Milk vs Almond Milk

[vvicin02]

I heard that we should stay away from milk if you we are diagnosed with celiac disease. I have been gluten free for several weeks and I have been having milk with my granola for breakfast. I have no symptoms but I was hoping that it was safe. Should I be using Almond milk instead? I am asymptomatic but I have issues with malabsorption and low ferrtin levels and high iGa (and biopsies).

[apprehensiveengineer]

30 minutes ago, vvicin02 said:

I heard that we should stay away from milk if you we are diagnosed with celiac disease. I have been gluten free for several weeks and I have been having milk with my granola for breakfast. I have no symptoms but I was hoping that it was safe. Should I be using Almond milk instead? I am asymptomatic but I have issues with malabsorption and low ferrtin levels and high iGa (and biopsies).

You don't need to stay away from milk necessarily. Some people are lactose intolerant, and it is a bit more common celiac disease because of the damage that has occured in your small intestine (where your body makes lactase). Lactose intolerance happens when your body doesn't make the enzyme to break down lactose (a milk sugar). When undigested sugars hit your large intestine, your body doesn't like it and you fart a lot and get cramps.

If you have no symptoms from eating milk, you don't have lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance doesn't cause damage, and has nothing to do with your immune system. Keep drinking the milk - contrary to all the anti-dairy noise out there, it is actually good for you and contains a lot of good stuff! Almond milk is basically vitamin fortified water - better than nothing if you can't hack milk, but not a good an equivalent nutritional substitute. 

FWIW I myself am lactose intolerant - I can't drink milk without wanting to puke/die, but do eat dairy that is low in lactose such as yogurt, butter, and hard cheeses.

[tessa25]

What apprehensiveengineer said. Great response!

[Ennis-TX]

I would be more careful with the granola then the milk lol. But yeah the milk thing is beacause the enzymes to break down the milk are produced by the villi in your intestines....cealic destroys the villi and there goes your ablity to digest milk and the undigested sugars and proteins can cause all kinds of havoc to the body from gas, bloat to vomiting and diarrea in extreme casese.

I personally brain washed myself to stay away from cow milk, I loved it but it hated me, even before I got a whey allergy. I just looked up info about it containing pus and being made for baby cows to grow and put on weight and even on a genetic level not for homosapians.

Back to the topic, granola....oats have a high risk of being contaminated and 10% of celiacs react to oats regardless. I use a grain free granola....even one without sugar. But you can get grain free granola simple enough online and in stores I think I have a list somewhere.

Almond milk, most are lower in fat then cow milk, every brand I have seen has more calcium in it then cow milk so no loss there most are even fortified with vitamins D and E more so them cow milk making them a big bonus for us. They are a tad thin and can have other stuff added (check Ingredients) I tend to get unsweetened ones without the xantham gum. I have found a few brands that have a higher fat content and less crud but are more expensive like Malk.
I much prefer the creaminess of Cashew milk by silk or blue diamond, bit lower in potassium but has about the same enrichment
Coconut milk, Silk and a few others offer these, I again buy the unsweetened ones...it has its benefits, the richness makes it pair well with cocoa and coffee, and in some desserts, also mixing with canned coconut milk and making nicecream is fun.
There are others like Good Karma makes flax milk, Bolthouse and another brand Foridgers? Makes pea milk with a very high protein content. And there was a walnut milk I found once in a store....dear god that stuff was great.
I still wish I could find unsweetened sources of pistachio, hazelnut, Brazil nut milks.

Cheese, I live a good cashew or almond base cheeses....I have tried many even despite some giving me a allergic reaction from corn.
My favorites are Miyoko Mozzarella, and their Cream cheese is good
Kite Hill Makes Almond Cheese...the Ricotta is to die for, the dill and truffle cheese is the best I have ever had.
Leaf Cuisines makes cheese spreads like Smoked Gouda, Pepper Jack, Cream cheese etc.
Treeline makes some great scallion cheese and garlic and herb.
Daiya.....blocks and slices are good, the shreds are nasty raw, but certain ones from the cutting block line melted well and are good that way...I have issues with it due to traces of corn and xantham gum but taste tested them none the less without lasting issues.
Pamala Creamery makes some artisan ones I heard good on...too much corn for me, but the Alfredo sauce they have works decently but has a strong lemon flavor.
Parma makes Parmesan cheese substitutes...the beyond bacon one is addictive.
 

[vvicin02]

Great response - thank you! As for Granola I make my own. I use Gluten Free Rolled Oats and an assortment of almonds, pumpkin seed, flax seed, pecans, raisins, honey and maple syrup. Do you see any concern with this type of granola? I purchase Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats. I really appreciate the feed back.

[cyclinglady]

2 hours ago, vvicin02 said:

Great response - thank you! As for Granola I make my own. I use Gluten Free Rolled Oats and an assortment of almonds, pumpkin seed, flax seed, pecans, raisins, honey and maple syrup. Do you see any concern with this type of granola? I purchase Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats. I really appreciate the feed back.

Are you sure those oats are gluten free?  

Open Original Shared Link

[vvicin02]

Great - now I am really confused. Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats I thought was safe, but now I am not sure. Has anyone had issues with Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats in their diet? It has become complicated. I guess I could make the granola without the oats.

[Ennis-TX]

17 minutes ago, vvicin02 said:

Great - now I am really confused. Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats I thought was safe, but now I am not sure. Has anyone had issues with Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats in their diet? It has become complicated. I guess I could make the granola without the oats.

gluten-free Harvest follows very strict oat protocols not the mechanical separation others use.

