How To Lose The Celiac Belly?

[Punky2006]

Hi everyone--just joined the community 

 

I've been on a strict gluten-free diet since October (my diagnosis), but I still have a huge bloated belly. It looks very strange on me because I have a small frame, and it makes me look like I'm about 7 months pregnant. I have also cut out oats, dairy (been vegan for 2 years), and most recently nuts. I already had probiotics in the Vega1 shake I drink each morning, but last week I also added a probiotic supplement as well. Does anyone have any advice on how to shrink down the gluten baby belly? Is it possible--(aka does it just take time)? It's just been 6 months since I've cut out gluten entirely, so I had hoped it would be gone by now.

 

Thank you all in advance 

[NoGlutenCooties]

Hi Punky and Welcome to the Forum!

 

I have also been gluten free since Oct.  My bloat went away within the first week and only came back for a day or two when I got glutened.  I know everyone is different, but have you spoken to your doctor just to make sure there isn't anything else going on?  Are you also absolutely sure that you aren't being cross-contaminated by something?  (i.e. a shared kitchen, eating out, vitamins/supplements/medicine that isn't gluten free)  Do you ever notice it temporarily go away?  You may have a sensitivity to another food.  Additional sensitivities are common with people with Celiac.

 

After 6 months it sounds like there is either still some gluten getting in or something more is going on than just gluten.  (IMO)

[Punky2006]

Hi Punky and Welcome to the Forum!

 

I have also been gluten free since Oct.  My bloat went away within the first week and only came back for a day or two when I got glutened.  I know everyone is different, but have you spoken to your doctor just to make sure there isn't anything else going on?  Are you also absolutely sure that you aren't being cross-contaminated by something?  (i.e. a shared kitchen, eating out, vitamins/supplements/medicine that isn't gluten free)  Do you ever notice it temporarily go away?  You may have a sensitivity to another food.  Additional sensitivities are common with people with Celiac.

 

After 6 months it sounds like there is either still some gluten getting in or something more is going on than just gluten.  (IMO)

Thanks for your quick reply NoGlutenCooties!

 

I do share my kitchen with my husband who eats gluten, but we keep our food pretty well segregated. I eat out weekly at a restaurant that I've been going to for several years now. It is not officially a gluten-free kitchen, but I eat gluten-free there (salad). Also, I did discover that the shake my husband makes for us each morning included the green Naked Juice (http://nakedjuice.com/our-products/juice/green-machine;%C2'> has wheat and barley grass in it). Once I discovered this 2 weeks ago, he switched to a different juice. Could I have leftover bloating from that still?

 

I notice that some mornings it will be somewhat flat but that after I eat anything it will blow right back up again (especially by the end of the day). I spoke with my doctor, and she said all of her patients had various reactions. That some took months or even a year for the bloating to go down. I am just frustrated by it and would prefer not to cut out restaurants because of cross-contamination if I don't have to (as it is so socially isolating). Additionally, since I've cut out the green Naked Juice, the only symptom I have is the bloating (no abdominal pain/nausea/etc.).

 

Thanks!

[NoGlutenCooties]

You definitely could have been being contaminated by the wheat and barley grass.  In their pure form, grasses do not contain gluten.  But during the processing it is easy for it to become contaminated.  So while some products can contain wheat and/or barley grass and still be labeled gluten free because they test to less than 20ppm, if the product is not labeled gluten free then you have no idea how badly the grasses have been contaminated.

Open Original Shared Link

 

If you've been drinking this every day, then you've really only been truly gluten free for 2 weeks.  IMO... you could definitely still have some leftover bloat.  Another possibility is that your good/bad bacteria balance could be off.  The probiotics can help this but it can take quite awhile - especially if you had Celiac for a long time prior to diagnosis or if you've ever taken antibiotics.  Colosan can help with this (if you search for Colosan I posted some information about it in a couple of other threads).

 

One other thing that can help is digestive enzymes.  Folks with Celiac have a difficult time breaking down their food to where it is easily digestible and a digestive enzyme can really help with this process and reduce gas and bloat.

 

Finally, if you're eating gassy foods (i.e. raw veggies) I have found Bean Zyme to be really helpful.  Bean Zyme is the gluten free version of Bean-O (and it's cheaper too).  You can Google it and order it online.

[Punky2006]

You definitely could have been being contaminated by the wheat and barley grass.  In their pure form, grasses do not contain gluten.  But during the processing it is easy for it to become contaminated.  So while some products can contain wheat and/or barley grass and still be labeled gluten free because they test to less than 20ppm, if the product is not labeled gluten free then you have no idea how badly the grasses have been contaminated.

Open Original Shared Link

 

If you've been drinking this every day, then you've really only been truly gluten free for 2 weeks.  IMO... you could definitely still have some leftover bloat.  Another possibility is that your good/bad bacteria balance could be off.  The probiotics can help this but it can take quite awhile - especially if you had Celiac for a long time prior to diagnosis or if you've ever taken antibiotics.  Colosan can help with this (if you search for Colosan I posted some information about it in a couple of other threads).

 

One other thing that can help is digestive enzymes.  Folks with Celiac have a difficult time breaking down their food to where it is easily digestible and a digestive enzyme can really help with this process and reduce gas and bloat.

