Chock Full Of Questiony Goodness

[Nyxie63]

This is what I've come up with so far. Guaranteed there'll be more.

1. Is there a good single source for finding message board-type depth of detail about food sensitivities? Book, website, whatever. I'm hungry for info and want/need instant gratification.

2. Just what exactly is gluten-lite? Is it eating mostly gluten-free, but still having some gluten? Or is it eating no gluten, but not really being that careful about cooking equipment, placement of stuff in the fridge, etc?

3. For those with non-food-sensitive family members, just exactly how do you handle dealing with their food choices? Do you have separate cupboards and/or sections of the fridge for trigger foods? I live with a junk food addict. A truly dear man. But oh! His eating habits are simply appaling (always have been and I married him anyway) but now they have the potential to affect my health.

4. While we're on that subject - is there a way of cleaning cooking equipment/surfaces in a way to ensure no CC? Is there something special to use or do you just make sure to use a lot of hot water/soap/elbow grease to make sure its clean?

5. If you have pets, are there any special tricks you use (besides washing hands thoroughly) to ensure no CC between their food/treats and you?

Thanks muchly in advance!

[FootballFanatic]

Answer to 3-5

3. I have the kitchen seperated and to also answer number 4, I didn't trust things like wooden utensils and non stick pans so I just went to Walmart and got the cheapest new things I could, of everything....Toasters, Pans with scratches are very very important. I got a toaster oven because it makes me a lot more comfortable that my toast or waffle is sitting up high not going into a cave of crumbs.

5. There are lots of gluten free pet foods, "Nutro" makes the one I use, you have to check the label because there are some with wheat products and some without. For the record, corn gluten and rice gluten are safe for us. (Those are in the dog food) Search dog food or something similar on the foods and medications section and you will find a lot of dog food suggestions.

Good luck!

[confused]

.

1. Is there a good single source for finding message board-type depth of detail about food sensitivities? Book, website, whatever. I'm hungry for info and want/need instant gratification.

2. Just what exactly is gluten-lite? Is it eating mostly gluten-free, but still having some gluten? Or is it eating no gluten, but not really being that careful about cooking equipment, placement of stuff in the fridge, etc?

3. For those with non-food-sensitive family members, just exactly how do you handle dealing with their food choices? Do you have separate cupboards and/or sections of the fridge for trigger foods? I live with a junk food addict. A truly dear man. But oh! His eating habits are simply appaling (always have been and I married him anyway) but now they have the potential to affect my health.

4. While we're on that subject - is there a way of cleaning cooking equipment/surfaces in a way to ensure no CC? Is there something special to use or do you just make sure to use a lot of hot water/soap/elbow grease to make sure its clean?

5. If you have pets, are there any special tricks you use (besides washing hands thoroughly) to ensure no CC between their food/treats and you?

Thanks muchly in advance!

[Nyxie63]

Thank you both so much!

Ok, next question: I know there's no way hubby's going to go gluten-free along with me. I have a hard enough time getting him to eat veggies. Is the toaster oven the best way to avoid CC? Hubby likes to have his toast and the occasional bagel and I'm concerned about this. Maybe putting foil down on the toaster oven tray when I make something would help to avoid CC?

Still trying to figure out the details.

[missy'smom]

This may not work for everyone and is a little inconvenient but it works for me-I use the broiler to do my toast-our broiler is never used for gluten things anyway so I put my toast on a cookie sheet that is not used for gluten baking and slide it in the oven. You have to watch it carefully and flip it if you want both sides done. I don't have counter space for two toasters.

[Centa]

Cute thread title, Nyxie and that avatar eating its cat-broccoli always makes me laugh.

Well 2. gluten-lite.

I don't think it exists, really, although I sure went through a phase of thinking that I had my bases covered not eating wheat and grains, not yet doing the ingredient checking and taking out of my diet things with "wheat starch" "food starch" "caramel color" and "dextrin" anything in them. So I was eating gluten-lite in that beginning phase.

