What Can I Trust?

[afitgirl]

This is a huge issue for me.   I don't know what is okay and what isn't?     I'm not worried about whole foods but how do I know what products are okay?  

I was excited to discover loads of stuff labeled gluten free and although I cried at the store, I at least brought home stuff to try.  But now I read that nothing is safe?   How do I really know?   Calling seems insane for every single product and then I'm just trusting the person on the other end who doesn't care about  me at all???

 

How does this work?

[kareng]

I just read the ingredients. I feel great and my antibodies are low. You can make yourself crazy playing the " what if " games. Most Celiacs do what I do. They aren't on this forum posting. Most People on the forum are either new to Celiac or having some issues, celiac or not.

[afitgirl]

Do low antibodies mean you aren't eating gluten? Or "too much gluten" to do harm? Does it mean your intestines are healed or "healed enough."

[GF Lover]

Ok girl.   You have to stop this.  If it says gluten free, you have to assume it is safe.  If you have a problem with that particular food, don't eat it again.  Try to avoid processed foods as they are not healthy, celiac or not.  Avoid eating out until you have a good grip on the diet and can maneuver the restaurant scene successfully if at all.   You do not need to worry about your antibodies unless at a checkup they are high.  You will heal without eating gluten.  You will keep yourself nuts and stressed out if you don't calm down and eat correctly.  

 

You will be fine!  start your diet and go live your life.  If, by chance, another health issue pops up, deal with that and then go live life again.  This is not hard to do if you just accept your diet change and realize you will continue to heal and feel better.  A diagnosis of Celiac is a GOOD thing!  You have found an issue and are now dealing with it to avoid possible problems in the future.  Some of us went 15 - 20 years undiagnosed and were on our way to the grave at the time of diagnosis.  

 

Cheer up, eat well and be happy.

 

Colleen

[mbrookes]

GFlover is  soooo right. I am not a case of celiac, I am a person who has celiac. You can drive yourself nuts with the "what if's" in life. Trust gluten free labels. If you have a problem with that, you may have another sensitivity. Most celiacs are fine with anything under 20ppm, which is the legal limit for marking something gluten free. Relax.

[BlessedMommy]

Yep, I agree with the above.

 

I take all the precautions that I can with the areas that I can, because there are areas that I can't control. I'm not standing there in the factory watching them make the stuff. I'm not going to make all my guests change their clothes or wash their hands as soon as they come in my house. I'm not going to stay away from the county fair because of the cow and horse feed with wheat in it. I'm not going to worry about the 1 PPM that my certified gluten-free food might have in it. (munching Udi's granola as I speak) 

 

Now if people need to take precautions in these areas that I mentioned due to extreme sensitivities, that's fine. I'm not belittling that. I have known celiacs/NCGI who can't walk around at the county fair with the grain in the air. But personally that doesn't affect me. You will probably soon figure out your sensitivity level, if something bothers you, don't eat it again. Keeping a food journal can help. 

 

Short of eating a diet of only whole foods and foods from dedicated facilities, there is only so much control that you can have and some degree of uncertainty is part of life as a celiac. 

 

Most celiacs can tolerate up to 20 PPM, which gives you some margin of error for those things that you can't control. But since deliberate contamination will raise you above that level fast, you have to do whatever you can. In other words, if they bring you a hamburger and you take it off the bun, you're probably way above 20 PPM.

[IrishHeart]

. But since deliberate contamination will raise you above that level fast, you have to do whatever you can. In other words, if they bring you a hamburger and you take it off the bun, you're probably way above 20 PPM.

 

??

 

But no celiac should ever eat a hamburger removed from a bun.

[IrishHeart]

 Most People on the forum are either new to Celiac or having some issues, celiac or not.

 

Or they are   fine and want to stick around and help 

[BlessedMommy]

??

 

But no celiac should ever eat a hamburger removed from a bun.

Yes, that's the point I was trying to make, is that you shouldn't do that. Sorry for the confusion.