I'm New To All Of This

[Cat5]

Hello,

This is my first post here so I hope I am doing this correctly and to the correct board.

I was diagnosed with Celiac disease about 3 months ago and being among the over middle age group this is quite a challenge as I am pre-pubescent to those Golden Years, life already presents enough challenges for us as it is without having to transition oneself off regular breads, cereals, pasta's, cookies, pies, cakes etc. But anyway that is what has been diagnosed and I do have to say that I have not felt this good in many years.

The sleepless nights, the headaches, the lethargy and fatigue, the joint aches and pains that I attributed to my getting older (some are still there and most likely are), the scaly skin that showed up in weird places like the bottom of my right leg near my ankle. I call it my Aligator Ankle...I guess that's the skin disorder that some have from this Celiac disease. I have it in other places too like the top of my right hand. I have one knuckle that is covered in a hard leathery scaley skin that cracks and I have to constantly moisturize my hands and the other areas that this Aligator skin has popped up. My ankle looks like a series of bubbles though, its strange looking to say the least.

Anyway, I have now learned that I even have to check the label of the hand creams to be sure they don't contain Gluten or something that could be harmful. So what I use now is Pure Organic Coconut Oil. It seems to be helping a bit.

I think I miss bread the most. I loved having sandwiches for my lunch and so far I've not found a single bread I like. Perhaps some of you have good sources for breads that actually look like and taste like bread. Most of the ones I've tried so far, even spit won't help you to swallow them they are so dry or they are so cake-like you can't make a sandwich out of it.

For Hamburger buns I use two of those huge Poratbello Mushrooms that I grill and then I slather them with mayo, mustard and ketchup and I use ground turkey meat for the burger (I can't eat ground beef anymore unless its organic), lettuce, sliced onion, and cheese and YUM (all gluten free ingredients of course), and its very tasty.

If I want a taco, I buy Romaine lettuce and peel off the large long leaves and use them as the Wrap (roll-up) for the ingredients inside. Its not actually a taco, but hey, when you can't find a tortilla thats tasty and gluten free (I can't eat the corn ones that they douse in that horrid lime calcium stuff...Ugh), this works for me. I crinkle up Frito's since Frito's seem to be Gluten-Free at least I hope they are, and that gives it some crunch! I add organic Salsa and any other gluten-free ingredients I can find and it works out well as a roll-up.

Of course both of these make for messy eating, but just take a fork to the table with you because it all tastes really good.

One thing I have had to learn really quick is to be Creative in the Kitchen. I purchased a really great cookbook that has some of the Easiest and Tastiest recipes I've tried to date and its called the "Gluten-Free Kitchen" by Roben Ryberg. There is a recipe in there for a simple Pound Cake that is so good I kept looking at the recipe to be sure it was Gluten-Free!!

It is a wonderful cake and a great base for chocolate sauce or a strawberry shorcake or any kind of desert like that. I would think even someone without Celiac disease would enjoy this cake.

I have trouble with Corn, Soy and Oats too. I happen to be one of those who can't eat Oats even when they say they are Gluten-Free. We bought a box of a Gluten-Free Oats (Not from the Gluten-Free Pantry), but from another outside independent company, and I ate one bowl of it and my stomach blew up and I was in severe pain again just like I had been for years before.

I thought, well, maybe it was something else so after about a week I tried it again...Same Thing happened...so I wasn't going for Strike Three!

I have noticed now that Soy is in Everything, maynaise, and basically all of the vegetable oils are Soy based unless you buy Olive oil like I usually use but for baking I have to use a vegetable oil. Since most of the oils are either Corn or Soy, I've had to resort to Canola, but they are now saying that Canola oil causes cancer (what else is new, next week they'll say its wonderful for you, so who do you trust anymore when it comes to our food?). I read an article recently that said farmers use Soy to fatten up their baby pigs so what does that say about what its doing to us? All this carrying on from the news about children today being overweight and blaming the poor parents for it, I think is just a cover up for the food industry which is, in my own opinion solely to blame with all of the Genetically Modified foods we eat today. Its pathetic what they've done to our food supply now all for the sake of the almighty dollar!

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a chemical that no one should consume and its typically one of the first few ingredients on any label these days. Wheat now contains about 13% protein to what it used to contain (around 2% protein) so that it can have a longer shelf life and thus be more Profitable to the farmers etc. Have you noticed how Everyone seems to have acid reflux and digestive disorders these days?? Its no wonder when they have genetically modified the very foods in which we eat so that they will sustain a longer shelf life and stand up to imports in warehouses longer, but what are they doing to our insides?? I feel this is why so many folks are getting Celiac disease today...the wheat is Not the wheat we (my age group) grew up on.