But you'll get the witness from quite a few here that your GI tract doesn't think "gluten-lite." It's either 100% free of gluten or not. There are some pretty striking stories of people being "glutened" by eating cross-contaminated food, or with one of those ingredients in them.

As I understand it, down there in GI tract land there's the problem (and solution) of total effect. The gluten damages your intestinal tract, and keeping on ingesting it damages it further. Not eating it lets it heal, and continuing not to eat it lets it heal more.

I don't seem to be one who has such drastic and lengthy responses to gluten when I ingest it as some do on this site. I don't know why that is.

But I figure just because I haven't had those terrible long reactions to something so apparently slight as cross contamination (and maybe could think I could get away with "gluten lite"), doesn't mean I'm not damaging my GI tract and my future health every time I ingest gluten.

The target for me is to keep my GI tract as healthy as I can, so that I don't compromise my immune system and pick up other diseases. Especially cancer. My grandfather died of stomach cancer before I was born. And there are other autoimmune problems in my extended family. I'm eating gluten-free to help my present and future health.

So I wouldn't recommend thinking "gluten lite" if you know for sure you have gluten intolerance.

[Nyxie63]

This may not work for everyone and is a little inconvenient but it works for me-I use the broiler to do my toast-our broiler is never used for gluten things anyway so I put my toast on a cookie sheet that is not used for gluten baking and slide it in the oven. You have to watch it carefully and flip it if you want both sides done. I don't have counter space for two toasters.

I don't have the counter space either. I like the broiler idea. Hubby can have his toaster and I'll just use the broiler. Don't think I'm going to be toasting anything soon anyway, but just want to get stuff sorted out before hand.

Thanks!

[Nyxie63]

Cute thread title, Nyxie and that avatar eating its cat-broccoli always makes me laugh.

Well 2. gluten-lite.

I don't think it exists, really, although I sure went through a phase of thinking that I had my bases covered not eating wheat and grains, not yet doing the ingredient checking and taking out of my diet things with "wheat starch" "food starch" "caramel color" and "dextrin" anything in them. So I was eating gluten-lite in that beginning phase.

But you'll get the witness from quite a few here that your GI tract doesn't think "gluten-lite." It's either 100% free of gluten or not. There are some pretty striking stories of people being "glutened" by eating cross-contaminated food, or with one of those ingredients in them.

As I understand it, down there in GI tract land there's the problem (and solution) of total effect. The gluten damages your intestinal tract, and keeping on ingesting it damages it further. Not eating it lets it heal, and continuing not to eat it lets it heal more.

I don't seem to be one who has such drastic and lengthy responses to gluten when I ingest it as some do on this site. I don't know why that is.

But I figure just because I haven't had those terrible long reactions to something so apparently slight as cross contamination (and maybe could think I could get away with "gluten lite"), doesn't mean I'm not damaging my GI tract and my future health every time I ingest gluten.

The target for me is to keep my GI tract as healthy as I can, so that I don't compromise my immune system and pick up other diseases. Especially cancer. My grandfather died of stomach cancer before I was born. And there are other autoimmune problems in my extended family. I'm eating gluten-free to help my present and future health.

So I wouldn't recommend thinking "gluten lite" if you know for sure you have gluten intolerance.

LOL! Thank you. icanhascheezburger.com is one of my fave sites.

Wow! Detailed explanation. Great info! Thanks!

At this point, I'm not sure if I'm just wheat-sensitive or actually gluten-sensitive. Still doing challenges after 3 weeks on an elimination diet. When I reintroduced wheat (3 tablespoons of cream of wheat), it started with stomach cramping, my GERD went into full force, and got bloated and gassy. Then it got interesting. Started having pain in both shoulders, which soon radiated down both arms and legs. Then the impaired motor control started. Couldn't properly coordinate my hands and walking was like being sober in a drunk body. Frankly, it scared the bejeebers outta me! Fortunately, the pain and motor control problems went away later that night, although the bloating lasted for a couple of days. And my stools (yeah, I know... sorry), showed definite signs of malabsorbtion (color, undigested food). Guess I won't be eating wheat again any time soon.

