Soy A Problem Too?

[CycleFitness]

I am a new member who has come here to seek some support and advice. I began going to a new chiropractor two months ago. I described the lower abdominal pain (never diarrhea) that I have every day after lunch; sometimes after breakfast, and that by dinnertime I usually ate on top of an already full, uncomfortable stomach just for the sake of soothing the discomfort. I also described other symptoms, such as severe arthritis in my family. He immediately said I was gluten intolerant. Being a very healthy, active 43 year-old female I was open to hear about this previously unknown topic of gluten intolerance. Everything he said made sense, so I started to eliminate gluten from my diet. I have had huge success in eliminating the horrible bloating, gas, belching and stabbing pains in my lower gut.

I guess it's safe to say I'm gluten intolerant. I know I react to gluten. I have lived with bloating and gas all my life and just thought it was "normal." Once I eliminated gluten I felt 10 pounds lighter because I wasn't blowing up by the end of the day. The range of foods that give me gut pain is incredible. Something I love, sushi, is no longer an option. After eating a california roll a few weeks back, I had a reaction so severe I had to retire for the night because laying down was the only thing that relieved the knot in my gut.

Yesterday I ate a Flax cereal that had isolated soy protein. Boy, by lunchtime I was in distress; bloated and very, very smelly gas. Does that mean I may have a sensitivty to soy or would it be the gluten in ISP? I eat tofu all the time and don't seem to have a problem with that.

The cool thing about eliminating gluten; I can now freely eat legumes and vegetables without the side effects of the gas. I guess it's because my gut is in a better state to be able to handle those foods now?

I have contemplated the Enterolab tests, but really question their validity. Cynicism prevails here. Who is Dr. Fine? What are his credentials? Are his research protocols available for public consumption? A couple of local practitioners recommend all their patients get that test. I'm very skeptical of any one person who holds a real or imaginery monopoly on a market. How many people has Dr. Atkins "convinced" they can only maintain a healthy weight by eating a restrictive diet? I can't bring myself to pay that kind of money for a test that noone can really prove the validity of, so I'm currently holding out that I don't need to spend $400 to have someone (who??) tell me I'm gluten intolerant.

I am beginning to wonder if the gas in my children is also related. That's where the issue becomes bigger and more complicated. I have four teenagers aged 19, 18, 17, and 14. They complain about gas all the time, but try to get them to quit eating at McDonalds!

[lovegrov]

I don't know of any gluten in ISP. Are you certain the flax cereal was gluten-free -- no barley or oats in it? Some people even have trouble with flax, although not because of gluten.

richard

[tarnalberry]

I can only echo what Richard said. Are you sure the cereal you at had no rye, barley, oats, or other ingredient which contains gluten? (I haven't found many that don't.) As for the sushi... did the California roll have imitation crab, as is often used? If so, it almost certainly contained gluten...

[lovegrov]

I missed the sushi part. Sushi is very edible for us (unless you have some other intolerance) but you can't have the imitation crab, the marinated eel, or the soy sauce (I bring my own). Someone somewhere also saw wheat in an orange fish roe once. But if you stick with vegetable rolls or straight raw fish (and make sure the guy works on a cleaned surface), sushi should be OK.

richard,

[sunflower]

I agree with both posts above. Sadly, many cereals, even if they are made of gluten-free grains, are flavoured with gluten- containing malt or they have some other ingredients which are not gluten-free.

The crab is something I would have never guessed myself until I read about it some time ago somewhere on this board. Then, the next time I was in a supermarket, I found some frozen crab sticks and I read the ingredients list, which was very educative indeed. Basically, the ingredients were: white fish meat, wheat flour and lots of flavor enhancers and color additives. Yum!

As far as sushi goes, you should also beware of anything that contains soy sauce, which would mean: the japanese omelettes (they contain soy sauce), marinaded vegetables (they have slightly brown color, that's because they are made with soy sauce), the salmon roe (again flavored with soy sauce) and sometimes even nori (the seaweed used for wrapping) can (but do not always) contain soy sauce flavor (the plain yakinori, or roasted nori, does not contain soy sauce, from my label reading experience). I think eating sushi is possible, only you'd have to find some reliable place where they would check ingredients and make sure your sushi does not contain anything with gluten. (BTW, even if a waitperson/ chef is a native Japanese, be warned that many Japanese do not know that soy sauce contains wheat! The most recent funny remark I heard from a Japanese whom I tried to convince that I cannot have anything containing soy sauce was "Oh no, surely the GOOD, ORIGINAL soy sauce brands cannot contain wheat!" I had to literally point him the "wheat flour" on the ingredients list of his "good, original" soy sauce bottle )

I hope you find the source of your problems and that it will turn to be some hidden gluten, not soy!

[sunflower]

Oh, yes, Richard is right -the marinated eel, too (the marinade contains soy sauce). I forgot about this one.

To complete the list, obviously any sushi topped with any breaded seafood is a no-no, too.

I'm wondering about the mayo that they put in some rolls - it would be good to check ingredients of this one, too (seems like lots of fun is awaiting the staff of the sushi place you are going to go to next time )