Going Gluten Free? good choice?

First figure out why you think you're gluten intolerant. Educate yourself about what gluten is and what the symptoms of gluten intolerance are.

Then go to a doctor with that list of symptoms. Get a reality check. Something else might be going on, like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), that's sometimes linked with gluten intolerance but sometimes happens for other reasons.

THEN, if you really are gluten intolerant, you have a long list of things you can't tolerate, and those things turn up in very surprising foods. So you have to rework your methods of eating. No more pizza and beer, I am very very sorry to say.

I'm telling you to educate yourself on what the symptoms of gluten intolerance are and what gluten is because it doesn't sound like you know the basics yet. You're asking if going gluten-free is a good choice. If you're gluten-intolerant, it's pretty much the ony choice, really. If you're not gluten-intolerant, it's a very difficult way to live.

Going gluten free doesn't mean you HAVE to buy all that processed gluten free crap ... just eat whole foods ... meat, dairy, eggs, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, GF grains like quinoa (though technically not a grain) and wild/brown rice/buckwheat/etc. and you'll be fine ...

I tested negative for celiac disease, but if I eat gluten my stomach starts hurting really bad and I'll throw up ... I used to just get bloated and tired, but symptoms got worse as I got older ... I did an elimination diet and found the culprit. I'm also hypothyroid (euthyroid on proper medication), and studies seem to indicate that there is a correlation between that and gluten intolerance.

Check out "Wheat Belly," by William Davis .

I have never tested as gluten intolerant, but when I eat it I get dizzy and lightheaded. I certainly don't think you have to test positive on a celiac test to know that gluten isn't good for your body. I agree with people who said to do some research about gluten etc. There are a lot of people who think gluten isn't good for anyone, I tend to fall into that category, but it all depends on what you believe. I would say to try at least 2 weeks avoiding all gluten and then reintroduce it and see what your body does and how it responds. I never realized the effect certain food had on me until I eliminated them and reintroduced...it's amazing the things your body will tell you.

I think everyone can benefit from eliminating or cutting down on gluten.

If you aren't showing all the symptoms of celiac disease your doctor may tell you you don't have an intolerant. Best thing is to cut out gluten for 3-4 weeks, make notes of any improvements you notice and then have some gluten after and note how you feel. Then you will have something to tell the doctor - or better yet tell yourself. However the processed gluten free products are just as crappy as all processed sugar. I used to think I couldn't live without bread and now find when I do have a slice it isn't as good as I remembered. I'm not gluten intolerant as in getting sick but I just don't enjoy it as much anymore. Pasta ? I love zucchini noodles as pasta now. If I was to go to my doctor he wouldn't find anything conclusive that I was gluten intolerant but my own research showed me that I don't enjoy gluten products so I only eat them sparingly.

Soba noodle foe pasta ... they're made of buckwheat which is not like "regular" wheat and is GF ... Texture is similar to a whole wheat vermicelli ...

Hey there!

What are your symptoms? Going gluten free is a huge life change and it's not really a smart thing to do unless you're absolutely sure that you're gluten intolerant.

The first thing I'd suggest to you is to try to get a certified medical diagnosis because life will just be easier that way. I promise, it will be soooo much easier anywhere you go and no one will question you. After that then try going gluten free regardless even if the result is negative. Just don't do the elimination diet before your test because you need to have gluten in your body for the tests to work properly, and if you do feel better off of gluten there is no way you'll want to go back to eating it just to have some test done.

I'm gluten intolerant, but all my tests came back negative and it's very inconvenient to try to explain my intolerance to anybody. People just don't believe me, but long story short, now that I'm gluten free I no longer wake up in the middle of the night crying in pain. That to me is a justifiable self-diagnosis.

Check out "Wheat Belly," by William Davis .

Or don't, because it's ridiculous...

QFT

While it is probably better to go for a diagnosis, going GF will only really be a potential problem to your bank balance, because most of the cheap typical student food options are off limits (mac & cheese, ramen noodles, pizza, beer, etc). When I first went gluten free, I bought into many of the GF products that "imitate" wheat products and found them to be 1. more expensive in general 2. oftentimes not as "good" (flavor, texture or mouth feel was just not quite right) 3. not always as healthy as the wheat products (or, at any rate, just as bad in terms of calories, nutritional value, sugar/fat content).

You will NOT probably lose weight JUST because you avoid gluten. If you consume too many calories relative to what you burn each day, you WILL gain weight, no matter if the calorie sources include gluten or not. Many of the GF "replacement foods" have more calories per serving than the wheat/barley version - you need to be mindful of that.