Its going to be a little while before I'll be able to afford the Enterolab testing and find out for sure. In the meantime, I'm going to try to avoid all gluten.

Thanks again!

[Centa]

You're welcome Nyxie. Wooo that was a massive reaction.

There's a pretty comprehensive list of foods and ingredients out on the homepage of this site. I think it's in the lefthand column. I ran across that list and used it for quite awhile before I found this discussion board. It never done me wrong

[hathor]

I have one cupboard with gluten things in it -- not so much that I think the gluten is going to jump out at me, but so no one else eats my expensive food. Of course, some of this stuff predates my testing and I just packed it away, unwilling to just throw it out. I probably should at this point.

New gluteny foods I buy is limited to bread, crackers, and cereal, or prepared foods (microwavable, cups of soup, etc.). I don't cook with anything containing gluten.

You probably can clean up items like unscratched cookware to get rid of the gluten. I'm not so sure about colanders, and certainly not cutting boards, wooden spoons, or scratched cookware. I haven't been willing to use my breadmaker since diagnosis. I was really, really careful to clean up my mixer, and now it won't be used with regular flour (not that I'm going to allow any use of the stuff in my kitchen -- it gets in the air, etc.)

For my toaster oven, I thoroughly cleaned the racks & then make a rule that the gluten stuff goes on the left (or sinister, to use Latin) and my stuff on the right. I've yet to teach this to my husband though. He didn't take Latin, so the mnemonic "gluten is sinister" doesn't work for him. Neither does "my wife is always right." I think I'm going to go with a label.

One other thing you have to be careful about is crumbs getting into food you will use, such as jelly, peanut butter, etc. Folks have to learn to get out what they want with a clean utensil and put it on their plate & smear from there, or to plop stuff onto their items from a distance & then spread (and NEVER EVER put that knife back into the container). Either that or you have to have separate jars for such things.

[Nyxie63]

You're welcome Nyxie. Wooo that was a massive reaction.

Ugh! I was afraid someone was going to say that. My last little bubble of denial just popped.

So, do you think its really worth getting tested at this point?

There's a pretty comprehensive list of foods and ingredients out on the homepage of this site. I think it's in the lefthand column. I ran across that list and used it for quite awhile before I found this discussion board. It never done me wrong

Cool! Thanks!

Need to find one for corn now too. Not worried about soy. I avoid it like the plague because of thyroid issues anyway (soy's a goitrogen - supresses thyroid function). I seem to be ok with both lactose and casein. Some minor tummy grumbly, but nothing more overt than that. And sugar gives me joint pain. Whoda thunk?

Does it ever end???? Ok, I'm getting whiny now.

Thanks again!

[kbtoyssni]

1. Is there a good single source for finding message board-type depth of detail about food sensitivities? Book, website, whatever. I'm hungry for info and want/need instant gratification.

This is the best board I've found (but I'm only gluten-free). Start searching here and you'll be occupied for days!

2. Just what exactly is gluten-lite? Is it eating mostly gluten-free, but still having some gluten? Or is it eating no gluten, but not really being that careful about cooking equipment, placement of stuff in the fridge, etc?

Either could be considered gluten-lite. It's the people who don't eat bread or pasta, but don't worry about BBQ or soy sauce. It can also be the people who eat gluten-free foods, but don't worry about CC. Neither of these methods will make you feel better.

3. For those with non-food-sensitive family members, just exactly how do you handle dealing with their food choices? Do you have separate cupboards and/or sections of the fridge for trigger foods? I live with a junk food addict. A truly dear man. But oh! His eating habits are simply appaling (always have been and I married him anyway) but now they have the potential to affect my health.

When I lived with my parents, we bought naturally gluten-free brands of condiments, salsa, corn tortillas, pasta, etc. Any gluten food was packaged stuff. Dad had a separate counter that he prepared gluten foods on and if we were having say, cheese spread on crackers, he'd scoop some spread into a separate bowl just to be sure he wouldn't contaminate. You may want to have a special cupboard for gluten foods if they are going to be tempting for you. There are also many gluten-free junk foods so I'd encourage your husband to eat those instead!

