I'm New And Have A Few Questions

[tiggerlover]

Hello everyone! I'm new here and I have some questions that maybe you can help me with.

1. Is there any kind of book or website out there that list specific foodsand brand names that you would find in a grocery store that are gluten-free? For example, Kellogs Rice Krispies..... I don't have time to spend an hour or 2 at the store reading labels and I would love to just be able to go in with a specfic list and buy the stuff.

2. Has anyone bought the downloadable book "The Essential Gluten Free Guide For Celiac Sufferers"?

I came across the site yesterday and I just wanted some opinions on whether or not to get this.

Here's some of my background: About 6 years ago I found out that I have Celiac disease. I was at the doctors office about my IBS and for whatever reason they decided to test me for it. After I was tested and told that was it. The doctor didn't refer me to anyone to help me figure out a new diet or anything. So I TRIED a celiac free diet for awhile. I read labels, bought the (IMO) overpriced food online, and tried to cope with it. I went to sites to find out more info on it and how to cope with it. For awhile I did okay, but then for whatever reason I fell off the wagon and haven't been able to get back on. The only food that really bothers me is pasta. I can eat everything else and not get sick. I'm really starting to wonder if I do have celiac for sure. The doctor only tested once for it. He never said to me "follow the diet or die".

For about the last 2-3 years I've hardly been able to eat a normal meal. I can eat a kid sized meal and be full. So I had an upper GI done to see if anything was wrong with my stomach and everything was fine. My mom thought it was because of the celiac, but when I asked the doctor he said "no". I've seemed to put on some weighed in the last year and I've read how celiac suffers tend to lose weight. Everything is soooo confusing! I guess I've come to the conclusion to try a celiac-free diet again to see if that makes me feel any better. I know I shouldn't be complaining that I "can't eat much" but I'm tired of feeling like I have a brick in my stomach after I eat.

Thanks for listening and for any help you can give.

Lori

[Smunkeemom]

Kelloggs Rice Crispies are NOT safe, they have malt which is made from Barley.

There are lists of gluten free foods, but you still have to read everything every time, because formulas and stuff change suddenly and without notice.

There is a member here with a newbie kit, you can PM her for her email address her screen name is nini.

My local support group has a list of 50 things you can eat right now Open Original Shared Link, but you still need to read them.

and there is a list of forbidden ingredients on Celiac.com that you can search for, it will make shopping easier.

If you really need to grab food quick and don't have time to read stick to foods that are naturally gluten free like fresh fruit, veggies and unprocessed meats.

Oh and Welcome!

as far as your other stuff, you can have celiac, eat gluten, get damage and yet not have symptoms. You still are getting sick though even if you don't have symptoms, and it still raises your risk for other problems (like cancer)

I gained weight with celiac and am losing weight gluten free, there is no typical celiac, esp. since there are 200+ symptoms.

The big 4 (diarreha, bloating, weightloss, foul smelling stools) only really happen to like 10% of celiac sufferers even though they are considered the "main symptoms"

I would suggest going 100% gluten free today, if you need to whine and vent, you can do that here, but don't do it over a peice of cheese cake (haha)

[mouse]

Welcome to the forum. As far as the testing goes, you can never have a false positive, but you can have a false negative. So, yes you have Celiac. And yes, if you do not stay on the diet, then you can end up with multiple problems. Even tho you do not feel so really terrible you are still doing damage to your small intestine. I was diagnosed at age 62 (now 64) after about 40 years of minor problems becoming major at the end. Please note the auto-immune diseases that I list below my name. The majority of them came after the diagnosis as there was so much damage. Not all people are the classic case as I was at the end. Some are normal weight and some are obese. I had always had a weight problem until at the end. Also some are asymptomatic and only find out they have Celiac when they go to be tested, because a close relative has it. Many will post with help on the diet and where you can get grocery information. You also might PM Nini as she has a beginner starter kit that she can email you. It is a day that I am unusally tired or I would look up all the sites you can go to.

[jenvan]

I have not read the book you mentioned. I will say one of the best and most popular, esp here, is Wheat Free, Worry Free by Danna Korn. Great resource.

It takes some time to figure out the shopping. This lists definitely help and will train you what to look for when trying to see if a food is safe or not: https://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=12

[Katie O'Rourke]

Hi Lori and welcome to the forum. Basically the deal with Kellogs cereals is that all of them contain malt extract, which is derived from barley. However, all teh cornflakes brands have recently gone off the gluten-free list over here as they were found to be above the Codex Alimentarius level (this is a guideline amount for the maximum amount of gluten which can be a food and it still be gluten-free). However, the rice crispies, coco pops,and ricicles are all still gluten-free, as although they contain malt extract, they are within the Codex guidelines. Our Coeliac organisation over here made a whoel big deal out of it, but thats the summarised version.Over in England, the organisation produces a full list of all gluten-free products. If you have any questions please feel free to email me: katie_orourke_11@hotmail.com

Take care and good luck with following the diet - I hope things start to improve for you soon - eating cinnamon or having it with desserts or drinks can help improve the D problem

[Girl Ninja]

WELCOME! What state do you live in? I'm in Michigan and I know that here I can go online and get a list of all of the gluten free products available in Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or Meijer. Do you have any of those stores? If not, try google searching the name of the nearest chain stores to you or post where you are and what stores you have and maybe someone from your area can help.

[tiggerlover]

I live in a small town in PA. I just wish companies would put on their labels "Contains Gluten". It would be sooo much easier.

Lori

[Guhlia]

Tiggerlover, I live in Lititz, PA (about 20 minutes north of Lancaster). If you live anywhere close to this I can give you grocery stores in our area that have gluten free sections.

[taz sharratt]

Welcome to the forum. As far as the testing goes, you can never have a false positive, but you can have a false negative. So, yes you have Celiac. And yes, if you do not stay on the diet, then you can end up with multiple problems. Even tho you do not feel so really terrible you are still doing damage to your small intestine. I was diagnosed at age 62 (now 64) after about 40 years of minor problems becoming major at the end. Please note the auto-immune diseases that I list below my name. The majority of them came after the diagnosis as there was so much damage. Not all people are the classic case as I was at the end. Some are normal weight and some are obese. I had always had a weight problem until at the end. Also some are asymptomatic and only find out they have Celiac when they go to be tested, because a close relative has it. Many will post with help on the diet and where you can get grocery information. You also might PM Nini as she has a beginner starter kit that she can email you. It is a day that I am unusally tired or I would look up all the sites you can go to.

hay armetta, wow i didnt know that about the testing, i knew that sometimes if you had a negtive reult that it could be wrong but i didnt know that a posotive result was posotive and that was that, i guess i was hopeing that maybe they got it wrong for me, ahh well back to the drawing board.

[tarnalberry]

For your first question, you always have to read labels, because products can, and DO, change at any time. I know it sucks, but you do get adept at reading labels quickly.

[Lisa]

Please ALWAYS check the lables... what is not safe in the Us, can be safe overseas, and vice versa. Product lines and production is always different.

[tiggerlover]

I just found this website and wanted to share

Open Original Shared Link

It list what foods from which companies are gluten-free.

Lori

[Smunkeemom]

I just found this website and wanted to share

Open Original Shared Link

It list what foods from which companies are gluten-free.

Lori

I really hate to rain on your parade but a lot of that stuff is out of date. For example the Carnation instant breakfast Strawberry cream is no longer gluten free, even with a list like that you still have to read everything every time. Although it could be a good jumping off point.