 

Finally, if you're eating gassy foods (i.e. raw veggies) I have found Bean Zyme to be really helpful.  Bean Zyme is the gluten free version of Bean-O (and it's cheaper too).  You can Google it and order it online.

Thank you so much! I will definitely check out Colosan, Bean Zyme, and digestive enzymes. I truly appreciate your help

[NoGlutenCooties]

   Good luck - please come back and let us know how you make out and what you find works for you.  Hopefully others will chime in with other suggestions too.

[cyclinglady]

I think you are still getting glutened. It can take weeks to heal from just one exposure. And if you keep getting exposed....... Did you get a chance to read the newbie thread? One suggestion is to eat whole foods prepared by your hands. Even though you think your salad is fine at your fav restaurant, the chances of cross contamination are very high. Really! The lowest paid kitchen staff prepares the salads......

Your shake? Ditch it. I checked the website. The claim is gluten free but I could not find a gluten-free certification. Has the company been certified or have they done testing? You might want to call them to confirm. So, the ingredients may be gluten free, but there might have been cross contamination at the supplier level. Some large manufacturers are good about testing, but this little company might not.

Prepare all your food until you start to see results. It is worth a try.

Cooties has some excellent suggestions to aid in healing. Good luck!

[Punky2006]

I think you are still getting glutened. It can take weeks to heal from just one exposure. And if you keep getting exposed....... Did you get a chance to read the newbie thread? One suggestion is to eat whole foods prepared by your hands. Even though you think your salad is fine at your fav restaurant, the chances of cross contamination are very high. Really! The lowest paid kitchen staff prepares the salads......

Your shake? Ditch it. I checked the website. The claim is gluten free but I could not find a gluten-free certification. Has the company been certified or have they done testing? You might want to call them to confirm. So, the ingredients may be gluten free, but there might have been cross contamination at the supplier level. Some large manufacturers are good about testing, but this little company might not.

Prepare all your food until you start to see results. It is worth a try.

Cooties has some excellent suggestions to aid in healing. Good luck!

Thank you cyclingladay,

 

I appreciate your reply.  I definitely need to check out the newbie thread. I think I will resist eating out for a month to see if I notice any difference (I had just hoped I wasn't that sensitive to gluten :/  I started off only being sensitive to food with high concentrations of gluten (bread, cereal, bagels, etc), so I used to be able to get away with a bite of gluten here and there. Now I seem to have a reaction to simple cross-contamination--is it possible to become more sensitive as the disease progresses?

 

As for Naked Juice, I just sent them an email to see if they were certified gluten-free and will post a reply when/if I hear back.

 

Thank you!

[kareng]

Thank you cyclingladay,

 

I appreciate your reply.  I definitely need to check out the newbie thread. I think I will resist eating out for a month to see if I notice any difference (I had just hoped I wasn't that sensitive to gluten :/  I started off only being sensitive to food with high concentrations of gluten (bread, cereal, bagels, etc), so I used to be able to get away with a bite of gluten here and there. Now I seem to have a reaction to simple cross-contamination--is it possible to become more sensitive as the disease progresses?

 

As for Naked Juice, I just sent them an email to see if they were certified gluten-free and will post a reply when/if I hear back.

 

Thank you!

 

People with Celiac disease should not eat any gluten - whether they think they are "sensitive" or not.  Even if you don't feel it, it is still doing damage.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

"Eating any gluten, no matter how small an amount, can damage the intestine. This is true for anyone with the disease, including people who do not have noticeable symptoms."

[cyclinglady]

Karen is right -- you are either gluten free or not. My only celiac disease symptom was anemia and I was shocked that my biopsy revealed moderate to severe intestinal damage.

[NoGlutenCooties]

Ditto to what they said.  I had no symptoms when I was diagnosed but my biopsy showed moderate to severe villi damage.

Also, once I got the gluten out of my system and I accidentally got a tiny bit of it I had a bad reaction to it.  Felt like having food poisoning.  So yes, your reaction to it can definitely vary and get worse over time.  But even without outward symptoms you're doing damage to your body.

[Punky2006]

Ditto to what they said.  I had no symptoms when I was diagnosed but my biopsy showed moderate to severe villi damage.

Also, once I got the gluten out of my system and I accidentally got a tiny bit of it I had a bad reaction to it.  Felt like having food poisoning.  So yes, your reaction to it can definitely vary and get worse over time.  But even without outward symptoms you're doing damage to your body.

Thanks to all. I did not realize the large difference between "gluten free" and "certified gluten free." I may have been glutening myself for months now 

[cyclinglady]

Like I said, some prepared foods may be naturally gluten free, but there could be a risk of contamination. You just never know. When in doubt, I google the product seeking responses from those who have celiac disease. I call the manufacturer. If the response is intelligent, I will give the product a try. If not, I experiment on my husband. He has been gluten-free for 13 years and can take the hit. I am still healing and need to build bone. I can not afford any mess ups. Often, he will eat out, but it is still too risky for me.

Now that I have excluded gluten, if I accidentally consume any (usually outside the home), I can have a bad reaction within an hour and then am sick for over a week. Not killer sick, but enough to ruin a week.

Here's to a flat tummy!