Newly Diagnosed - Going Gluten And Starch Free, But Still A Bit Confused.....

[langzi]

Hi all,

 

My wife was diagnosed with gluten intolerance last month and has been on gluten free diet since. However, there is not much improvement (stomach still bloating, mounth ulser on going etc). So we suspected it could be other stuffs beside gluten.. We did some research on the internet and decided to try "Paleo Diet" for 30 days and hopefully it will help...

 

As we are new to these gluten free, starch free, grain free terms... we are confused and hope that the experts here can shed some light:

 

1) Is starch free means gluten free as well?

2) Is starch free means grain free as well?

 

Thank you very much for your answers!

 

regards,

-lz

[kareng]

I'm not familiar with those terms in that diet book.  Starch, as an ingredient, can be made of different things.  If its wheat, they will list "wheat".  Often its corn.

 

I don't know if she needs to go to extemes yet.  Its only been a month.  You might not even have figured out the gluten-free diet yet. Separate toasters?  gluten-free colander?  gluten-free medications & lip products? Not eating food prepared by others (family, friends homes, restaurants)? Checked the ingredients on things you might assume do not contain gluten?  For example, Rice Kripsies or Corn Flakes trick some people as they have malt.  Twizzlers are a  surprise gluten product. 

 

  Often people find that eliminating dairy for a few months is helpful as it is digested by the part of the intestine that is damaged by Celiac.

[glutenfree7562]

Hi Langzi! I have celiac and much like you about a month after my diagnosis I decided to go paleo. It sped up my improvement very much. Its a pretty easy diet to follow. No you cant eat grain or starch, but the foods you can eat are fruits, veggies, meats, and seeds/nuts. Starchy foods are mostly just potatoes. You cannot have potatoes, nor any grain. The only grains with gluten are wheat barley and rye as you know, but all grains caused a problem for me, so this diet really did help. So even though rice or quinoa or something like corn pasta are gluten free, you cannot eat them.

 

Also you have to avoid these foods in a paleo diet

1.) soy

2.)Dairy

3.)corn

4.) legumes

 

So read all labels, and mostly buy fresh produce and meat and cook. This sounds very strict but after getting used to it for like 2 weeks its easy. I have a beef roast and carrots with gravy in the over right now for dinner. You cant tell me that sounds like diet food. The hardest part is spending the extra money it takes to eat this way. And buying things like a food processor, which are pretty much needed. What really helped me were paleo diet blogs. 

 

This is my all time favorite, quick meals that taste amazing and the writer has an addictive personality

Open Original Shared Link

 

This may seem weird that its raw and vegan, but there pretty much all gluten free and paleo friendly desserts. I sometimes bake some of her recipes, even though she says no cooking is necessary. Who would want a cold piece of pumpkin pie, why you could have a warm one? But her recipes are all pretty healthy, and eating healthy helps you feel better faster. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

All together putting nourishing healthy food into your body will do wonders, but it doesn't have to be bland or boring. These recipes are delicious. Some of my favorites are just shrimp with Cajun seasonings, and chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. I also love to make a paleo pizza. cheese-less and a crust using almond and coconut flour. or even cauliflower crust.  

 

Just focus of these foods

 

1.)Fruit

2.) Veggies

3.) Meat/fish/poultry 

4.) seeds and nuts

 

Eat as much as you want every day of these foods. 

 

Here are some other recipe blogs 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Eating out can also be difficult, but if you get a salad your almost always safe, and also getting a steak or piece of fish with seasonings, and a side of broccoli is a good meal. 

 

I hope this was helpful to you! and please respond with any questions if you have them, I've been on this diet for a while and have gotten pretty used to it. I hope you have success with it and your  wife feel better soon

[langzi]

Hi Langzi! I have celiac and much like you about a month after my diagnosis I decided to go paleo. It sped up my improvement very much. Its a pretty easy diet to follow. No you cant eat grain or starch, but the foods you can eat are fruits, veggies, meats, and seeds/nuts. Starchy foods are mostly just potatoes. You cannot have potatoes, nor any grain. The only grains with gluten are wheat barley and rye as you know, but all grains caused a problem for me, so this diet really did help. So even though rice or quinoa or something like corn pasta are gluten free, you cannot eat them.

 

Also you have to avoid these foods in a paleo diet

1.) soy

2.)Dairy

3.)corn

4.) legumes

 

So read all labels, and mostly buy fresh produce and meat and cook. This sounds very strict but after getting used to it for like 2 weeks its easy. I have a beef roast and carrots with gravy in the over right now for dinner. You cant tell me that sounds like diet food. The hardest part is spending the extra money it takes to eat this way. And buying things like a food processor, which are pretty much needed. What really helped me were paleo diet blogs. 

