Gluten Sensitivity

[Cookie83]

i dont know if this is the area i should post this, but here goes

 

in august of 2012 i went though a period of major stress, and i admit i was depressed and i felt the need to hurt myself (not suicide) but i ate things i never would have, and ate in portions i never would have, my whole life

 

im 5'1", and i was 89LB i've been this weight for the past 10+ years, most times a +/- 1 lb at christmas time but i always lost it about a week after xmas

 

im not big on eating either

 

so anyways, in just a span of 3 months, i ?developed a belly, im not fat, its just localized to the stomach, and a tiny big of pudginess on the sides of my stomach area, but in the last 1.5 years ive stopped and gone back to my old way of eating, which is very small portions, and i gen dont eat out, and not big on junk food, but for some reason im very bloated there, in the stomach area, i could have a glass of milk, and feel FULL but i know i can't possibly be full

 

i used to have say: grill cheese sandwich and a milk for lunch, now, i eat the sandwich im full, and the milk on top makes me feel so bloated afterwards (initial few mins breathing feels harder, and the stomach sticks out ridiculously, its about 5 inches of fat sticking out like im pregnant, which im not)

 

is this a result of gluten? ive always had a high metabolism, and never much of exercise (unless you count walking to the bus stop) and ive never had this stomach fat or bloating until recently

 

i am at the point where im considering phen 375 but im not overweight in fact my doctor would be happy if i weighed 92LB vs 89LB, so would cutting out gluten perhaps solve my problem without taking pills? 

 

i guess what my real question is: could someone tell me, in a dumbed-down simple english "please?" tell me:

 

-just what does gluten do to me? if i cannot tolerate gluten

- how can i find out if i am sensitive to gluten

-i gen eat a diet of ONLY : spring salad mix, spinach, cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, mushrooms, chicken thighs (yes with skin) chicken wings, udons, chicken broth (canned) eggs, cheese, ham, milk, yogurt, roast beef, lasagna (reg meat kind) occasional pizza, and grill cheese

 

is there anything in this list that makes me bloated/contribute to gluten? the bread is just flax/omega blah blah blah bread, not wonder bread

 

can someone help me understand the benefits of gluten free stuff, cuz its a bit more expensive than reg groceries, and does gluten free diet cut out any essential nutrition?

 

*** typical day:

breakfast: 1 japanese white udon with 1/2 a can of chicken broth, 2 eggs and a slice of ham

lunch: 1 banana/1 apple/4 strawberries smoothie

snack: either 2 pieces of chicken thighs, or a sandwich (2 slices bread, 3 slices roast beef, and 1 slice of pre-sliced cheese (not processed cheese)

dinner: plain spinach salad with dressing (okay, about 5 tbsp of dressing ) some sliced mushrooms (5?) and 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, and 2 100g yogurts

 

no desserts or after dinner snacking, im a creature of habit, so did my belly arise from the sudden 3 months of bad eating, or is it stress triggered gluten sensitivity?

[Cookie83]

oh, and how can i find out for sure if im sensitive to gluten? is there a test my family doctor can do? is the test free? if not how much approx. in canadian $?

[Deaminated Marcus]

Hi Cookie,

 

 

1. As far as I know bloating is caused by undigested sugars such as lactose from milk being the most common.

    But it could be any kind of sugar. 

     Often sugars that end in "ol" like sorbitol also does it.

 

    So I recommend cutting out milk first.

    Yogurt might have partially digested lactose.

    Hard cheeze doesn't have lactose so I was told long ago it's ok.

 

2.   If you do have lactose intolerance, that could be due to Celiac damaging the villi in the small       intestine that produce the enzyme that digests the lactose.

      So in other words, lactose intolerance can be caused by Celiac    
          (or even by Casein entheropathy).

 

3.    Before going gluten free, you can get a Celiac blood test panel done.

       Doctors like to recommend just one test like the tTG or the AGA, but a panel covers more          bases as I learned when reading people's experience here that some only tested positive for only one test in the panel.

