Low Carb Diet With Celiac

[Guest shai]

My father-in-law has been on the Atkins diet for over a year and a half. He's followed the books so closely he has it labeled and all worn out. He ended up in the hospital due to renal failure after being on the diet awhile, and he is also on cholesterol lowering medication now. Before the diet he had no cholesterol problems. He's lost 40 pounds and his blood pressure is down, but I am not sure if it is worth it. My uncle also follows this diet and keeps ending up in the hospital from kidney stones, and now he might have something wrong with his colon.

My friends dad has been on the diet, lost lots of weight. He was very healthy until after following Atkins for a year. HE just had a scope done and he has colon cancer.

This is something that us with celiac disease have to be particularly careful of. Our digestive systems aren't that great to begin with, and a diet high in hard to digest and process proteins is not ideal for people who are already predisposed to to problems like this.

The best diet is low in fat, high in cancer fighting fruits and veggies. They

re right when they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

[gypsyfey]

I followed an extremely low carb (10 or so a day) regiment....although not specifically anyones plan. I lost 20 pounds the first month and continued to lose for another 8 months (a total of 100 pounds). Although everyone said my weightloss was too fast, I felt good and was comfortable with it. After the first 20, I also started walking. I went from a size 22 to a size 5/7. I have had no adverse kidney, blood pressure or cholesteral problems ( according to my doctor). I had started reintroducing carbs into my diet, when we realised that I was suffering from celiac disease. After being wheat free for a year, the amount of pain I had when I reintroduced carbs was amazing. My then boyfriend (now husband) has celiac disease and he was always substituting for wheat. Tortilla chips, rice, different flours, potatoes etc....as you can imagine that was to many carbs for me. I immediately started gaining weight. When we both went carb free, we realised he had a serious problem with diet coke. After quite alot of research we found that amoung all the other awfull thing that Nutrasweet does to your body, it triggers a carb craving. Sooooo now he drinks Diet RC, and we have aggreed to go back to a very low carb lifestyle.....right after the holidays that is lol!

[Guest shai]

When we both went carb free, we realised he had a serious problem with diet coke.

Most "dark" colas have caramal coloring in them which is made with malt derived from grains. You may want to check with the company to see if the kind you like to drink does.

It's great that you lost weight and are so healthy. Perhaps some people can do the high protein/low carb diets with no problem. I just know a few people who's health suffered from them. It's too bad. But if it works for you that's great!

[Maggie1956]

Thanks everyone!

I'm already beginning to loose some of the 'puffiness' I've had on my tummy for years. I know I'm overweight by about 15lb I guess.

I think that cutting out all the foods which haven't been healthy for us each individually helps a whole lot. Then finding other good, healthy food which our bodies can handle is an absolute must.

There is no way I'd figure this all out on my own. Thanks again gang.

[dfish]

How does someone do a low carb diet if they can't eat eggs or dairy or chicken? I'm currently experimenting with my diet (partially because I'm in the middle of a fabulous gluten challenge) and am finding myself totally confused. I am borderline diabetic, so lower glycemic index foods are great for me and I've examined the South Beach Diet and Atkins and the Carb Addicts' Diet, but if I can't eat eggs or dairy or chicken, what can I eat? I'm not sure red meat is very good on one's stomach (I'm also trying to integrate some IBS type diets into my life and red meat is a big no no). I guess I'm needing to become a gluten free, dairy/casein free/low carb vegetarian? If that's the case, what the heck is a person to eat? PS: I'm also beginning to think I react to soy, so that leaves soy based dairy substitutes out, too. Should I just munch on kale and asparagus for the rest of my life? Any suggestions would be awesome!!!!

[ianm]

It wasn't until I read the Atkins diet book that I realized a food allergy might be why I felt so bad and had gained so much weight. I have lost 40 pounds with the Atkins and have never felt better. Another 10lbs would be nice. My impression of the Atkins is that it is more for people who have serious problems with weight. The South Beach seems like it is more for people who are not as over weight and don't have any other health issues. When you get to the maintenance part of Atkins you eat a more balanced mix of fruit, vegetables and protein. It is in the beginning stages that you really cut the carbs and go heavy on the protein. Controlling your portions is very important when doing Atkins. Excercise is mandatory with the Atkins diet. It just doesn't work if you don't exercise. I used to have a lot of gut problems before going gluten-free and low-carb but not anymore. The low-carb thing may not work for everyone but it did the trick for me and a lot of other people I know also.

Ianm

[Guest Addicted2Gluten]

Just be careful. The Atkins diet is not a healthy diet. I guess if you are doing it without dairy and all the red meat they suggest, it may be. But, in general, I know many people who have come off the diet with a high cholesterol and heart problems (even though they lost weight). If you think about it and read over the diet, it is not a healthy diet. They make that quite simple to see. If you are looking for a more healthier low carb diet, I would suggest trying either the South Beach Diet, the Glycemic Index Diet or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. They focus on eating foods that we all know are healthy (i.e. vegetables, fruits, some nuts, brown rice, fish, poultry, yogurt).

[KaitiUSA]

Be careful about that diet. My former neighbor who was 48 and in good health died suddenly last week from a heart attack.He had just been checked by the doctor prior to that incident and they said he was fine. He was not much if any overweight, he was active, no high cholestorol or anything and he just died....while he was on the diet.

