133 replies to this topic

[misshollydolly]

Hi Everyone! I'm Holly and I'm from a little town outside of Edmonton, AB! I'm 22 and was diagnosed in feb this year and am having a pretty hard time coping with the diet change...there's no one else in my family with celiac disease, although my little sister is being tested right now, we're waiting for her results we're hoping it's negative b/c this really sucks.... anyways i dont really know anyone else with the disease, so i guess i'm looking for some friends that know what i'm going through

[cooki.dough]

I'm from Halifax. =) Representing the east coast.

[Melusine]

Hi

i'm in Lethbridge, AB. Not sure if its celiac or gluten intollerant or ....??? but gluten free makes me feel so much better! I can sleep. I can eat. I can live!

[Pac]

Hi,

I just moved to Dawson City, Yukon. I'm originally from Europe and to be honest, I have hard times adjusting to the canadian-style gluten free diet. If anyone of you have time and patience to answer my probably trivial questions, I'd be really grateful.

Have a great day everyone!

Pavla

[psawyer]

Hello, Pavla, and welcome to the board.

Living in Dawson City will pose some challenges. It is a lovely place, but is small and somewhat isolated. My wife and I visited in the summer of 1994, well before my gluten-free days. My brother and his wife spent three months in Dawson City in the summer of 2007.

If you are looking for specialty gluten-free items, you will probably need to order them online. But there are lots of mainstream products available in Canada that are gluten-free.

Here is a list of companies/brands that will always clearly disclose gluten if it is present in any of their products:
Arrowhead Mills, Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Bertoli, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, ConAgra, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Lawry's, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, Maxwell House, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Ragu, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Skippy, Zatarain's.

The list does not include every brand sold by the listed companies, but look closely at the label for the name of a large company such as Kraft or Unilever. Their brands can be trusted even if they are not on my list.

Soft drinks made by Pepsi and Coca-Cola are all gluten-free. Caramel colour in North America is safe, as is maltodextrin.

VH sauces are a ConAgra brand, and are only sold in Canada. Most (but not all) are gluten-free, and in particular, their soy sauce is widely sold in Canada and is gluten-free.

I've given you a start, but you will have many more questions. Ask away, we are all here to support you.

[canadianalli]

didnt see anyone from Saskatchewan, but i am! straight from saskatoon!

[Pac]

Hello Peter,
and thanks for your warm welcome.

If you visited Tasty Byte Internet caffe while in Dawson, you might even know me. I was working there in summer 2007. Plus I was goldpanning for the Czech team, (still have the gold). :-)

The list of companies is exactly what I needed, thank you a lot. As for the specialty gluten-free products, I haven't found any breakfast cereals or biscuits, but I can't eat any starchy or too sweet stuff anyway, so it doesn't really bother me. For those celiacs who want to come here, there are gluten-free tortillas, puffed-rice bread, spaghetti and lots of flours - all purpose, corn bread, muffins, pancakes, chocolate cake from Red Mill company.

I still have two more questions. First one - are there any gluten-free beef jerky you can recommend? I've seen some that don't have any gluten in their ingredients list, but just don't know if I can trust them. The second is not related to gluten-free diet. I tried to find sour cream and cottage cheese that are made from milk only but I had no luck so far, all of them contain at least corn starch and guar gum. Should I search more or is this just the "purest" form I can get in Canada? I honestly don't know.

Well, need to go back to work. Hope you have a great day.

Pavla

Hello, Pavla, and welcome to the board.

Living in Dawson City will pose some challenges. It is a lovely place, but is small and somewhat isolated. My wife and I visited in the summer of 1994, well before my gluten-free days. My brother and his wife spent three months in Dawson City in the summer of 2007.

If you are looking for specialty gluten-free items, you will probably need to order them online. But there are lots of mainstream products available in Canada that are gluten-free.

Here is a list of companies/brands that will always clearly disclose gluten if it is present in any of their products:
Arrowhead Mills, Aunt Nelly's, Balance, Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry, Bertoli, Betty Crocker, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Campbells, Cascadian Farms, Celestial Seasonings, ConAgra, Country Crock, Edy's, General Mills, Good Humor, Green Giant, Haagen Daz, Hellman's, Hormel, Hungry Jack, Jiffy, Knorr, Kozy Shack, Kraft, Lawry's, Libby's, Lipton, Martha White, Maxwell House, McCormick, Nabisco, Nestle, Old El Paso, Ortega, Pillsbury, Popsicle, Post, Progresso, Ragu, Russell Stover, Seneca Foods, Skippy, Zatarain's.

The list does not include every brand sold by the listed companies, but look closely at the label for the name of a large company such as Kraft or Unilever. Their brands can be trusted even if they are not on my list.

Soft drinks made by Pepsi and Coca-Cola are all gluten-free. Caramel colour in North America is safe, as is maltodextrin.

VH sauces are a ConAgra brand, and are only sold in Canada. Most (but not all) are gluten-free, and in particular, their soy sauce is widely sold in Canada and is gluten-free.

I've given you a start, but you will have many more questions. Ask away, we are all here to support you.

[dnwiebe]

Newly diagnosed (May 2009). 20 years old from Edmonton!

[miloandotis]

HI, I'm from Vancouver Canada, and joined this site today. I got my world turned upsidedown just three days ago. I'm also blessed with a severe, severe dairy allergy, eggs, and sunflower seeds, just to name the most severe.

