Gluten Free

My Rheumatologist has me gluten free because of suspected celiac disease. But, I have a malabsorption disorder. The question is if I am gluten intolerant because of the malabsorption disorder or if I have a malabsorption disorder because of celiac disease. I think it's the malabsorption disorder that caused my gluten intolerance (and other intolerance such as to quinoa), and not actual celiac disease. I developed this after being overtreated with antibiotics. I eat a healthy, happy diet now that doesn't make me sick. I also discovered Udi's gluten free three cheese pizza! Yay! Pizza!!! I have been gluten free for eight months. But two times early on I tried a cookie and it made me very sick. So, I am certainly gluten free now. Also, as I said, I got even sicker from replacing gluten with quinoa (which is highly promoted to replace gluten). Better now since cutting out quinoa.

Great! Thanks! I did always have trouble with wheat gluten causing me hives and GI distress. But, it only got bad after I was overtreated with antibiotics. So, probably a combination. There are other GI related auto-immune diseases that can cause malabsorption such as Crohn's disease and other IBD. I do have scar tissue in my intestines.

I have been diagnosed with the Celiac Rash. No gluten. Not one crumb. Trying to control it with predinosone. The gluten-free bread products are high in calories.

Being gluten free these days is so much easier than it even was 5 years ago when I was first diagnosed as Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerant.

I personally prefer to stick with foods that are naturally gluten free like meat, veggies, fruits, and grains like corn and rice.

If you need replacement products like breads and pastas, there are several great brands out there. Aldi has a great gluten free line of products. I personally do not like the Schar products, but know a lot of people that do. I'm lucky that I have a great local baker who makes safe products for when I really want like a grilled cheese sandwich. For Pasta, I like Barilla.

Reading labels is going to be super important. There are so many packaged items that you would think would be gluten free, but actually aren't. For example, french fries. There is a local pizza shop we order from and when we got takeout the other night, it was a big order, so they put it in a box. It happened to be a french fry box, so I was able to look at the ingredients and right there was wheat flour. Apparently there is some kind of batter on the fries. Many sauces and dressings also have gluten containing ingredients.

You'll find that once you are off of the gluten for a period of time, that when you do consume it, it will have a much bigger impact than when you were consuming it with some regularity. I've slipped up here and there and always immediately regretted it because of how sick it made me, I find that it's never really worth it nowadays.

itsbasschick wrote: »

beck1967 - what makes you think you're gluten intolerant? were you diagnosed by your doctor?

celiac can cause malabsorption but i can't see how it would work the other way around.

i'm allergic to wheat - eating more than a trade is agonizing and puts me in the ER, too. i can actually eat other gluten-containing foods like rye and spelt, and sometimes that's handy, but the gluten free fad has been great when it comes to giving me choices.

btw, BinaryPulsar - blaze makes a gluten-free crust and they handle it pretty carefully, although udi's is really good, too.

I also have a wheat allergy but my reaction is nothing like yours. I get hives and stomach cramps.

Being gluten free and wheat free can be simple. I eat a lot of lean meats, veggies, eggs, fruit, and rice

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease but I've been gluten free for years. I have found that natural food stores (like Yoke's and Fred Meyers) have GREAT gluten free selections. But it's easiest if you stick to a whole food diet.