 

I'm in Ontario Canada and this is the Celiac panel I did at the lab whose initials are GD.  cost 125 cdn

The other lab's panel wasn't as complete as this one.

 

Total IgA
Transglutaminase IgA           tTG-IgA
Deaminated Gliadin IgA        DGP-IgA
Deaminated Gliadin IgG       DGP-IgG

 

 

PS: I loved reading your menu, yummy! 

 

 

PS 2: I might be splitting hairs but you asked for a gluten sensitivity test. The panel above is for Celiac. 

You can still have a problem with gluten or wheat without having celiac but I don't want to overwhelm you with details as I tend to do with others.

[Deaminated Marcus]

About your concern regarding the cost of gluten free foods... for carbs:  potatoes and rice are cheap gluten free foods.

It might cost you more in terms of time spent in the kitchen preparing your meals.

Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and home made salads and homemade soups are gluten free.

Make your own salad dressing with olive oil and herbs.

 

Some say the gluten free diet is a bad diet, I don't agree. 
Fresh vegetables and fruits are full of nutrients.

[nvsmom]

i used to have say: grill cheese sandwich and a milk for lunch, now, i eat the sandwich im full, and the milk on top makes me feel so bloated afterwards (initial few mins breathing feels harder, and the stomach sticks out ridiculously, its about 5 inches of fat sticking out like im pregnant, which im not)

 

is this a result of gluten? ive always had a high metabolism, and never much of exercise (unless you count walking to the bus stop) and ive never had this stomach fat or bloating until recently

 

i am at the point where im considering phen 375 but im not overweight in fact my doctor would be happy if i weighed 92LB vs 89LB, so would cutting out gluten perhaps solve my problem without taking pills? 

 

i guess what my real question is: could someone tell me, in a dumbed-down simple english "please?" tell me:

 

-just what does gluten do to me? if i cannot tolerate gluten

- how can i find out if i am sensitive to gluten

-i gen eat a diet of ONLY : spring salad mix, spinach, cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, mushrooms, chicken thighs (yes with skin) chicken wings, udons, chicken broth (canned) eggs, cheese, ham, milk, yogurt, roast beef, lasagna (reg meat kind) occasional pizza, and grill cheese

 

is there anything in this list that makes me bloated/contribute to gluten? the bread is just flax/omega blah blah blah bread, not wonder bread

 

can someone help me understand the benefits of gluten free stuff, cuz its a bit more expensive than reg groceries, and does gluten free diet cut out any essential nutrition?

 

Welcome to the board Cookie.

 

Bloating is one of the more common celiac symptoms. I had periods where I was mistaken for being pregnant again (always good for a girl's ego - LOL) and it used to confuse me because it would come and go, with evenings generally being the worst time for me. As Marcus said, it can also be caused by sugars (and the fast breakdown of starches like bread, and pasta) or from a lactose intolerance (many celiacs find they are lactose intolerant for a time).

 

You might as well get checked for celiac disease is you think gluten is the cause. Marcus listed some tests for you, there is also the EMA IgA, tTG IgG, and the AGA IgA and AGA IgG. Make sure you are still consuming gluten when you do them. These tests are based on intestinal villi damage which is the main symptom that celiac disease is diagnosed from.  A Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerant (NCGI) will have the same symptoms as a celiac (headaches, GI issues, pain, brain fog) but it can not be diagnosed by blood tests... a shame since I have seen stats that estimate between 6 and 30% of the population have NCGI. The only way to discover if you have NCGI is to go gluten-free for a few months and observe how your health has changed.

 

Your diet is pretty full of gluten (from wheat rye and barley. Udons, chicken broth, lasagne, pizza, sandwiches, and some yogurts and slaad dressings all have gluten in them. If gluten is a problem for you, it looks like it is contributing to feelings of poor health every day. You can buy gluten-free substitutes for these foods but as you said, they are expensive and not that healthy.... of course the only reason their gluten containing counterparts are considered healthy is because they have been fortified with nutrients after processing. It is generally cheaper and healthier to just drop those foods and try to replace them with meats, veggies and fruits.

 

Best wishes. I hope you found answers soon.