I could go on and on about this subject, but for a real eye opening read, check out Dr. Timothy Brantley's book called The Cure. He's been on several TV shows including the new Rachael Ray show and his book is an easy and wonderful and as I said Very eye opening read. Its not about Celiac disease but if you are like me and tired of all of the lies and story's that seem to be on the news every other day about Eat This, NO Don't eat that, E-Coli here, Salmonella there...then this book might be of interest to you.

Another great book is called "The Hundred Year Lie". I can't remember the authors name right now, but any book store should have it or Amazon or Barnes & Noble etc. That book is backed up by documented proof which the author cites all during the writing, of his claims and it is Very Good...its scarey, but its one of those books I feel no household should be without, especially if you have unexplained sicknesses in your home and don't know why. I bought a copy of that book for my sister and after she read it she made lifestyle changes in her own family that she is still adhering to now. This guy covers a lot of turf in this book.

I have stopped eating all wheat and gluten and the other No-No's and so far so good. I think because of my age and probably the advanced stage of which my Celiac disease was at in my body, I am taking a bit longer to heal up inside as I still have days when I don't feel so great and I know I have not eaten gluten, but I believe my stomach is still in that sensitive stage so sometimes certain foods seem to flair it up. But those days are becoming a whole lot less, so things are looking up.

I realize that this disease is not one that I can stop eating wheat for a few months and when I feel better I can go back to eating to wheat. I realize this is a "for the rest of my life" change.

I guess when you are new to this, there are a lot of stumbling blocks to wade through and I'm sure I'll make mistakes along the way, but I am trying to be very careful and read a lot about this so that I hopefully won't have too many set-backs as I want to get well and heal and not be sick anymore.

I equate this a bit to a Diabetic who can't eat Sugar. When I tell people I can't eat Wheat they look at me like I'm from Mars or something and then they say, well, "maybe if you just eat less of it you'll feel better....(eyes rolling)"! No one in my family "gets it" that my body views Wheat as a foreign invader and that my body goes into ATTACK Mode when or if it sees wheat or gluten etc. coming down the pike. Thus your body stays in a constant state of Inflammation and disarray until the wheat has left the body.

Yet these same people if I tell them, oh, so and so can't eat Sugar anymore, they look with true sympathy on their face and will say "oh they have Diabetes how sad". Cripes, if we could only get half as much sympathy for ourselves from our own family and friends it would be nice.

Does The Celiac . com Shop sell a Celiac Awareness Bracelet?? You know those colored rubber bracelets everyone is wearing of all colors it seems these days for every ailment and disease and cause imaginable? If they don't, they should !

Maybe That would help to get the word out more and draw a bit more attention to us and how we hurt and have survived or are surviving.

I've babbled on enough, but I hope to learn a lot more about this disease and this looks like a great place to start.

[blueeyedmanda]

Hi Cat

Welcome to the board. You will find a lot of support and information on this site. We have some very creative bakers as well who have share many of their successful recipes. Welcome again, its nice to have you here.

[mamaw]

Hi & welcome

Lots of info here & recipes galore. We have some of the finest gluten-free cooks right here!!!!It doesn't surpris eme that you cannot tolerate oats yet... Most say give it two years after going gluten-free.

I'm one of the older ones here so you are not alone. I just met a lady in her late 70's just dx'd. She said she has never felt this good ever in her life & she hopes to be free of illness for her remaining days on earth!!! So we are all ages here......

What type of bread did you eat in your wheat days? I will say you need to heat it all up before trying to swallow it!!! I love Anna's bread mix ....

There are some fine bakeries that specialize in certaiin things ie: bagels, donuts , rolls & so on. If you ar eintersted just send me a private e-mail & I can give you the info.

Where do you reside?

mamaw

[happygirl]

Welcome to the board!

If you are in shipping range of this company, I would check them out...they are delicious!!! Open Original Shared Link

[Guest j_mommy]

WElcome....

Here is where I get my bread...

www.sillyyakbakery.com

www.grandmaferdons.com

Both have excellent bread and baked goods!!! Very yummy!

I buy my corn tortillas from the local mexican resturant! They are traditional and good!

I would search this website....not too long ago someone posted a link to buy teh celiac bracelets!

[Guest j_mommy]

Here's the link for the website to buy teh bracelets...

Open Original Shared Link