Cooking Gluten Free And Regular Food Together? Please Help

[laylang]

I live with my parents and I've just started a gluten free diet because I think my sinus problems and bad breath could be related to some food sensitivity. 

 

The problem is my mom usually cooks regular food (she is kind of not taking my experiment seriously), so lets say she is cooking chicken soup, is it okay for me to eat the chicken from the soup afterwards or does it become "contaminated" by other ingredients?

 

 

Does the gluten free food generally have to be seperately prepared? 

[kareng]

It might be fine for you but for people with Celiac it is a big no-no.  If there are noodles in the soup, for example, of course some melts into the rest of the soup. 

[BlessedMommy]

The chicken from a chicken soup will be contaminated by the noodles.  The same principle applies to a burger removed from a bun, or croutons picked off a salad.

 

Have you considered testing for celiac, if you suspect that gluten is an issue for you?

[etbtbfs]

Why is your family unwilling to go gluten-free for a while, to support you? Celiac ( if you have it) is a serious disease that could leave you with lifelong health problems; your family needs to stop being casual about it.

[laylang]

Thank you for the responses guys/gals. 

 

My parents are not taking it too seriously probably because I have a history of playing around with my diet since I'm into bodybuilding, so they think its just a passing thing. But they don't realize how detrimental food intolerance can be, and that so many things can be cured by tweaking our diet. Not to mention they also have many medical issues that might be traceable to gluten/wheat intolerance. 

 

I will give the experiment a try for 30 days and if it solves these mysterious problems I've been having, I will get tested to make sure its gluten or h. pylori or something else. I am kind of reluctant to get the tests though because from what I've read most of them are performed just for some glutens and there is still lectin and other different gluten-like stuff that can cause problems.

 

But I must say, I am already feeling some positives from staying gluten free:

 

- great consistant energy levels throughout the day 

- less reflux

- sinuses are pretty good so far which was my main problem so that's just awesome

 

However:

 

- still have bad breath

- constipated (usually don't have this problem)

- eat broccoli and thought my stomach would explode

 

Ohh and I've got one more question:

 

Do you worry about lectins, because it seems they are just as bad as gluten? I see that many people on a gluten-free diet still consume rice, legumes, potatoes etc. but isn't that also problematic?

[nvsmom]

Celiacs, or people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), can have other food sensitivities but not all do.  The most common food problem for celiacs (before they have healed for a good 6 months) is lactose intolerance because the villi in the intestines where the enzyme that digests milk (lactase) is made are damaged.  Other sensitivities that can pop up are soy, corn, nigthshades, sugar alcohols, and others.  I personally have pain from raw apples and pears, and do best without corn... I really varies from person to person.  Those foods will not cause the autoimmune reaction that gluten does in a celiac though.

 

Celiacs take months to years to recover on a gluten-free diet.  We usually tell people to give the diet 6 months because some symptoms won't change for a long time - even years.  I too had C and it did not improve until I had been on the diet for 9 months.

 

If you are planning on getting tested for celiac disease, you should probably reintroduce gluten back into your diet immediately.  You need to be eating gluten in the 2-3 months prior to testing for it to be accurate.  You might want to have an allergy test for wheat too (there is no allergy to gluten).

 

Best wishes.

[ravenwoodglass]

You really should get tested before going on the diet. A challenge after a bit of time gluten free can be quite difficult and painful so it is always best to get tested before the diet starts. Any doctor can order the tests for you. 

While you are waiting on tests and the results do be sure to read the Newbie 101 thread at the top of the Coping section. 

[laylang]

thank you guys

 

oh and one more question  

 

what about foods with a label that says tat there might be traces of gluten.. for instance, I have a bag of almonds, and I was wondering if washing them would remove possible traces of gluten? Can gluten contamination be removed by washing such foods?

[nvsmom]

With foods like nuts, a scrub in water should remove gluten traces. I really would scrub them to ensure it isn`t in the cracks and dents of the nuts.  I just avoid those that could be contaminated - I`m too lazy to wash it.   Plus I`m not sure if I would do a good enough job.

 

Generally speaking, if something says it could be contaminated with trace gluten, I avoid it and buy a different brand.  I don`t want to take the risk of feeling poorly for a couple of weeks.