Gluten Free?

brooklyn7214
brooklyn7214 Posts: 22 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone eat gluten free?
I'm thinking I have a gluten intolerance and am gonna try giving it up for a little while. Any tips on food and what to eat?

Replies

  • BT_rescuemom
    BT_rescuemom Posts: 284 Member
    I have been eating a Ketogenic diet, therefore nothing I eat has gluten in it. I'm not eating any grains at all in fact. I suspect I have a gluten intolerance, and I am very carb sensitive.

    Paleo or doing Whole30 is a nice way to go to get away from gluten.
  • brooklyn7214
    brooklyn7214 Posts: 22 Member
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    Can I ask why you are self diagnosing a gluten intolerance? Despite what blogs say, it's actually quite rare.

    Yes. I have horrible stomach pain & issues after eating oatmeal, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, anything truly grainy. I thought it was dairy because I used to be vegan and so I cut it out again and nothing changed. I'm always tired after I eat those foods, I have a burning sensation in my chest and throat when I eat them. I have a tingling feeling in my feet and hands. (I got tested for diabetes just in case and I'm fine in that department.) They related it to blood sugar which gluten can affect. After just one day of not eating it, that burning sensation is gone. I'm just testing it out right now because doctors always say to try to eliminate it completely to check. I do have an appointment in a couple of weeks to talk to my doctor about all my symptoms and see what she says.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,386 MFP Moderator
    brooklyn7214 wrote: »
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    Can I ask why you are self diagnosing a gluten intolerance? Despite what blogs say, it's actually quite rare.

    Yes. I have horrible stomach pain & issues after eating oatmeal, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, anything truly grainy. I thought it was dairy because I used to be vegan and so I cut it out again and nothing changed. I'm always tired after I eat those foods, I have a burning sensation in my chest and throat when I eat them. I have a tingling feeling in my feet and hands. (I got tested for diabetes just in case and I'm fine in that department.) They related it to blood sugar which gluten can affect. After just one day of not eating it, that burning sensation is gone. I'm just testing it out right now because doctors always say to try to eliminate it completely to check. I do have an appointment in a couple of weeks to talk to my doctor about all my symptoms and see what she says.

    You should consider seeing a GI doctor to be test for Celiac/IBS/IBD and potentially allergy tested. Oats are gluten free outside of cross contamination. My wife has to eat gluten free and I can assure you, it sucks.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    I am not Celiac - but do have an intolerance. Sounds like you may have it to "grains" instead of just gluten if you have that feeling with oatmeal. I know everyone pounces on the eat anything and everything - unless you have a medical issue. Well, I'm in the camp of eating to make myself feel better, also. And limiting gluten - since I'm not Celiac, cross contamination does not particularly bother me - but, I avoid as best as I can; makes me feel so much better! Not bloated, crampy, gassy, tired, reflux, and even no headaches anymore. And yes, at first it sucked. I missed bread, pasta (I LOVED pasta) for quite a while. Now, it doesn't bother me in the least. I always get burgers protein style, skip the pastas and pizzas and go for veggies, fruits, lean meats, legumes, and lots of Quinoa (but check yourself on grains). Have found that pasta, breads, etc., are just vehicles for a good sauce or cheese and carry so many calories I can "spend" elsewhere. Certainly not needed by everyone, but sure didn't hurt me to cut them out of my diet and almost 4 years later - I cannot believe the difference in energy and overall feeling better!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    The only gluten you'll find in oatmeal is from wheat contaminants in the harvesting and processing. You might have a problem tolerating fiber or something else going on. Reacting to oats and wheat products both suggests to me it's not an allergy since oats and wheat aren't that closely related -- unless you maybe have a food allergy to all grasses (if that's the case, corn should bother you too since it's also a grass). If it were me, I'd be making an appointment with a GI doctor as suggested above to find out what the problem really is, rather than looking for advice here or self diagnosing. I'd start there and see if the doc wants to refer you to an allergist for further testing.
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
    brooklyn7214 wrote: »
    Anyone eat gluten free?
    I'm thinking I have a gluten intolerance and am gonna try giving it up for a little while. Any tips on food and what to eat?

    Anything without gluten, I imagine. You can always pay $2-$3 more for your favorite foods that have the gluten taken out of them :)

    It sounds like you know what things are making you uncomfortable, so just avoid them if you feel the need.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    As another poster said, get tested BEFORE you go GF. To be tested for celiac disease you need to be eating the equivalent of 1-2 slices of bread per day in the 8-12 weeks prior to testing. If you go GF for a few weeks you may have to resume eating gluten for a few MONTHs in order to get accurate test results... And even then, celiac tests miss 25% of all celiacs. You want the best possible chance for accurate testing.

    Plus, if it is celiac disease, some symptoms may not improve for months after going GF, and some (like migraines or arthralgias) may even get worse before they get better. A GF trial should be a good 6 months long in order to truly judge its effectiveness.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,386 MFP Moderator
    BT_rescuemom wrote: »
    I have been eating a Ketogenic diet, therefore nothing I eat has gluten in it. I'm not eating any grains at all in fact. I suspect I have a gluten intolerance, and I am very carb sensitive.

    Paleo or doing Whole30 is a nice way to go to get away from gluten.

    Just to point out, there is a lot of stuff that contains gluten that is low carb/keto approved, like many processed meats and soy sauce.
  • ReneeReiff
    ReneeReiff Posts: 3 Member
    I just recently found out that I have a gluten sensitivity...not an allergy or celiac's disease, but a sensitivity. I actually thought that maybe it was a sensitivity to too much sodium mixed with arthritis (which I had xrays for and do have the start of) but I had joint pain, muscle pain, bloating and inflammation that all disappeared when I gave up gluten. I like that my eating is so much cleaner with so much less processed foods now. I feel so much better and I'm thankful to the person who suggested that this may be my problem. She's my cousin and found that she had the same problem. When I described my symptoms she said they were identical to hers and her doctor told her it could be a gluten sensitivity, and he was right. There are many gluten-free options, the best being whole, natural proteins, fats, vegetables and fruits.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I eat gluten free for migraines, it's easy to just eat things that don't have gluten (rice, meat, veggies, quinoa, etc.) and there are some good gluten-free substitutes if you are looking for them (tinkyada rice pasta, udi's bread, horizon mac & cheese - just watch the label because some of their stuff is organic, so make sure you grab the box that says gluten-free, costco has a delicious gluten free frozen pizza).

    wheat is not a nutritional requirement, so you have nothing to lose by living without it

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