gluten free diet

Ely82010
Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
I saw and read this on-line article today. I don't have celiac problems (test was negative), but I did notice that in order to reduce gastrointestinal problems, I need to reduce/control all wheat products.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/12/gluten.free.diet.improve/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Replies

  • skylar1907
    skylar1907 Posts: 156
    There's a whole group of us out here who are gluten-free (my necessity and/or by choice). I am gluten free by necessity. If you want tips or have questions about what to look for on food-labels to cut down on your wheat consumption - give a shout!
  • RockaholicMama
    RockaholicMama Posts: 786 Member
    Thanks for sharing. I do have celiac. I've had 4 pos tests.

    If anyone who is GF wants to add me, feel free. My mom also has celiac and we swap awesome recipes all the time :)
  • LOVEsummer
    LOVEsummer Posts: 304 Member
    gluten free lemon bars?!
  • kristiduda
    kristiduda Posts: 3
    Even if you don't have celiac, you could still have a gluten sensitivity. If you notice that you have GI problems when you eat products containing gluten, you could try cutting it out for a few weeks and see if it improves.

    As a side note, if you are having symptoms, what type of test did they do for celiac? My son has celiac, but his blood test was negative. He had an endoscopy and the biopsy of his small intestine showed that he did in fact have celiac. Just something to be aware of!

    Also, beware of all the hype surrounding gluten free diets these days. If you don't have symptoms from eating products with gluten in them, there is no scientific evidence that a gluten free diet will help you. As more people are being diagnosed with celiac and gluten sensitivity, many media outlets want to label the gluten free diet as the answer to everyone's dietary problems. Unfortunately, it's just not that simple. Just wanted to throw that out there! Good luck!
  • deathtaco
    deathtaco Posts: 237
    My mom's friend was severely over weight and did this. Lost tons of weight, feels better, has better blood work and has been keeping it off. She's doing well.

    Heart disease, obesity, etc have all been on the rise around the time we started to become an agriculture based society...so there is probably some merit to this diet. But man-o-man I love me some gluten every now and then :D

    moderation is key to life!
  • snowflakelaia
    snowflakelaia Posts: 214
    I totally agree with deathtaco: Moderation.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Thanks all for your comments. I had blood tests, two endoscopies, and a colonoscopy (ugh!!), and everything was fine/normal. But when I eat a lot of wheat products such as Kashi Go Lean (I love their high protein cereal), Weetabix biscuits and others, I get to visit "Mr. John" very often and the symptoms and bloating last for few days.

    I stopped eating those foods and I became more "normal and my insides were better regulated," if you know what I mean. I changed to gluten free bread (health store), but I noticed that it was full of sodium, like other GF foods, so I stopped. Oatmeal does not affect me at all.

    I am now eating rice cakes (GF) and Ezequiel bread and they don't give me any problem. I can also eat regular bread and wheat pasta in moderation and I don't seem to be affected either. So go figure.

    I am following my doctor's advice: monitor my symtomps, stay away for few weeks from foods that give me problems and then re-introduce them a little bit at the time. If the symptoms return, then I know what the problem is.

    So far so good. By the way, the only symptom that I had was gastrointestinal, not other problems.
  • skylar1907
    skylar1907 Posts: 156
    As a side note, if you are having symptoms, what type of test did they do for celiac? My son has celiac, but his blood test was negative. He had an endoscopy and the biopsy of his small intestine showed that he did in fact have celiac. Just something to be aware of!

    Also, beware of all the hype surrounding gluten free diets these days. If you don't have symptoms from eating products with gluten in them, there is no scientific evidence that a gluten free diet will help you.

    I am in a similar position as your son was - the blood test is not the end all be all- and most docs don't mention that to patients.

    And thank you for mentioning that going totally GF when you don't need to won't make a difference.

    However, wheat is in a LOT of products that people don't realize its in and choosing those products that are made without flour as a thickener can help you cut calories quickly (and still enjoy other non-GF goodies)!
  • AMBlass
    AMBlass Posts: 161
    Gluten free food are not necessarily lower in fat or calories, in fact, some of the food is actually higher! So make sure you really NEED to be on a gluten free diet. It would be much easier to just go lower carb. Gluten free does not mean carb or calorie free to be careful. But if you do have a sensitivity to it, then it might be helpful.
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