4. While we're on that subject - is there a way of cleaning cooking equipment/surfaces in a way to ensure no CC? Is there something special to use or do you just make sure to use a lot of hot water/soap/elbow grease to make sure its clean?

Good ol' elbow grease is probably the best way. Some things are impossible to clean (like some pans you just can't get everything out of the corners!) but counters and stoves can be cleaned.

5. If you have pets, are there any special tricks you use (besides washing hands thoroughly) to ensure no CC between their food/treats and you?

I'd try to buy gluten-free pet food. There's lots of mainstream gluten-free brands of dog and cat food out there. I just have fish and have not been able to find gluten-free fish food. So I tap the side of the can until the flakes fall out so I don't have to touch them and wash my hands right away. The problem with dogs and cats is they can get food on their coats and track it through the house or lick you and get gluten on you.

[Nyxie63]

I have one cupboard with gluten things in it -- not so much that I think the gluten is going to jump out at me, but so no one else eats my expensive food. Of course, some of this stuff predates my testing and I just packed it away, unwilling to just throw it out. I probably should at this point.

New gluteny foods I buy is limited to bread, crackers, and cereal, or prepared foods (microwavable, cups of soup, etc.). I don't cook with anything containing gluten.

You probably can clean up items like unscratched cookware to get rid of the gluten. I'm not so sure about colanders, and certainly not cutting boards, wooden spoons, or scratched cookware. I haven't been willing to use my breadmaker since diagnosis. I was really, really careful to clean up my mixer, and now it won't be used with regular flour (not that I'm going to allow any use of the stuff in my kitchen -- it gets in the air, etc.)

For my toaster oven, I thoroughly cleaned the racks & then make a rule that the gluten stuff goes on the left (or sinister, to use Latin) and my stuff on the right. I've yet to teach this to my husband though. He didn't take Latin, so the mnemonic "gluten is sinister" doesn't work for him. Neither does "my wife is always right." I think I'm going to go with a label.

One other thing you have to be careful about is crumbs getting into food you will use, such as jelly, peanut butter, etc. Folks have to learn to get out what they want with a clean utensil and put it on their plate & smear from there, or to plop stuff onto their items from a distance & then spread (and NEVER EVER put that knife back into the container). Either that or you have to have separate jars for such things.

Thanks so much! Wow! That's given me all kinds of ideas (not all of them constructive) for reorganizing the kitchen. Fortunately, hubby and I have very different ideas of passes for "food" and he doesn't dip into a lot of my stuff. Its too "healthy"! Guess the rest is going to have to be a matter of re-training. For me as well as for him.

Looks like the local thrift store is going to get a large donation of used, yet still usable, cookware soon.

When you were first dx'd, did you do a complete kitchen clean? I mean scrub down absolutely everything?

And what about non-stick cookware? Most of what I have is stainless steel, but I have a favorite wok that has a non-stick surface and have used it for pasta dishes. Chuck that too?

Thanks again!

[kbtoyssni]

You can also get toaster bags: Open Original Shared Link

You put your bread in and toast in a regular toaster. I use them while traveling. I've even put a cheese sandwich in them and asked a restaurant to toast for me so I have grilled cheese.

[Nyxie63]

1. Is there a good single source for finding message board-type depth of detail about food sensitivities? Book, website, whatever. I'm hungry for info and want/need instant gratification.

This is the best board I've found (but I'm only gluten-free). Start searching here and you'll be occupied for days!

LOL! I'm finding that out! This board is now my new obsession.

2. Just what exactly is gluten-lite? Is it eating mostly gluten-free, but still having some gluten? Or is it eating no gluten, but not really being that careful about cooking equipment, placement of stuff in the fridge, etc?

Either could be considered gluten-lite. It's the people who don't eat bread or pasta, but don't worry about BBQ or soy sauce. It can also be the people who eat gluten-free foods, but don't worry about CC. Neither of these methods will make you feel better.

