Help

[beth01]

Hi everyone, my name is Beth and just received my Celiac diagnosis today.  Needless to say I am way overwhelmed about what I can put in my mouth right now and what I can't.  I don't have an appointment with a nutritionist for two weeks.  My boyfriend was nice enough to go through my cupboards and put aside things we know I can't eat and made a space for foods I need to check up on.  I was wondering if someone could let me know about a few things and if I can eat them?  Is it just soy sauce or all soy products ( oil for example)? How do I know which products that state they are gluten free really gluten free?  Can I eat pepperoni?  I don't mean to be a pain and ask so many questions, I just don't know anything about this and can only read so many books before I need to eat again.

Thank you in advance for any help that might be directed my way.

[cyclinglady]

Welcome! 

 

Here's a link to our Newbie thread located under the "Coping" section:

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

 

It contains tons of information that you will find useful.  We recommend starting off with plain whole foods like veggies, fish, poultry, meat and fruit. Afterall, your gut is in pretty bad shape and needs to heal.    Pepperoni?  Gosh, I can't eat garlic, so I would not know, but this is a processed food and when in doubt (or until you can read the label or look it up) don't eat it.  

 

Later, you will get better at reading labels.  At least for now, you can eat some healing  foods.  Then start researching some of your favorite foods/brands to see if they contain gluten.

 

Boyfriend?  Hummmm...Did you know if he eats a sandwich with gluten and kisses you, you'll get "glutened"?  Boyfriends must brush their teeth a lot or go gluten free.  Thankfully, my house is gluten free and my husband can not eat gluten either.  We were really a match made in heaven!  

 

Take care and don't worry.  You'll get it.

[Adalaide]

Soy is fine. Soy sauce is only a concern because many are made with wheat. If you read labels and are in the US, all wheat must by law be clearly disclosed. It isn't particularly common for oats, rye and barley to hide, just remember that malt can be barley malt (like in Rice Krispies) but because it is an expensive ingredient it will say so. Once you read through that newbie thread, you should be a lot more grounded.

 

Lots of us have other intolerances. Like cyclinglady can't eat garlic, but that has nothing to do with gluten. Don't let other things confuse you. The only things you need to worry about are the wheat, rye, barley and oats. Some people will tell you to avoid milk while you heal, that is a decision only you can make for yourself about whether or not you can, or should.

 

I personally, have never seen pepperoni with gluten in it. I'm not saying some doesn't exist, I certainly haven't read the label on every brand. But you'll get the hang of label reading before you know it and if you read the ingredients on what you have you should be able to decide if it safe or not. And keep in mind, that while you get the hang of things if you make a few mistakes, that's okay. It may make you feel like crap, but overall you're doing better for your body by avoiding all the gluten you can readily identify and you'll get the hang of things quicker than you expect.

[Nikki2777]

I agree with the pepperoni - haven't seen one with gluten, but always check the labels.  There are very good gluten free soy sauces out there.  San-J is the one I buy.  You just need to be careful when you do get to feeling where you can eat out, to make sure that they don't marinate meats in soy sauce (btdt, spent a week in the bathroom).  

 

Good luck - I was in your shoes just over a year ago and this site is immensely helpful.

 

And yes, I got 'glutened' kissing my husband.

[beth01]

Thank you guys.  I am just so lost right now.  Happy I finally after ten years of feeling like pooh I have a reason why, but now just really confused on where to start.  I wish the appointment with the nutritionist was right after the diagnosis.  I kind of feel like a bird that can't fly that got pushed out of the nest. I never would have thought about asking Jeremy to brush his teeth after eating, wow. I ordered three books that I need to read so hopefully that helps with the overwhelmed feeling.

[kareng]

Thank you guys.  I am just so lost right now.  Happy I finally after ten years of feeling like pooh I have a reason why, but now just really confused on where to start.  I wish the appointment with the nutritionist was right after the diagnosis.  I kind of feel like a bird that can't fly that got pushed out of the nest. I never would have thought about asking Jeremy to brush his teeth after eating, wow. I ordered three books that I need to read so hopefully that helps with the overwhelmed feeling.

 

 

I don't know what books you are getting.  Be careful as some are a bit extreme or contain wrong info.  And be careful of the nutritionist, too.  some are great, but I keep hearing about the bad ones that say things like "eat whole wheat" or "you can't eat any grains".

 

Really, the easiest thing is to go simple for a while & read labels.