How to go gluten free

I am gluten free. I did so after being tested, with blood tests and an upper GI. The blood test was positive and the upper GI was normal. Although my doctor said it was not neccesary to go gluten free, I also had many of the symptoms of gluten intolerance. I went gluten free all at once. It can take months for the problems to go away IF you are intolerant or sensitive. There is gluten found in processed foods that one would never think about too.

Once I was gluten free, other symptoms started to go away, such as problems with IBS and fibromyalgia. I don't have the brain fog and have so much more energy. Now, if I do slip and eat something with gluten, my face breaks out with rosecea abd the IBS flares.

I would say to do more research, look up going gluten free so that you know exactly what to eliminate. Also look up elimination diet so that you know how to remove and then reintroduce gluten effectively. That will teach you how to "test" it. Good luck!

Unfortunately, unless you have celiac's disease, there isn't a test for gluten intolerance. My wife actually just went through this. What the GI doctor suggested was go 1 month without gluten and see if your body response. Within days, she had so much more energy and didn't need to take naps. After that month and being tested for celiac (came back negative), he told us just to stay away from gluten. More than likely, she has an intolerance.


What you can do is follow a primal or paleo diet. That is what my wife and I do.

As already stated in this thread, you should see a doctor before determining that this is the issue. Many stomach problems or food allergies manifest with the same symptoms. It could be something as simple as a deficiency of certain minerals or nutrients.

My boyfriend is celiac, meaning he can not handle even the smallest amounts of gluten. At first, it can be hard, especially if you are looking for and buying only things marketed as "gluten free." These items tend to be expensive and contain a lot of preservatives and sugars that you don't need.

If you are already making your meals at home, then you should really have no problem cutting out the gluten - eating out is a different story as gluten hides itself in unsuspecting places, like sauces or soups.

Buy gluten free bread to replace the bread you eat currently - I recommend Udi's brand. Replace pastas with brown rice, quinoa, chickpeas, etc. (if you are really craving pasta there are noodles made from rice, corn, potato, etc. that you can use instead). As far as vegetables and meat, have at 'er as you usually would.

Eating gluten-free can be a really good incentive to make all of your food from its pure form, making you constantly aware of what is going into your food, which is way healthier regardless of whether or not you are eating gluten!

I am totally grain and legume free. I didn't ease into it, I quit cold-turkey. Even just a little bit of grain will lead to uncontrollable hunger so I am not even tempted. Some people have a short-lived carb-flu when they first stop grains. If you are only stopping gluten and still eating other grains, I doubt you will have side effects, other than a few good ones (but all grains affect me badly, not just wheat).

You don't need a doctor's permission to give up wheat, but seeing a professional is likely a good thing to do anyway; just trust yourself with your own health first and foremost. Many doctors are not very knowledgeable when it comes to healthy diet and disease prevention. There are no negative side effects from not eating wheat, only bad ones for many people who do eat it. Most people have just come to accept that feeling like crap is normal, because it's how they've always felt; well, it isn't normal to feel bad. My healthy diet has proven that for me.