The more I find out here, the more I realize I'm probably CC-ing myself to some extent every day, even on the elimination diet. Gah! That would probably explain why my stomach has been still cramping.

3. For those with non-food-sensitive family members, just exactly how do you handle dealing with their food choices? Do you have separate cupboards and/or sections of the fridge for trigger foods? I live with a junk food addict. A truly dear man. But oh! His eating habits are simply appaling (always have been and I married him anyway) but now they have the potential to affect my health.

When I lived with my parents, we bought naturally gluten-free brands of condiments, salsa, corn tortillas, pasta, etc. Any gluten food was packaged stuff. Dad had a separate counter that he prepared gluten foods on and if we were having say, cheese spread on crackers, he'd scoop some spread into a separate bowl just to be sure he wouldn't contaminate. You may want to have a special cupboard for gluten foods if they are going to be tempting for you. There are also many gluten-free junk foods so I'd encourage your husband to eat those instead!

Not a bad idea. Since I do most of the grocery shopping, I'll just be all slick-like and start substituting gluten-free products for the regular ones.

Oddly enough, I haven't been craving the usual gluteny goodies. I can see them, go ok, and then look for something I can eat. The only thing I've been really craving is a grilled cheese sandwich. A couple of weeks ago, I'd have killed for one. Now, I might consider kicking someone in the shins, but killing is completely out of the picture.

4. While we're on that subject - is there a way of cleaning cooking equipment/surfaces in a way to ensure no CC? Is there something special to use or do you just make sure to use a lot of hot water/soap/elbow grease to make sure its clean?

Good ol' elbow grease is probably the best way. Some things are impossible to clean (like some pans you just can't get everything out of the corners!) but counters and stoves can be cleaned.

Guess I've got my work cut out for me.

5. If you have pets, are there any special tricks you use (besides washing hands thoroughly) to ensure no CC between their food/treats and you?

I'd try to buy gluten-free pet food. There's lots of mainstream gluten-free brands of dog and cat food out there. I just have fish and have not been able to find gluten-free fish food. So I tap the side of the can until the flakes fall out so I don't have to touch them and wash my hands right away. The problem with dogs and cats is they can get food on their coats and track it through the house or lick you and get gluten on you.

The pet store over in the next town carries grain-free pet food. Guess hubby's going to be feeding the fish from now on. Never occurred to me that it might be in fish food.

Thanks!

[Nyxie63]

You can also get toaster bags: Open Original Shared Link

You put your bread in and toast in a regular toaster. I use them while traveling. I've even put a cheese sandwich in them and asked a restaurant to toast for me so I have grilled cheese.

Neat! Thanks for the link!

[JNBunnie1]

Nyxie, considering your reaction to the wheat challenge, I wouldn't even bother getting tested. That was a pretty extreme, immediate reaction. I'd wait one month and have something with rye or barley in it, if you're still curious whether gluten is the problem or just wheat. And I use Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse white bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, in fact, I'm eating one right now! I think the bread's lovely, but it does require toasting or cooking.

[confused]

LOL! I'm finding that out! This board is now my new obsession.

The more I find out here, the more I realize I'm probably CC-ing myself to some extent every day, even on the elimination diet. Gah! That would probably explain why my stomach has been still cramping.

Not a bad idea. Since I do most of the grocery shopping, I'll just be all slick-like and start substituting gluten-free products for the regular ones.

Oddly enough, I haven't been craving the usual gluteny goodies. I can see them, go ok, and then look for something I can eat. The only thing I've been really craving is a grilled cheese sandwich. A couple of weeks ago, I'd have killed for one. Now, I might consider kicking someone in the shins, but killing is completely out of the picture.

Guess I've got my work cut out for me.

The pet store over in the next town carries grain-free pet food. Guess hubby's going to be feeding the fish from now on. Never occurred to me that it might be in fish food.

Thanks!

I just wanted to say this board if very addictive, i cant keep myself away from it for more then an day, i really dont know what i would do without it, everyone here is so helpful and friendly about every aspect of life.

paula

[hathor]

When you were first dx'd, did you do a complete kitchen clean? I mean scrub down absolutely everything?

