thing has gotten a little out of hand. I understand people who are celiac and those that truly believe they have gluten intolerance. I do believe there are sensitivities to certain foods for a variety of reasons. I was recently talking to a friend who said she ate gluten free and if she ate gluten, she would have horrible stomach pains but then I realized she actually had quite a bit of gluten in her diet. She had cut some things out that had helped her, either mentally or physically but it didn't seem it was gluten.

Anyway, if you think you have a gluten intolerance, I would recommend checking with a doctor because it could be something else. I personally don't avoid gluten. I do avoid certain things like most breads (I eat sprouted grain bread), pasta and other refined carbs but that is because I find they make my blood sugar wonky.

Was this a general physician or endocrinologist? Mine was an endocrinologist that specialized in PCOS.

Yeah, mine was a specialist that I was referred to by my GP who had experience in PCOS patients. He is great and has been helpful. He always pulls out the latest research articles on PCOS whenever I go.

ilovesparkle

I have PCOS and my doctor didn't tell me to lay off the gluten. He even said that seitan (aka gluten/wheat meat) would be good to eat.

I think the GF thing has gotten a little out of hand. I understand people who are celiac and those that truly believe they have gluten intolerance. I do believe there are sensitivities to certain foods for a variety of reasons. I was recently talking to a friend who said she ate gluten free and if she ate gluten, she would have horrible stomach pains but then I realized she actually had quite a bit of gluten in her diet. She had cut some things out that had helped her, either mentally or physically but it didn't seem it was gluten.

Anyway, if you think you have a gluten intolerance, I would recommend checking with a doctor because it could be something else. I personally don't avoid gluten. I do avoid certain things like most breads (I eat sprouted grain bread), pasta and other refined carbs but that is because I find they make my blood sugar wonky.

Was this a general physician or endocrinologist? Mine was an endocrinologist that specialized in PCOS.

Yeah, mine was a specialist that I was referred to by my GP who had experience in PCOS patients. He is great and has been helpful. He always pulls out the latest research articles on PCOS whenever I go.

Hm. I guess every doctor is different. I read a book not too long ago (I can't remember the title) and they pretty much confirmed my information. Everyone loses weight differently. I'm just trying to see if this is a trigger that I should avoid. I would be super happy if I could eat gluten and still lose weight, but nothing else has worked.

lope

Brown rice will spike your insulin level. If you are already fit and need the insulin spike after a workout no problem. That's the only time you 'really deserve' to eat rice.

Paleo IS the way to go! There are a ton of recipes out there. Paleo is meat, veggies, fruit & nuts. Easy on the fruit & nuts while in the reducing stage. There are amazing recipes out there.

I've never felt so good by cutting out grains and I did it because wheat is no longer wheat. It's some man made substance... it's no wonder people are getting sick from it. Seriously folks. Don't listen to the USDA... why would you listen to the government tell you what to eat. I love my fellow farmer but having them running the USDA??? It's no wonder they want us to eat wheat.

Stay away from all processed food, you'll feel so much better!

Lina4Lina

Whole grains are a load of garbage and just a fancy buzzword, they're as much of a problem for people as refined grains.

Why are things like brown rice a problem?

Considering that rice is pretty devoid of nutrition compared to other options I personally don't see the point. If you are going to eat a grain though, I suppose rice is in the neutral category. Wheat is crap and so is corn for the most part. This wasn't necessarily always the case, but the wheat and corn that we get today is NOT the same stuff that people were eating even 50 years ago.

I don't think devoid of nutrition is right:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=128
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5707/2

Honestly, I don't eat a lot of grains but if I do it is either brown rice, millet or corn tortillas. Quinoa and amaranth, as psuedo-grains are also the other things I tend to eat. It is mostly a calorie thing for me as I tend to want beans more than grains/pseudo-grains.