Certain foods worse than others

[larann78]

I'm super new to this. Why do some glutenous foods make me sicker than others? If I were to eat greasy gluten, for instance....bad deal. Would be sick for 3 days with flu like symptoms and the DH would flare up. However, if I sneak some cake (I know, I know)...it doesn't even affect me. I don't feel sick at all. (Well....will get a bad headache, but won't have other issues). Isn't gluten GLUTEN no matter what? And shouldn't it all affect me the same? 

[cyclinglady]

No.  Celiac disease is like a chameleon with symptoms always changing, along with systemic damage.  I ate tons of gluten always and yet my only symptom I struggled with years prior to my diagnosis was anemia.  So bad, that it finally caught up with me.  I was shocked that I had celiac disease.  Really shocked.  But my positive DGP IgA on the panel and biopsies confirmed my diagnosis.  I never looked back.  I never cheat.  That is because my symptoms changed.  Now I do get the classic GI symptoms.  Go Figure!  

Not to sound like a broken record to our active members, but my hubby went gluten-free per the poor advice of his GP and my allergist.  He should have been tested, but that was 20 years ago and celiac disease was considered rare and a childhood disease.  The first year was a struggle, but we realized that his doctors were right.  Gluten makes him sick.  While he is willing to take more risks than me, he never cheats.  Ever.  

You know the risks.  Ah, cancer, what are the odds?  But I developed my third autoimmune disorder since my diagnosis. Was it triggered by a gluten exposure, a few of them?  Who knows?  What about my bones?  Sadly, they will never improve.  I can only hope that they do not become worse.  

So, besides your DH, what other hidden damage are you doing to your body?  

It is up to you to decide if you are going to remain gluten free or not.  It is up to you to decide whether to do a gluten challenge or not and get retested while on a gluten diet.  Your choice.  

If you do choose to remain gluten free at some point, come back and check our our recipes or get advice.   I never miss out at parties and holidays.  I can bake/cook anything so well that gluten eaters beg for second helpings.   Learn to cook, learn to be prepared and your celiac disease life will be much  healthier and happier.  

[Hellodee2]

Cycling Lady is correct and I'd like to add that before I was diagnosed I had a malignant melanoma on my leg and was lucky enough to catch it early. 6 yrs later I was so anemic my doc thought I was bleeding internally. Nope Celiac Disease. 

I consider gluten to be poisonous to my body. Why would I intentionally poison my body? 

Good luck. Hope you can figure it all out. 

[knitty kitty]

On 10/9/2019 at 12:11 PM, larann78 said:

I'm super new to this. Why do some glutenous foods make me sicker than others? If I were to eat greasy gluten, for instance....bad deal. Would be sick for 3 days with flu like symptoms and the DH would flare up. However, if I sneak some cake (I know, I know)...it doesn't even affect me. I don't feel sick at all. (Well....will get a bad headache, but won't have other issues). Isn't gluten GLUTEN no matter what? And shouldn't it all affect me the same? 

Larann, 

Different breeds of wheat have different amounts of gluten in them.  Hard wheat varieties have lots of long stringy gluten molecules, which bind together with kneading, making the dough elastic.  This type of dough is good for pizza crust and crusty breads.  Soft wheat varieties have fewer gluten molecules which are balled up on itself and less likely to tangle with the other gluten molecules.  These flours are used to make cakes and pastries.  If you've ever over-beaten a cake batter and had it turn out too dense, you'll understand the excess beating caused the gluten molecules to uncurl and bind together (just like kneading) resulting in a heavy, dense cake, instead of a light fluffy one.  

So, yes, maybe you won't trigger as bad a reaction with cake as with pizza, but it's still gluten, it's still doing damage.  Many of us who were diagnosed late in life can attest to a variety of health problems which accumulates over the years. 

Maybe thinking about gluten as though it were radiation or kryptonite would help motivate us all to avoid gluten diligently. It's just as dangerous in my book.

Be smart and avoid gluten early on and don't cheat.  It does get easier resisting temptation and you'll find gluten free treats that you'll like better than that headache.  Check out Ennis's recipes! 

Hope this helps!  

[kareng]

I think there are a lot of variables. Nothing scientific, just some thoughts

 I always wonder if it matters what else you eat at the same  time?   Maybe some foods  help “sneak some gluten through”? Maybe other parts of the dinner , like greasy food, already cause digestive distress?  Maybe it takes several exposures over a small period of time before you feel the reaction?

if you have Celiac, gluten gets your body producing antibodies, even if you aren’t feeling it.  So you really should t be doing these little experiments or cheats.  

And if you actually have DH, why would you want to have to deal with that for weeks or months just to eat some greasy food or cake?  From everything I read about it, once it comes back, it takes a long time to get the antibodies out of your skin.