Please Convince Me!

[paulasimone]

oops!

[codetalker]

I agree with Paula 100%. On one hand, as more time went by after going gluten-free, I became more and more aware of the effects of what I eat. I've been able to identify two telltale markers that always accompany gluten ingestion no matter how slight. On the other hand, my body shows signs of reactions sometimes to things that are "officially gluten-free".

Bottom line, what Paula said about the body being "an amazingly reliable little gluten-testing machine" is exactly right.

I allow my body to be the ultimate arbiter of what I eat and what I avoid. As a result, I sometimes go more than a year without a gluten accident.

Thanks, Paula, for a great post!

[kevsmom]

Covooze,

I agree with Ursula - You DO NEED a seperate colandar. I even made sure mine is a different color and shape than the one used with gluten food.

One time I was cooking gluten free pasta for myself, and gluten full pasta for my son at the same time. I stirred the pasta in his pot, and then went to stir my pot with the same spoon - Oh no!

[plantime]

One time I was cooking gluten free pasta for myself, and gluten full pasta for my son at the same time. I stirred the pasta in his pot, and then went to stir my pot with the same spoon - Oh no!

I did this with a spatula while making pancakes. It was the last of my flours, on a Sunday morning, so I had no pancakes for my breakfast! And it was all my fault!

[lovegrov]

No matter what your friend told you, if the grain vinegar is made from something other than wheat (almost no distilled vinegar is made from wheat), there is absolutely no way there can be gluten in it. You might react to it in some fashion but it is NOT a gluten reaction because there is no gluten. Take Heinz white or distilled vinegar for instance. It's made from corn (which, by the way, is a grain). There's no wheat, rye, barley or oats anywhere in the process. Your body might not like the vinegar but whatever is happening, it's NOT because of gluten.

The same is true with some alcohols. Smirnoff vodka is made from corn. No wheat, rye, barley or oats. So if you react to Smirnoff, it's most definitely not because of gluten.

If you've decided not to eat anything at all with vinegar in it, that's your choice, but it most certainly is not a gluten issue. I don't know of a single mayo, ketchup or mustard made with vinegar from wheat.

I'm not saying you don't react in some way and I'm not saying that others don't have trouble with some distilled products, but please, please don't confuse people by telling them that all grain vinegars and alcohols have or could have gluten. It's simply not true.

richard

[Guest stef 4 dogs]

lori, my girls did not have any damage show when they had biopsies---the ped gi did not even do a biopsy on the youngest one. even though the biopsies did not show any damage, he said that they probably do have damage. celiac can be very patchy and an endoscope can only get about 6 feet into the small intestine. i think that having blood tests done on a regular basis is probably the best way to tell how gluten free you are managing to be since you don't get obvious symptoms. i think it would also tell you if you are being diligent enough about cross-contamination. we try to follow the diet closely at our house, even though i wonder about the same questions you have----i'm just taking our ped gi's word (and everyone on here) that we need to not cheat on purpose----but it will probably happen by accident from time to time.

christine

Hi everyone, I have been really really sick this week . I came to discover the body lotion I was using contains gluten. And I'm just wondering can topical things make you that sick? I understand about ingestion of gluten, but my medical expierience has always made be believe absorption was minimal to anything topical, i.e. allergy issues are non affected if using topical meds,vs. ingested meds. Any thought on this from anyone?

stef 4 dogs

p.s. that picuture posting of someone's very wet cat is so FUNNY!!!!!! Makes me smile everytime!

[jerseyangel]

Hi Stef--The problem with lotions, etc. are that they can easily get into your mouth. When I was gluten-free only a short time, I found I was still getting D every afternoon. I went through all of my personal care products, and found wheat in my hair gel.

[Guest stef 4 dogs]

Hi Stef--The problem with lotions, etc. are that they can easily get into your mouth. When I was gluten-free only a short time, I found I was still getting D every afternoon. I went through all of my personal care products, and found wheat in my hair gel.

Hi Patti,

did you get as sick as when you ingested gluten? I could have gone to the ER last night I felt that sick. I didn't realize the risk was that high with produts also. i have to say I haven't even thought about going through hair care stuff I just assumed it would not make me sick!

Stef

[jerseyangel]

Yes--it can make you just as sick--the autoimmune response happens no matter what the source of the gluten is. In another words, your immune system dosen't care whether it's a crumb of bread or lotion residue on a finger that gets into your mouth. Unfortunately, the result is the same . After you get rid of the topical products that contain gluten, you should really notice a difference.

[Guest stef 4 dogs]

Yes--it can make you just as sick--the autoimmune response happens no matter what the source of the gluten is. In another words, your immune system dosen't care whether it's a crumb of bread or lotion residue on a finger that gets into your mouth. Unfortunately, the result is the same . After you get rid of the topical products that contain gluten, you should really notice a difference.

thanks! Any suggestions on make up? I use alot of L"oreal and I can't find a phone number to call and the web sight is very vague for ingreidents. And let's face it I'm old and vain and there's no way I'm giving up makeup! This whole thing has aged me 10 years allready!

Stef

[jerseyangel]

I've heard that Loreal is vague when it comes to ingredients--I did call them once to check on the Feria haircolor that I use, and they told me that it contained no gluten ingredients. (Being old and vain, too, I needed to know ) For makeup, I use Bare Escentuals. Most all of their makeup line is gluten-free. Their skincare line, however, is not. I get mine from QVC, and I know that Sephora has a nice selection, also. If you are interested I have a list of their gluten-free products that they e-mailed to me. You can do a search here for Neutrogena--they have a long gluten-free list, and it has been posted several times. I love their Moistureshine Lipgloss.

[munchkinette]

I've heard of people getting diagnosed with Celiac at an old age but I never heard of someone who got diagnosed early on and lived to 90 all the while happily eating gluten. Dont most people who are symptomatic but ignore the diet end up with autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, etc.?

Well, I'm thinking that my grandmother was undiagnosed celiac. She had "wheat problems" in her 20s that she supposedly grew out of. She also took thyroid supplements, had scleroderma, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, some kind of platelet disease, and other stuff I can't remember. She basically died from liver failure (she rarely drank) but that was after a bad fall. I know she shrank 2 inches so she probably lost a lot of bone. She bruised easily. All these things (plus a mother who died of colon cancer) make me think that she had celiac disease. She was almost 86, and probably would have gone on a few more years without that fall. She ate toast most mornings. She ate for her diabetes so I guess she ignored the "wheat problems".

Her sister died at age 80 after having multiple sclerosis (and a ton of broken bones) for at least 40 years. It's definitely possible to have autoimmune diseases and live a long time. My grandmother's aunt had even more random problems and took every medication possible and she lived to 101. We just have long life genes in our family, despite all the other problems.