And what about non-stick cookware? Most of what I have is stainless steel, but I have a favorite wok that has a non-stick surface and have used it for pasta dishes. Chuck that too?

No, it would take something even more drastic than that to make me completely clean my kitchen I was willing to segregate stuff. Which reminds me, I have a cupboard with regular flour in it. There is no way I'm going to open up those canisters and dump the flour, then wash them. The shelves have to be washed also, since I can see some flour there. I can imagine the glutening from doing all that. I've told my husband he has to do it, but he hasn't yet. I think he would have to dump the flour in the trash outside so it wouldn't get into the air, wouldn't he, everyone?

I didn't have any nonstick cookware at diagnosis (my old stuff got really scratched and was thrown out and I was researching new). But I've heard that if it isn't scratched, it would be OK.

About addiction to this board, I know what you mean. The way I cope with upsetting things is to research them and talk them to death. I realize at some point I have to get on with my life. I just haven't figured everything out yet. And I still want to talk about my symptoms -- something my dear family does not want to hear anymore Where else can we talk about our poo? Freudians would have a field day Given my elimination problems from the first, I guess I'm still at the anal stage ...

I guess I can't nag my husband about the shelf of poison until I'm not spending hours each day talking to all of you

[Nyxie63]

Nyxie, considering your reaction to the wheat challenge, I wouldn't even bother getting tested. That was a pretty extreme, immediate reaction. I'd wait one month and have something with rye or barley in it, if you're still curious whether gluten is the problem or just wheat. And I use Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse white bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, in fact, I'm eating one right now! I think the bread's lovely, but it does require toasting or cooking.

Well, this all didn't happen immediately. Don't know if that makes a difference. The stomach stuff started within a 1/2 hour, the bloating/gas within 2 hours, and the pain/motor function stuff within 3-4 hours. During this time, I hadn't eaten anything that I hadn't already been eating during the elimination.

Ok, will try something with barley in around a month or so. Seeing the holistic MD tomorrow and am really curious to see what he'll say.

There's a Whole Foods about an hour from me. Haven't ventured down that way just because of the distance. Will definitely write down your recommendation for the bread! There's a Trader Joe's down that way as well. Rooooooad Triiiiiiip!

Thanks!

[Nyxie63]

Paula and Hathor,

This place really is addictive. Exchanging one addictive subsance for another? I can live with that.

No, it would take something even more drastic than that to make me completely clean my kitchen I was willing to segregate stuff. Which reminds me, I have a cupboard with regular flour in it. There is no way I'm going to open up those canisters and dump the flour, then wash them. The shelves have to be washed also, since I can see some flour there. I can imagine the glutening from doing all that. I've told my husband he has to do it, but he hasn't yet. I think he would have to dump the flour in the trash outside so it wouldn't get into the air, wouldn't he, everyone?

I didn't have any nonstick cookware at diagnosis (my old stuff got really scratched and was thrown out and I was researching new). But I've heard that if it isn't scratched, it would be OK.

About addiction to this board, I know what you mean. The way I cope with upsetting things is to research them and talk them to death. I realize at some point I have to get on with my life. I just haven't figured everything out yet. And I still want to talk about my symptoms -- something my dear family does not want to hear anymore Where else can we talk about our poo? Freudians would have a field day Given my elimination problems from the first, I guess I'm still at the anal stage ...

I guess I can't nag my husband about the shelf of poison until I'm not spending hours each day talking to all of you

I've decided to handle the kitchen clean-out by assigning pair of rubber gloves as my "gluten gauntlets" for when cleaning out the cupboards. Yeah, it's cheezy, but gotta have fun with this where you can. Have a pack of dustmasks too. I feel kinda silly at this point being so cautious, but I really don't want a repeat of the other day.

And hubbys! AAAAAGGGHH! Had a headsmack moment, soon followed by a headbutt. Was cleaning out the litterboxes and realized that we have to change the kind of litter we get. We're using the compressed wheat hull kind because its better for the environment. Duh! Well it might be more bio-friendly, but I'm pretty sure its not doing anything friendly for me! Told my otherwise understanding and sympathetic husband that we needed to change the brand of litter because its made of wheat. His reply? "Why?"