In the past three days I've come to understand that my carefree eating will now be very, very changed. Thank god I can have coffee still!!!!!!

I too will have a bunch of questions that will probably be repeats...like...I'm already confused...cornstarch is out as well? hmmm...is there a list of foods to avoid on here somwhere?

I think I'm very lucky. I live in a large city, so access to special diet items may be easier....and I work in a clinic with many fabulous professionals with great advice and experience with this. I guess life could be worse. lol

Anyone know how long it takes to start feeling relief from symptoms?

[miloandotis]

opps double post...this forum and I are not getting along yet...sorry

[dnwiebe]

HI, I'm from Vancouver Canada, and joined this site today. I got my world turned upsidedown just three days ago. I'm also blessed with a severe, severe dairy allergy, eggs, and sunflower seeds, just to name the most severe.

In the past three days I've come to understand that my carefree eating will now be very, very changed. Thank god I can have coffee still!!!!!!

I too will have a bunch of questions that will probably be repeats...like...I'm already confused...cornstarch is out as well? hmmm...is there a list of foods to avoid on here somwhere?

I think I'm very lucky. I live in a large city, so access to special diet items may be easier....and I work in a clinic with many fabulous professionals with great advice and experience with this. I guess life could be worse. lol

Anyone know how long it takes to start feeling relief from symptoms?

Welcome!

I'm pretty new at this too, so my advice might not be the best. First, I'm pretty sure you can still have corn starch. You have to watch out for things like 'food' starch, since it could possibly be wheat. There are gov't regulations in Canada and the US though, and manufacturers should have to state the type of starch if it does contain one of the main allergens (wheat is one of them). I was only diagnosed 2 months ago, and I've learned the big ones to watch out for are malt (it hides in everything!) and natural flavor. Although you can potentially have stuff containing natural flavor, it often requires more research (looking it up online or contacting the manufacturer).

As for the symptoms, I've also learnt that everyone has a different degree of celiac.. if that makes sense. What one person can have, another might not be able to. Some people are sick for a long time, others feel instant relief as soon as they switch over. The trick is to just stay positive. You will have some good days, and will have some bad days. I like trying new and different recipes (quinoa salad!) in order to keep my meals interesting!

Hope that helps a little... good luck!

Dani

[miloandotis]

I'm having a great difficulty figuring out sushi. I know soy sauce is out, but is miso soup and wasabi? Also, is there anything added to the rice that I need to avoid? Any other Canadians know these answers? Honestly....I can give up the beer....but really...sushi is just too much to ask! lol

[A long journey]

Hi fellow Canadians
I live in Revelstoke British Columbia but was originally from the coast.
My niece is celiac too, but lives in Vancouver where more resources, gluten free goods are available, and more importantly, is a good cook!
I am not 'diagnosed' as celiac, although, 50 years ago, as a baby, I was!
Yes, back then, the belief was that it was something you grow out of.
The last 20 years of my life have been hell. I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, depression, ADD, by the professionals, went through multiple 'spirtual' healings, psychotherapy, 'interventions'. THe last few years of my marriage were in a fog, I was on anti-depressants, dexedrine.... I have had the intestinal problems, rash on my elbows, restless irratable legs, foggy headedness, anxiety, depression all my adult life. The doctors allways refered me to a psychiatrist. I had mentioned on several occasions that I was diagnosed celiac as a child.

I still am not sure, for sure if I am celiac. I insisted on a Gastronintologist a year ago, waited 6 months for the appointment and it got cancelled (it was a 3 hour drive) SO I keep thinking along the lines that I have been told- and going back to gluten.
My mental state is bad and am barely able to look after myself, I am living alone, so I really would appreciate some support. Going glutten free (or relatively) has allowed me to get off the drugs, but still being unsure of my diagnosis, and worried that I am just a hypochondriac, I still get doubts and end up going back to glutten. I am back on the diet now,(just started a few days ago) and want to insist to my doctor that I get a proper diagnosis.
My original decission to go gluten free came after severe stress causing symptoms that I discovered were glutten related, along with severe gastrointestinal problems. A month after going gluten free I went in, told the doctor I wanted a test, told him I had been off Gluten awhile, and he said it would still show the anti-bodies it I was.
There was no definitive test results with the blood test, and I have had no vist to the gastrointologist.

Long story.... I need some support here. Just to stick to the diet, and re-think 20 years of psychobabble.

[K-Dawg]

Shout out from Toronto. Hey everyone.

Still consider myself newly diagnosed (end of April 2009).

I've recently noticed that my neighbourhood Metro has created an organics section in every aisle where I can find gluten free food -- makes things easier for sure.

I'm on the look out for a corn tortilla (allergic to rice). Any suggestions? Sent an email to whole foods, but haven't heard back

K-Dawg

[Pac]

Shout out from Toronto. Hey everyone.

Still consider myself newly diagnosed (end of April 2009).

I've recently noticed that my neighbourhood Metro has created an organics section in every aisle where I can find gluten free food -- makes things easier for sure.

I'm on the look out for a corn tortilla (allergic to rice). Any suggestions? Sent an email to whole foods, but haven't heard back

K-Dawg

I've found Manny's corn tortillas here in our store, looked them up at the company's website and they should be gluten-free. And LaTortillaFactory makes gluten-free teff tortillas - check the www.latortillafactory.com, I'm almost sure they are rice-free as well.


PS: I still haven't found any starch free sour cream and gluten-free jerky here.