 

This is my all time favorite, quick meals that taste amazing and the writer has an addictive personality

Open Original Shared Link

 

This may seem weird that its raw and vegan, but there pretty much all gluten free and paleo friendly desserts. I sometimes bake some of her recipes, even though she says no cooking is necessary. Who would want a cold piece of pumpkin pie, why you could have a warm one? But her recipes are all pretty healthy, and eating healthy helps you feel better faster. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

All together putting nourishing healthy food into your body will do wonders, but it doesn't have to be bland or boring. These recipes are delicious. Some of my favorites are just shrimp with Cajun seasonings, and chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. I also love to make a paleo pizza. cheese-less and a crust using almond and coconut flour. or even cauliflower crust.  

 

Just focus of these foods

 

1.)Fruit

2.) Veggies

3.) Meat/fish/poultry 

4.) seeds and nuts

 

Eat as much as you want every day of these foods. 

 

Here are some other recipe blogs 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Eating out can also be difficult, but if you get a salad your almost always safe, and also getting a steak or piece of fish with seasonings, and a side of broccoli is a good meal. 

 

I hope this was helpful to you! and please respond with any questions if you have them, I've been on this diet for a while and have gotten pretty used to it. I hope you have success with it and your  wife feel better soon

 

Thanks for all the great info!

 

More questions

1. She is also taking this digestive enzyme (Udo's ultimate digestive enzymes). Is this considered "Paleo"? Should she continues taking?

2. How about other vitamins suppliments e.g. Vitamin B, C? Stop or continue?

[glutenfree7562]

 In General I would say stop the vitamins. If you eat a lot of vitamin rich foods its not usually necessary.  If shes taking a vitamin C vitamin I would say why not just make a point of eating  two oranges every day, or some strawberries. One orange has 160% of your daily vitamin C. So why take a vitamin with all sorts of fillers, when you could eat a yummy orange? and mostly likely the vitamin C used in the capsule was grown in corn and extracted and wouldn't be considered paleo. If you want to take supplements you can but make sure and call the company to make sure its gluten free. As for vitamin B, eat your leafy greens and you should be all set! 

 

The one problem that can happen is if your small intestine cant absorb the vitamins your putting in. In this case no fruit, or supplement would work. She could ask her doctor to test her for vitamin deficiencies, and see what her levels are. Especially calcium is important. If she has no depleted levels I would just continue to eat healthy. If shes low in some of them you could give it a month, making sure to eat foods rich in those vitamins everyday, and get re-tested. If she is still deficient in some vitamins she can ask her doctor to give her injections of those vitamins. They are usually more than willing to do this, and it bypasses the issue of your small intestine not absorbing it, the vitamins are injected right to where they need to be!! you can get these injections like once a month for a while until your small intestine is healed and ready to do work  

 

As for the digestive enzymes that's really up to you. I cant find the full ingredient list online, so I would call the company and make sure It doesn't contain any corn, soy, dairy, or even gluten. Then if your wife feels she really needs them to help digest, or they are helping her she should continue taking them. 

 

I would recommend taking a high quality, dairy free probiotic. Celiac leaves us very susceptible to bacterial imbalance and overgrowth. Sometimes even Candida (yeast) overgrowth in or small intestines. A probiotic gives you the good bacteria you need to digest and ensures everything stays in balance. I've been taking one for quite some time and i think it really does help. 

 

Paleo really did help me feel better, but I'm still not 100% better, not even close. This diet gave me less pain and more energy, but I am actually going to Mayo Clinic next week to get tested for bacterial or yeast overgrowth. This is one of the causes of stomach bloating, which i suffer from any time I eat sugar (fruit, carbs, honey, anything with sugar). 

 

I almost guarantee on this diet she will feel better, but if she is still having problems I wouldn't hesitate going to your doctor and asking for vitamin levels tested and  bacterial imbalances/yeast overgrowth tested. These are two of the more common things that cause problems with celiacs. You can usually get a breath test for the bacteria/yeast or a blood test, and its super easy. If you go to the doctors knowing what you want tested, and even what test you want ordered for it your doctor is sure to cooperate

 

Sorry this is so long, I'm a girl, I never stop talking But give it a month or two, it takes time, and if things aren't improving fast enough, she should see a doctor. If you want I can even tell you or her about my experience at Mayo Clinic when I get back, see if it helped me, if going to a specialized clinic is something you would be interested in!!! They have celiac specialist there and when I called they asked me a ton of questions about symptoms  and scheduled me for four days worth of testing and appointments. I'm hoping they will help me heal faster and find whats causing my current symptoms. They told me after a consultation down there with a specialist, additional test can be ordered if they think necessary or if I have something I want tested, so its pretty customized to individual needs. I leave this Monday and should be getting back by Friday or Saturday. If you two were curious about going to mayo Clinic or something similar I would be more than happy to share my experience, tell you if it was helpful, or even what to expect ) any way I can help, I know how hard it is to feel sick and tired all the time.  

[langzi]

Thank you!