*sigh* I can see this is going to get more and more interesting as time passes.

The folks on this board have been absolutely wonderful! Thank you all so much for making a confused and scared newbie feel a little less confused and scared.

[JNBunnie1]

The folks on this board have been absolutely wonderful! Thank you all so much for making a confused and scared newbie feel a little less confused and scared.

You're welcome! Get everything you can get at Trader Joe's, their stuff is cheaper.

When I said immediate, I just meant much sooner than most. I actually take two days to know I've been glutened (which makes finding the culprit a little awkward), and most people take at least a few hours, is my understanding. Your neurological symptoms would suggest to me that you have actual Celiac disease, not just a wheat intolerance. I haven't completely studied it, but I don't think a straight wheat intolerance does that. I think you have to have Celiac for that, but I could be wrong. And if you do decide to have some barley or rye, don't have so much! Have like, a quarter of a bite, just barely any. I think that would still be effective, but your symptoms might not be SO bad.

Oh, and I meant to mention earlier, you can do a lot of gluten free baking with honey instead of sugar, if you are ok with honey.

[Nyxie63]

You're welcome! Get everything you can get at Trader Joe's, their stuff is cheaper.

When I said immediate, I just meant much sooner than most. I actually take two days to know I've been glutened (which makes finding the culprit a little awkward), and most people take at least a few hours, is my understanding. Your neurological symptoms would suggest to me that you have actual Celiac disease, not just a wheat intolerance. I haven't completely studied it, but I don't think a straight wheat intolerance does that. I think you have to have Celiac for that, but I could be wrong. And if you do decide to have some barley or rye, don't have so much! Have like, a quarter of a bite, just barely any. I think that would still be effective, but your symptoms might not be SO bad.

Oh, and I meant to mention earlier, you can do a lot of gluten free baking with honey instead of sugar, if you are ok with honey.

Cool! Thanks for the tips! Is the ratio of honey to sugar 1:1? I have an absolutely faboo source for honey. My current faves from them are heather honey (tastes like flowers) and killer bee honey (no kidding).

Hrm. I'm still up in the air about a lot of this stuff, especially testing. My insurance will pay for a lot of things, but its changing at the end of this year (Boo!Hiss!) and I want to get as much done in the next 2 months as possible on their dime.

So, you think this might be why I've been such a klutz all my life? I've never been physically coordinated. Stub my toe, trip, or bang into something at least once a week, if not daily. Drop stuff on a regular basis. Don't even get me started on "mystery" bruises. Oh! And after a lifetime of thwacking my feet, I finally broke a toe earlier this summer. Now I'm wondering about a bone density scan.

I'm seeing the holistic MD tomorrow and getting a slew of test results back. One of the tests was a Metabolic Analysis Profile from Genova Diagnostics (formerly Great Smokies Labs). Check it out at www.gdx.net if you feel so inclined. I'm particularly interested in the bacteria and yeast part of the testing. Wondering if candida has anything to do with all this. And I'm definitely going to drop this latest little bomb from the elimination diet on his desk.

Thanks again!

[JNBunnie1]

Cool! Thanks for the tips! Is the ratio of honey to sugar 1:1? I have an absolutely faboo source for honey. My current faves from them are heather honey (tastes like flowers) and killer bee honey (no kidding).

Hrm. I'm still up in the air about a lot of this stuff, especially testing. My insurance will pay for a lot of things, but its changing at the end of this year (Boo!Hiss!) and I want to get as much done in the next 2 months as possible on their dime.

So, you think this might be why I've been such a klutz all my life? I've never been physically coordinated. Stub my toe, trip, or bang into something at least once a week, if not daily. Drop stuff on a regular basis. Don't even get me started on "mystery" bruises. Oh! And after a lifetime of thwacking my feet, I finally broke a toe earlier this summer. Now I'm wondering about a bone density scan.

