Attempting to go Gluten Free... Help!

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.

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:

+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.

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.

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!

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!

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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/
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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)

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.

Celiac disease isn't something to play with. If you have it, you need to know. My niece was diagnosed by stomach biopsy when the doctors were doing a series of GI tests trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with her. She has had many, many health issues -- including thyroid cancer -- which the doctors believe are related to her celiac disease. Also, if you think you may have it and have children, they should be tested immediately. One of my niece's sons has it and the other doesn't. The sooner a person/child with celiac disease removes gluten from their diet, the less risk of long-term complications.

I don't doubt that there are some non-celiac people who feel better when they avoid wheat, etc., and more power to them. But those who avoid gluten just because it's trendy really raise my ire. They're the ones who make it dangerous for real celiacs to eat in restaurants, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a server's eyes glaze over when my niece says she and her son can't have gluten because waiters are hearing it all the time these days. My niece has to go into a long narrative about how they've been tested and the effects gluten has on them, etc., to be taken seriously (not always, but often). But I guess gluten-free eating being on trend is a mixed curse/blessing because at least restaurants are offering many more gluten free selections now.

Anyway, if you think you could have celiac disease you need to figure out a way to get tested. Seriously.

So I recently discovered that about 95% of my health issues match the symptoms of gluten sensitivity.

What about the other 5%?

I once had symptoms that matched bubonic plague. I went to the Doctor and guess what I didn't have it. Don't self diagnose go and see a doctor it could be something totally different that if left un diagnosed could cause problems

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!

Process of elimination is not a bad thing to do to see if you are a bit sensitive to gluten.

With that said it is NOT as simple as "I just won't eat bread, pasta or wheat!" because gluten is hidden in many ingredients. Carmel Coloring has gluten in it for one. Also when you go to a restaurant you need to find out how they prepare their food. For example is the oil that they fry the french fries in the same oil they fry breaded chicken in? If it is then guess what? You can't have french fries. Will they prepare your burger on the same grill that they heat the buns on? Yes? Guess what? You can't have a burger. Love to dip your sushi in soy sauce? Sorry. Can't have soy sauce since it contains gluten. Also there is gluten in make up products as well.

A "short" list of items that contain gluten:

Barley (flakes, flour, pearl)
Breading, bread stuffing
Brewer's yeast
Bulgur
Durum (type of wheat)
Farro/faro (also known as spelt or dinkel)
Graham flour
Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Kamut (type of wheat)
Malt, malt extract, malt syrup, malt flavoring
Malt vinegar
Malted milk
Matzo, matzo meal
Modified wheat starch
Oatmeal, oat bran, oat flour, whole oats (unless they are from pure, uncontaminated oats)
Rye bread and flour
Seitan (a meat-like food derived from wheat gluten used in many vegetarian dishes)
Semolina
Spelt (type of wheat also known as farro, faro, or dinkel)
Triticale
Wheat bran
Wheat flour
Wheat germ
Wheat starch

These other ingredients may be less familiar to you, but they also contain gluten:

Atta (chapati flour)
Einkorn (type of wheat)
Emmer (type of wheat)
Farina
Fu (a dried gluten product made from wheat and used in some Asian dishes)

Gluten Foods

Double-check the ingredients label on these items, as they're possible sources of gluten:

Beer, ale, lager
Breads
Broth, soup, soup bases
Cereals
Cookies and crackers
Some chocolates, some chocolate bars, licorice
Flavored coffees and teas
Imitation bacon bits, imitation seafoods
Medications (check with your pharmacist)
Pastas
Processed foods
Salad dressings
Sausages, hot dogs, deli meats
Sauces, marinades, gravies
Seasonings
Soy sauce

Energy bars/granola bars – some bars may contain wheat as an ingredient, and most use oats that are not gluten-free
French fries – be careful of batter containing wheat flour or cross-contamination from fryers
Potato chips – some potato chip seasonings may contain malt vinegar or wheat starch
Processed lunch meats
Candy and candy bars
Soup – pay special attention to cream-based soups, which have flour as a thickener. Many soups also contain barley
Multi-grain or “artisan” tortilla chips or tortillas that are not entirely corn-based may contain a wheat-based ingredient
Salad dressings and marinades – may contain malt vinegar, soy sauce, flour
Starch or dextrin if found on a meat or poultry product could be from any grain, including wheat
Brown rice syrup – may be made with barley enzymes
Meat substitutes made with seitan (wheat gluten) such as vegetarian burgers, vegetarian sausage, imitation bacon, imitation seafood (Note: tofu is gluten-free, but be cautious of soy sauce marinades and cross-contamination when eating out, especially when the tofu is fried)
Soy sauce (though tamari made without wheat is gluten-free)
Self-basting poultry
Pre-seasoned meats
Cheesecake filling - some recipes include wheat flour
Eggs served at restaurants – some restaurants put pancake batter in their scrambled eggs and omelets, but on their own, eggs are naturally gluten-free

I get what you're trying to do but just understand that it's not as easy as just saying no to bread and pasta.

If you can't afford or don't want the test, there is no harm in trying the diet. If you can't afford the test, the doctor will just put you on an elimination diet anyway (where you also take out gluten, lactose, certain nuts, and other items that are likely to cause problems and slowly add them back in one at a time and see when symptoms start).

As for how to do it? If you find you feel a bazillion times better after one week, then decide to eat a cupcake for your birthday <<cough cough>> and spend the next three days in incredible pain...you will never want to eat it again. If it is highly correlated with extreme discomfort, it becomes its own deterrent.

My favorite GF brand is Scharr. And the trick for making the rice pasta have a good consistency is that you have to shock it with cold water to stop the cooking when it's done.