[ianm]

The early stages of the Atkins diet are high in fat and protien. Once you have lost weight you begin to alter the food you eat. When you get to the maintenance stage you eat a more balanced diet. I now eat balanced portions of protien, fats (both plant and animal), vegetables and fruits. Most people when they say they are "doing Atkins" have never bothered to read the book. It is a very strict and regimented diet. Most people think that they can eat anything they want as long as it is meat and that is just not true. I now eat significantly less food than what I used to eat. I don't eat any processed foods and eat far more fruits and vegetables than I used to. A big part of the Atkins diet is also about controlling portion size. Also excercise on a regular basis is a critical part of the Atkins diet regimin. The people who have problems because of the Atkins diet are the ones who did not read the book and end up eating only fats, protiens and no vegetables and don't exercise. The Atkins diet CAN be dangerous if you don't follow it exactly. I have read all of the other low carb diet books and can't say that they are that much different. I was in such poor health that the Atkins diet was the only way out for me.

[vmabarak]

Hey you low carbers, I have a very sluggish digestion system and have a hard time digesting protein and believe it or not high fiber veggies. Any suggestions?

[ianm]

You might want to try buckwheat and flax seed meal. Both are high protien and fiber and low carb. It works for me.

[beelzebubble]

hey all, a question...

i started on the south beach diet about 6 weeks ago. i have yet to lose a pound. is there any way i might be fouling it up for myself? i usually have an atkins bar for breakfast (for the fiber), leftover meat and salad for lunch, and meat, veggies and a salad for dinner. everything is of course home made . i have yet to move on to the adding carbs back in stage, because i haven't lost any weight yet. any ideas?

[Emme999]

Okay I can't stand it anymore!! These are statements quoted from "The China Study":

"One of the fundamental arguments at the beginning of most low-carbohydrate, high protein diet books is that America has been wallowing in low-fat mania at the advice of experts for the past twenty years, yet people are fatter than ever. This argument has an intuitive appeal but there is one inconvenient fact that is consistently ignored: according to a report summarizing government food statistics, " Americans consumed thirteen POUNDS more (added) fats and oils per person in 1997 than in 1970, up from 53.6 to 65.6 pounds." It is true that we have a trend to consuming fewer of our total calories as fat, when considered as a percentage, but that's only because we have outpaced our gorging on fat by gorging on sugary junk food. Simply by looking at the numbers, anybody can see that America has not adopted the "low-fat" experiment - not by any stretch of the imagination."

more importantly:

"In one published study funded by the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, researchers put fifty-one obese people on the Atkins diet. The forty-one subjects who maintained the diet over the course of six months lost an average of twenty pounds. In addition, average cholesterol levels decreased slightly, which was perhaps even more important. Because of these two results, this study was presented in the media as real, scientific proof that the Atkins diet works and is safe. Unfortunately, the media didn't go much further than that."

"The first sign that all is not rosy is that these obese subjects were severely restricting their calorie intake during the study. The average American consumes about 2,250 calories per day. When the study participants were on the diet, they consumed an average of 1,450 calories per day. That's 35% fewer calories! I don't care if you eat worms and cardboard; if you eat 35% fewer calories, you will lose weight and your cholesterol levels will improve in the short run, but that is not to say that worms and cardboard form a healthy diet..."

"In this same study, funded by the Atkins group, researchers report, "At some point during the twenty-four weeks, twenty-four subjects reported constipation, twenty-six reported bad breath, twenty-one reported headache, four noted hair loss, and one woman reported increased menstrual bleeding." They also refer to other research, saying, "Adverse effects of this diet in children have included calcium oxalate and urate kidney stones... vomiting, amenorrhea, hypercholesterolemia, and ... vitamin deficiencies." Additionally, they found that the dieters had a stunning 53% increase in the amount of calcium they excreted in their urine, which may spell disaster for bone health. The weight loss, some of which is simply initial fluid loss, may come with a very high price."

"A different review of low-carbohydrate diets published by researchers in Australia confludes, "Complications such as heart arrhythmias, cardiac contractile function impairment, sudden death, osteoporosis, kidney damage, increased cancer risk, impairment of physical activity and lipid abnormalities can all be linked to a long-term restriction of carbohydrates in the diet."

"One final thought: the diet is not all that Atkins recommends. ... Dr Atkins states that many of his patients require nutrient supplements, some of which are used to combat "common dieters' problems." In one passage, after making unsubstantiated claims about the effecacy of antioxidant supplements that contradict recent studies, he writes, "Add to the (antioxidants) the vita-nutrients knows to be useful for each of the myriad medical problems my patients face and you'll see why many of them take over thirty vitamin pills a day." THIRTY PILLS A DAY??"

Okay, I cut out a lot, but I can give you references for these studies if you want 'em! Trust me. I did the low carb thing for a while too and felt great - but it was because, for the first time in my life, I wasn't eating gluten.

I managed a health food store for about a year and a half and worked in another health food store for six months prior to that. I probably have every diet book known to man in my own personal library - and I've done most of them.

I love you guys and don't want to see any of you hurt yourselves!! Be careful what you believe from the media! You rarely get the full story. ESPECIALLY from Mr. Atkins & his posse.

[CassandraMajere]

I've tried low carb diets (as in no starches, but I'd still eat fruits and vegetables) and though they do work to a certain extent, they left me feeling tired and hazy and woozy and dizzy, so I try to stick to low-glycemic index noms and a and a few whole grains to keep the spinning away

[IrishHeart]

I've tried low carb diets (as in no starches, but I'd still eat fruits and vegetables) and though they do work to a certain extent, they left me feeling tired and hazy and woozy and dizzy, so I try to stick to low-glycemic index noms and a and a few whole grains to keep the spinning away

Just so you know, this thread is from 2005

and the original posters will not see your response.

Check the dates on threads.

[kareng]

I've tried low carb diets (as in no starches, but I'd still eat fruits and vegetables) and though they do work to a certain extent, they left me feeling tired and hazy and woozy and dizzy, so I try to stick to low-glycemic index noms and a and a few whole grains to keep the spinning away

You are replying to 7 year old posts. Not likely these people are still active and will respond to you