I'm seeing the holistic MD tomorrow and getting a slew of test results back. One of the tests was a Metabolic Analysis Profile from Genova Diagnostics (formerly Great Smokies Labs). Check it out at www.gdx.net if you feel so inclined. I'm particularly interested in the bacteria and yeast part of the testing. Wondering if candida has anything to do with all this. And I'm definitely going to drop this latest little bomb from the elimination diet on his desk.

Thanks again!

Keep this in mind. Celiac can make it harder to get both health and life insurance. If you have no official diagnosis, they can't hold it against you. So that's something to consider when discussing this with your doctor.

I've been a klutz all my life too, and it's gotten better gluten free, so you're not alone. If you've been beating yourself up on a regular basis all these years and have only a broken toe to show for it, then I don't think you need to be worrying about a bone density scan. I mean geez, don't you think you would have broken SOMETHING big by now? I should be dead, but my nickname is cementhead. I'm not worried about bone density. Oddly enough, I'm a very good dancer though. Hmmm....

Yes, honey is pretty much 1:1, but the flavor is so much more intense that I usually use half measurement. But I'm used to less sweet things than most, I don't eat much sugar, so experiment. Also, sugar is dry and honey is wet, so some adjustment is needed with delicate recipes. Banana bread doesn't really care what you do to it, but cake sure does!

[Nyxie63]

Keep this in mind. Celiac can make it harder to get both health and life insurance. If you have no official diagnosis, they can't hold it against you. So that's something to consider when discussing this with your doctor.

That's definitely something to think about. While an official dx would probably make it easier for the family to accept my new eating routine and precautions, other than my own idle curiosity, there really isn't a "reason" to do all the testing. I have my proof.

The biggest problem I've had so far with any of this health stuff is that I don't look sick. Overwight, tired, frowzy.... but not sick. My family's having a heckuva time accepting that something's wrong. Even my mother's gone as far to ask me if it isn't all psychosomatic! I talked to her the other night and told her about the wheat reaction. She'd never heard of anything like it. Fortunately, my aunt, who mom lives with, was listening to the conversation and piped up "Oh! She has celiac! No wonder she's been so sick!". At least somebody gets it. Hopefully, the rest of the family will follow.

I've been a klutz all my life too, and it's gotten better gluten free, so you're not alone. If you've been beating yourself up on a regular basis all these years and have only a broken toe to show for it, then I don't think you need to be worrying about a bone density scan. I mean geez, don't you think you would have broken SOMETHING big by now? I should be dead, but my nickname is cementhead. I'm not worried about bone density. Oddly enough, I'm a very good dancer though. Hmmm....

That's a relief! Maybe I'll finally find some coordination once my body's cleaned out a little more. It'd be nice to have my brain back too. I'd been concerned about bone density even before all the food sensitivity stuff, since I'm also vit D deficient and don't know how long that's been going on. Untreated/undertreated hypothyroid can also decrease bone mass and I'm not currently on any meds for it (long story). Considering I now have 3 risk factors for bone loss, I'd rather not wait until I break a hip before finding out there's been a problem. I think I'll bring it up, but not push the issue if the doc doesn't think its warranted.

Yes, honey is pretty much 1:1, but the flavor is so much more intense that I usually use half measurement. But I'm used to less sweet things than most, I don't eat much sugar, so experiment. Also, sugar is dry and honey is wet, so some adjustment is needed with delicate recipes. Banana bread doesn't really care what you do to it, but cake sure does!

Thanks! I haven't baked in a long time, largely because I'd eat it all if its there. Looking forward to doing some baking now. I'm heading down to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods after my dr's appt today. Looking forward to picking up some goodies and maybe a cook book (there are tons of book stores in the area as well). I react to corn items like frito's, but don't know just how far the sensitivity goes. Hoping I can have stuff like xanthan gum, since its in so many gluten-free products. Is there a substitute for xanthan gum for baking? Guess I need to start researching stuff like that too. It'd be nice to be able to bring a nice homebaked goodie to the family functions this year.

Thanks again! You've been wonderful!