Whole Foods Eating/Gluten Free

Under the new healthcare law in the US, unless you are poor and in a state that did not take medicaid expansion, everyone should now have healthcare access. It used to be if I said 'see your doc' most people couldn't afford to. Now that has changed.

There is a simple blood test for gluten sensitivity. You should get it. The long term consequences of celiac disease can be pretty serious--you need to know if you have the antibody problem or if you have one of the lesser types of gluten sensitivity (which used to be dismissed as psychological until a double-blind experiment in Australia recently confirmed they exist).

If you have celiac disease then you need to avoid even hidden gluten in soy sauce etc. because failing to do so can increase your cancer risk (and other problems). If you have one of the other forms, then an occasional transgression is only likely to upset your stomach without doing lasting damage.

The test will let you know how militant you have to be in avoiding gluten.

That's a lot if its just for him.

List price of "silver" insurance for me in CA would have been around $400 a month, but I qualified for subsidy so pay less.

But we need to stop our discussion. Thread drift/hijack.

Back to gluten!

If you feel horrible when eating gluten then sorry but beer is out. Barley...
There is a gluten free board on this forum, join up for more support & info. Some also have to be egg or dairy free as well - lots of ideas for recipes and where to find them on the Web.

She didn't specify what "horrible" meant, but the feeling could actually be a blood sugar crash, which would apply to all carbs, particularly sugars and grains but not just beer.

Fruits also have a significantly unbalanced carb load.

that's what i'm wondering about. it could be high blood sugar, low blood sugar or even an allergy to something not wheat or gluten related.

She didn't specify what "horrible" meant, but the feeling could actually be a blood sugar crash, which would apply to all carbs, particularly sugars and grains but not just beer.

Fruits also have a significantly unbalanced carb load.

I hate that Monsanto and the GMO foods is really making it hard to lead a healthy life!

Actually it is more poor choices (choosing excess of kilocalorie intake, lack of kilocalorie expenditure) that make it hard to lead a healthy life.

We (myself included) have all made not so great choices when it has come to our lifestyle, hence why the majority of us are here and are on a journey towards weight loss.

TenaciousTAZ wrote: »

Hello,
I'm looking for people that are eating basically meats, nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits, coffee, and maybe a lil' dairy.(occasional beer or glass of wine)
I feel horrible when I eat bread, or processed foods so I'm either allergic to gluten or the preservatives and other chemicals they inject into food. I like to cook, but it's nice to find new recipes and find other people in the same boat. For example, I hate soda, but have made my own ginger ale using water, fresh ginger, lemon and honey which I add to mineral water. I guess you can say I experiment in the kitchen and when I like it, I call it cooking.
It's not hard to eat this way, but after awhile I get bored with the same recipes. Just wondering if anyone else needs support!

Hi Tenacious,

If you really believe you have an allergy to gluten, I suggest you speak with your doctor about . If you truly have a gluten allergy, you would not be able to eat anything with gluten, which would include beer (beer has malt and barely). Also, the preservatives that you find in the bread are no doubt in other foods you eat as well, so if you had an allergy or intolerance you would not be able to eat those foods either. You might want to talk to your doctor about those as well.

That said, I do eat at all of those foods you mention, plus much more (I love dairy, but being lactose intolerant, I have to have everything dairy free). Have you heard of Yummely? It's a great database where you can find almost any type of recipe for the ingredients you want to use. I make my own homemade bread, too, just because I love to cook.

TenaciousTAZ wrote: »

I'm living in an area right now (long 30 day vacay) and it is so easy to get things that are fresh, organic, and not loaded with junk. I just wish other areas had things that I need readily available.

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by "loaded with junk". Food is food.

If you are trying to shed pounds, food type has nothing to do with it.

LAT1963 wrote: »

Under the new healthcare law in the US, unless you are poor and in a state that did not take medicaid expansion, everyone should now have healthcare access. It used to be if I said 'see your doc' most people couldn't afford to. Now that has changed.

There is a simple blood test for gluten sensitivity. You should get it. The long term consequences of celiac disease can be pretty serious--you need to know if you have the antibody problem or if you have one of the lesser types of gluten sensitivity (which used to be dismissed as psychological until a double-blind experiment in Australia recently confirmed they exist).