But here are some grainless options from my food list
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^Grain free Granola and Nut based hot cereal/porridge

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*^Low Carb Sugar Free Grain free Cereal


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*^Coconut Based Cereal that is pretty low carb one of my new favorites

[cyclinglady]

Not long ago, oats were not recommended for celiacs due to issues with crosstamination in growing, harvesting, etc.  also there are some celiacs who react to oats no matter what.  Might you be one of those?  Who knows?  

Consider eliminating oats for the first six months.  Once healed, you can experiment.  Try to stick with purity grown oats and not mechanical.  It should state this on the package.  

This was an interest article I found:

Open Original Shared Link

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It is frustrating.  Studies have shown that some 30% of celiacs are unresponsive to the gluten-free diet.  Some celiacs have other issues like SIBO or a concurrent Autoimmune disease.  Some are sensitive to even 20 ppm.  So an even more restricted gluten-free diet was developed.  We all call it the “Fasano” diet named after Dr. Fasano one of the world’s leading celiac researchers.  The diet works well.  It does not contain oats.  In fact the only grain allowed is rice.  It basically tries to eliminate all possible cross contamination.  It restricts the use of processed foods.  (Note that this diet is meant to be used on a temporary basis and should be done under a doctor’s or dietitian’s supervision.). Once healed, tiny gluten exposures may be better handled.  

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Not saying to go on this diet, but you should be aware that healing is not just simply “hey, go gluten free...”. 

Celiac disease is the only disease where the patient treats themselves.  Anyone know of another disease where you must manage it on your own?  So, it is best to keep up on the topic and this is one reason I am a member of Celiac.com.  It is an invaluable resource.  The Gluten Free WatchDog is also an excellent resource and I subscribe.  

Did I discourage you?   That is not my intent.  I can report that a repeat endoscopy I had in January revealed healthy villi!  You can get well and live a rewarding life.  

 

[apprehensiveengineer]

On 8/3/2018 at 10:30 AM, vvicin02 said:

Great response - thank you! As for Granola I make my own. I use Gluten Free Rolled Oats and an assortment of almonds, pumpkin seed, flax seed, pecans, raisins, honey and maple syrup. Do you see any concern with this type of granola? I purchase Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats. I really appreciate the feed back.

Be cautious about Bob's Red Mill oats... they use optically sorted oats, which is a less reliable method for obtaining gluten-free oats (basically they "pick out" the wheat/barley pieces that might be mixed in, but success may not be 100%). If you google Gluten-Free Watchdog, she has a list of companies that sell/use purity protocol oats (oats grown separate from wheat/barley and kept separate throughout processing).

Some celiacs also react to avenin, the protein in oats, and cannot tolerate oats of any kind. Especially if you are newly diagnosed (less than 6 months), you should not be eating oats at all until you fully heal.

[vvicin02]

Wow this is great info! I really appreciate everyone's feedback. No, this is not discouraging. I wish I would of done more research before I spent money making my granola...lol. However, it is becoming more and more clear to me that the best approach is to consume foods that are not 'manipulated' to be gluten free. There are many granola or cereal recipes out there that do not include Oats. I will have to do more research. Thank you.

[apprehensiveengineer]

@vvicin02

Glad to help. Don't feel bad - I didn't know any of this stuff in the beginning either. All the doctor said was "don't eat gluten." Correct in essence, but lacking in some very important details. Unfortunately, this is all most people receive.

Initially, I thought that as long as I replaced all the obviously gluten-containing foods from my diet with ones that said they were gluten-free, I would be good. This did help, but I still got sick a lot at random! I didn't know that cross-contamination was a problem in a shared kitchen, or about the nuances in labeling laws (ie. no gluten ingredients doesn't necessarily mean gluten-free!). I didn't know what to say at restaurants, or that most restaurants aren't truly capable of making a celiac-safe meal (even if they think they are).

It took me a good 2 years to really nail all the details.  

[Beverage]

I tried Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats and had problems. I also tried the best certified gluten-free oats, and had problems with them too.  I'm one that cannot eat oats, some celiac's cannot.  The protein strand is very similar to the other bad ones, so the body just acts the same.  I now follow my doctor's orders that he gave me before I thought I could still eat them, and I stay away from them the same way as wheat, rye, and barley.

[lyfan]

Milk has no inherent danger to celiacs. The problem is that as the intestinal villae are damaged by celiac disease, and they are the portion of your tract that processes lactose, a celiac will normally be unable to process lactose until and unless the villae have healed. So if dairy products cause no discomfort, you are processing them well enough, they will do you no special harm in any case.

Oats are a whole other badly understood issue. Normal agricultural practice is to rotate crops in order to allow the soil in fields to recover from what one or another crop depletes. And with farmers, it is normal to rotate wheat one year, oats the next, in the same field. No matter how well the wheat is harvested, there is ALWAYS going to be some wheat going to seed and growing back in the following year--and that means there is always going to be some wheat in your oats. UNLESS the oat farmers have been very careful and make a point never to rotate that field with wheat. The ones that are certified organic and gluten-free from usually higher priced smaller farms? Will be doing that. But no large commercial grower is going to do it that way. And of course, there is going to be cross-contamination if the two are processed in the same plant or on the same line.

 So, Quaker or Kellogg's will always be a risk. Someplace like Bob's Red Mill, much less likely.