Attempting to go Gluten Free... Help!

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.

I found this thread looking for people who are wheat-free, like myself. Although I'm not sensitive to gluten, through the process of elimination I discovered what was causing most of my symptoms (no thanks to my doctors, by the way). Because wheat (or, more specifically, what passes for wheat in North America) is in, like, EVERYTHING, I end up eating gluten-free 95% of the time. I would love to have more MFP friends who have similar dietary restrictions as I do.

If you are just going to switch from unhealthy processed wheat products to "gluten free" baked goods, processed foods, etc I don't think you'll get the results you are hoping for. Yes, my life is much improved since I quit wheat, but avoiding processed foods in general have been the big win.

I've been wheat free (grain free except for very rare organic popcorn) for over two years. The health benefits have been absolutely amazing for both me and my child. I eat: meat, fat, eggs, avocado, coconut, veggies, and limited fruit and nuts. I don't make gluten free baked goods except for special occasions.

I don't have celiac because I am not significantly ill.

My dad made it to his senior years without knowing he had celiac disease. He never had any of the hallmark digestive issues. His symptoms flared up after undergoing minor surgery on his esophagus. The stress of the surgery was probably a tipping point for his immune system in the expression of symptoms. And even when he did start having symptoms, they were not digestive. It was just a patchy, itchy rash on the back of his legs. He thought he had poison ivy from hiking. It turned out to be dermatitis herpetiformis - which is the skin expression of celiac.

He was never significantly ill (and really not even *mildly* ill) - BUT, when he had the formal diagnosis made, the biopsy of his small intestine showed many years of cumulative and serious damage to the villi. You don't have to seem seriously sick to have serious damage.

OP - I would encourage you to get a real diagnosis instead of guessing and treating something you may or may not have. Eating gluten free is expensive, challenging when you travel, and life changing. It's become easier as gluten-free eating has become trendy, but personally, it's not something I would do unless I had to!

I don't have celiac because I am not significantly ill. I have been living with this for 31 years and just been uncomfortable or always with a migraine. I've had every test under the sun done for stomach issues and migraines and nothing ever came back to explain my problem.

I wasn't diagnosed Celiac until I was 29 and my blood tests were negative the first two times I took them. I have never been "significantly" ill, but my biopsy results were horrifying to my GI doctor - it was almost completely destroyed. I STRONGLY suggest that you get tested before you cut out gluten completely, because I thought I was just sensitive to it (I had identical symptoms to yours - migraines, mild stomach issues and other small signs it could be gluten), I cut it out, and then had vitamin deficiency issues 2 years after I cut it out and had to start eating it again in order to have the biopsy. That was over a year ago, and I'm STILL healing. I am overweight and fairly healthy, definitely not the "typical" celiac, and all doctors fought me, saying it was "impossible" that I had celiac... but here we are. Gluten-free when you're a celiac is TOTALLY different than gluten-free when you're not, so please be careful! Best of luck - paleo is probably the way to go if you have migraines, because until I cut rice/corn/beans out, my migraines didn't go away. Hang in there!