That said, it IS possible to eat GF without spending a fortune and eat healthy at the same time. Emphasize "whole" fruits and vegetables in your diet (watch out for sauces that may contain some form of gluten). Meat is "generally" safe, but some items, like frozen chicken "may" be processed using a broth containing gluten. Corn, rice, quinoa, buckwheat are generally safe (some people have multiple intolerances, so...). Oats are borderline - some people w/ gluten intolerance are OK with it, some can only tolerate certified GF varieties and some can't eat oats at all. Read labels very carefully, Gluten is hidden in lots of things - soy sauce, soup, gravy, etc. Some items may or may not be GF, like "modified food starch" - only "safe" if the source is specified and it's not wheat or barley.

I eat a lot of rice cakes (with some risk or arsenic contamination) and corn torillas/tostadas/taco shells when I want something "sort of like" a "sandwich".

Do your research. There's a lot of information on the net. It is a lot of work to avoid gluten, though it gets a bit easier over time as you find brands you tolerate. It is too much work to do though if you don't need to, so...

Going gluten free can be a fad if you are going gluten free because someone said it is bad for you. Going can be as silly a thing to do as going "low carb" or "low fat" if you don't really understand why you are doing it.

With that said, we are a family of 6. My oldest daughter and I are Gluten Free Dairy Free. Neither of us exhibit the typical digestive symptoms of a gluten intolerance but we had some thyroid issues. We did go to a doctor who admittedly is rather alternative in his approaches. He did some testing on us and identified food sensitivities and suggested we significantly limit our wheat and dairy. I have gone from nearly being given thyroid medications and being prescribed a 7th different kind of Birth Control to control hormonal issues to being completely medication free. My daughter is experiencing similar improvements for her issues. I have not made the rest of the family of GFDF but I would. You are not doing any harm to eat rice instead of pasta or corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.

If you think you have a problem with it, before you change your diet, see a physician about getting tested. The reason I say this is because if you DO have a problem with it and you cut the gluten out on your own first, it'll give a false negative on the tests. I figured out I had an issue with white flour about 15 years ago (bloating and skin issues - both of which went away when I cut the flour out.). When I finally got tested 2 years ago, the biopsy came up clean. The logic is that I wasn't eating the wheat, so nothing was inflamed. I wasn't about to gorge on pizza just to tick off my system in order to test positive.

I advise getting tested for additional reasons:

1) If you ARE diagnosed, you can claim the GF items on your taxes. No official (from a physician) diagnosis, no deduction.
https://www.celiac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=116&Itemid=207

2) Gluten-free can get really expensive if you do try to include "normal" things, like a bagel or a piece of bread for a sandwich. My four gluten-free bagels cost me $5.89, whereas 8 Lender's bagels cost something like $1.29. I pay $4.49 for a single box of mac and cheese (so it's a treat, not a regular part of my diet).

3) Giving up gluten when you don't have to, will make your life more difficult than it needs to be. You'll have to start reading labels for EVERYTHING. Things like getting a burger on a bun are out of the question 99% of the time. Morningstar veggie burgers? Nope. Soy sauce? No can do. Pizza? Good luck with that. A malted milkshake? Not in this lifetime. (Malt is not GF) Birthday cake in the office? Nada. Chicken parmesan? That yummy warm roll that the waitress brings out with the cinnamon butter? Naan in an Indian restaurant? Kiss them all goodbye.

It's a pain in the butt lifestyle that I don't wish on anyone. So, I recommend getting tested. Maybe you'll be fine and it'll point to something else that your system isn't reacting well to. If after you get tested, you want to do an elimination diet for 30 days to see if you have a sensitivity (as some people do), you'll at least know where you tolerances / thresholds are.

I think i'm gluten intolerant.

If you're gluten intolerant, there's no "thinking" about it, you know for sure.

There's nothing wrong with reducing/eliminating gluten from your diet if it helps you meet your goals, but the odds of it being *necessary* for you are really quite small.

Gluten-free is the new low-fat.

Why do you think you're gluten intolerant? Really, a very, very small percentage of the population truly is...it's just that going "gluten free" is all the rage and very trendy right now. You get no benefit from going gluten free if you don't truly have an allergy. I'm with others here...you need to see a doctor if you think you're gluten intolerant.

I think i'm gluten intolerant.

If you're gluten intolerant, there's no "thinking" about it, you know for sure.

This is not necessarily true unless you do an elimination diet or get tested for allergies/intolerances. You may know that "something" is making you feel ill or trashing your insides, but you don't know for sure whether it's dairy or gluten or something else until you test in some way (blood test, skin test and/or elimination diet). GI symptoms or general "malaise" can also be due to a number of other things not necessarily related to food intolerance.

I think everyone can benefit from eliminating or cutting down on gluten.

I totally agree. We don't need gluten to survive.... just like cutting out artificial sweeteners