If you have celiac disease then you need to avoid even hidden gluten in soy sauce etc. because failing to do so can increase your cancer risk (and other problems). If you have one of the other forms, then an occasional transgression is only likely to upset your stomach without doing lasting damage.

The test will let you know how militant you have to be in avoiding gluten.

just wanted to say- I now have health insurance coverage for the first time in years. It feels good ya'll. my state did the medicaid expansion thing and I qualified.

TenaciousTAZ wrote: »

I don't care if a doc diagnoses me or not.....I don't feel good eating gluten, so I don't eat it. Loaded with junk means processed foods with things that have more than 3 syllables, or things with food dye which is totally unnecessary. (like why does hot sauce or pickle relish really need food dye?)
I do what I can, and have created a lot of recipes that I feel good when I eat it. When I eat things with "junk" I'm lethargic and cranky. It is just a challenge, is all. I have been off gluten for the past 3 weeks and feel great. (Unlike the 2 months where I just didn't care) And the gluten could spike my blood sugar as well (hence lethargy)
It is just hard to socialize when restaurants usually use the cheapest ingredients possible. Restaurants hit the pocketbook anyway, so it's not bad.
Thanks for the tip on Yummely. It might give me more diversity in my meals!

Okay.......

But, that's the very reason you should go to the doctor. Many people who are intolerant to gluten have celiac disease, which can cause death if not treated properly.

Yes! I am vegetarian and try to be gluten-free and dairy free. Gulten-free is fairly easy, dairy-free is not because I do like a good block of cheese and yogurt and I get paranoid about protein levels and gut bacteria. But I feel a lot better off dairy (esp since its really hard to find organic dairy around here) so I need to have that discipline again. I eat no added sugar - because I am a green tea drinker. I also make my own water kefir sometimes but I ruined my culture so I am recently out. Happy to share recipes but it may seem boring! I eat standard home-cooked Indian vegetarian food except it's all organic and brown rice and veggies, and no frying involved. I also eat lots of fruits.

Indian lentils - 'dals' are useful and can be made to taste quite good. Ditto cooked garbanzo beans - can be flavoured any way you like. Rice and lentils together complement eah other and give you the full range of amino acids.

I also soak mung beans and millets overnight, chuck the water, and then grind it down to a batter, and make crepes out of it. Quite good with a little cilantro-garlic chutney on the side.

I don't think we need wheat and dairy, honestly!

TenaciousTAZ wrote: »

I don't care if a doc diagnoses me or not.....I don't feel good eating gluten, so I don't eat it. Loaded with junk means processed foods with things that have more than 3 syllables, or things with food dye which is totally unnecessary. (like why does hot sauce or pickle relish really need food dye?)
I do what I can, and have created a lot of recipes that I feel good when I eat it. When I eat things with "junk" I'm lethargic and cranky. It is just a challenge, is all. I have been off gluten for the past 3 weeks and feel great. (Unlike the 2 months where I just didn't care) And the gluten could spike my blood sugar as well (hence lethargy)
It is just hard to socialize when restaurants usually use the cheapest ingredients possible. Restaurants hit the pocketbook anyway, so it's not bad.
Thanks for the tip on Yummely. It might give me more diversity in my meals!

So... do you avoid soy sauce? Chicken broth? Soup? Rice made in most restaurants? Shredded cheese? (even the parmesan cheese?) Sauces?
Because all of those things have gluten in them. (as does pretty much anything with modified food starch in it)

Speaking of three syllables, do you avoid any food with sodium bicarbonate in it?

TenaciousTAZ wrote: »

But, that's the very reason you should go to the doctor. Many people who are intolerant to gluten have celiac disease, which can cause death if not treated properly.

To test for celiac disease you have to eat a gluten diet.....no can do....sorry but I don't trust doctors....they have my mom strung up on pills like she was a drug addict.
My acupuncturist is also a homeopathic doc, so I consult her if needed. I appreciate your concern, just not really happy with our society over drugging it's patients.

[/quote]

You are wrong. To test for Celiac you don't eat a gluten diet. I have Celiac disease. There are genetic tests for it, as well as intestinal biopsies. And there are no pills for Celiac disease. Just a gluten-free diet, which I really don't think you understand. If you had Celiac disease, you wouldn't just 'not feel good' when you eat gluten. It makes you very ill, for days.