Communion Wafers? Detox Time?

[Tricia]

Hello - I began to suspect I have gluten intolerance, or at least an allergy to wheat products, and gave up gluten as of last Tuesday. Right away I noticed that a mild, but irritating, case of hemorrhoids cleared up. Then I also noticed that the A.D.D., which I was diagnosed with as an adult, seemed way less troublesome. A quick check on the net verified that gluten intolerance can lead to problems with A.D.D. which probably most readers here already know.

Though I gave up gluten last Tuesday, I also gave up all additives, sugar, and have gone all raw except for some frozen veggies and homogenized skim milk and skim yogurt. (Don't eat nonorganic milk products as the milkfat is loaded with toxins from grass cows eat and so on - very correlated to breast cancer from what I heard an expert speaker say.)

However, the real problems I gave up all these things for have not yet gone away.

The first one was a burning sensation in my knees when kneeling to get up off the floor or when anything much pressed against my knees, which I assumed might be a type of arthritis pain. The second problem was just an annoying sense of tiredness and heaviness that would come over me periodically at least once per day. I will be talking to my doctor about all this, but still am doing to detox, whatever she says (She is very sympathetic to any natural solutions that work.) The knee pain and tiredness seem somewhat less but I am wondering - How long does it take to detox?

Also, does it really hurt to have just one little bit of bread for Communion each week?

One last thing - in trying to go raw I am actually eating my brown rice raw, too. I just sprinkle some of the flour into nonfat yogurt and add blueberries. It's a little grainy but palatable. Just in case anyone knows of any recipes that use raw brown rice flour, sure would appreciate hearing about them. (It seems the IP6 in brown rice, which is very detoxifying and anti cancer is much more present in raw rice than in cooked rice/bran etc.?) Thanks very much for any help.

[lovegrov]

If you have celiac the standard advice -- and the only advice I'd ever give -- is to never ever eat anything you know has gluten, including communion wafers. Nobody REALLY knows how much it takes to cause damage. There are people who react severely to something as small as a wafer, and others who can eat a sandwich with no obvious problems (but still might be doing internal damage).

richard

[MySuicidalTurtle]

There are glutenfree communion wafers. You should see if your church will let you subsitute this, some don't.

A little bit of wheat can hurt.

[Tricia]

Lovegrov - Okay, I'm sure the Lord will understand if I abstain. Thanks.

Mysuicidalturtle - First, I certainly hope your little terrapin is feeling better!

I will have to check out gluten free Communion crackers. Thanks.

But does anyone out there know how long it takes to detox, please?

[MySuicidalTurtle]

It took me a few months.

[Jeap]

All I have read talks about a 6 month period before you really begin to heal. I felt a lot different in 2 weeks, but really began feeling better in about 3 months. I believe that your system will dictate. Just stay away from gluten even if it is the communion wafer. I have skipped communion at our church. I sat thru it, took a wafer, and a cup of juice but just did not eat or drink it. I believe the Lord understands.

JEAP

[mela14]

I remember getting sick at mass....before I knew about the gluten problem. I just came back from mass and didn't take the communion wafer. I haven't had it in about 2 months since I've been attmpting gluten-free. How long will it take to detox? not sure but I've been at it for about 2 months and have my ups and downs. sometimes the gluten sneaks in there unknowingly and sets flare ups back in motion. All we can do is try.

Hang in there...things will get better.

[Tricia]

Thank you Jeap, MST & Mela - That is encouraging, actually, to know it takes awhile to get the full effects.

Just FYI to anyone who is interested, I am not at all sure after research, actually, that "breaking bread" refers to just bread. It was apparently a term for sharing a meal in general with other believers. Of course in the standard Church - which actually I do not belong to anyway, as I am Messianic, but there are no congregations in this area so I have to do "home" Church - that's all that there is, bread and grape juice/or wine.

I am mostly interested in the whole issue of the bread from the point of view of Passover/Pesach and the use of unleavened bread then. But from what everyone is saying, I am going to forgoe the matzos.

I agree that if we give up the bread of whatever kind, He does understand. He wants us healthy!

[Maggie1956]

I got some discomfort yesterday after the tiniest piece of communion bread. I think it was Lebonese bread.

So in future, I'm going to take a rice cracker. I believe it's not WHAT we eat as communion wafers, it's about remembering our Lord. Yes, I'm sure He understands that some of us are made a bit different.

[Tricia]

Hi Maggie - Thanks. I have been thinking about maybe having a rice cracker, too, in a very small amount. Don't remember what I read about rice crackers that was bad, but there was some concern about them, and I have definitely noticed in the past that they make me tired, one of the first symptoms for me of allergic reaction. But I guess it's not as bad as wheat. I will give up the wheat as everyone is suggesting. Why take a chance?

[Guest barbara3675]

This subject has come up before......the Roman Catholic church is very strict that they only will let you have wheat wafers, but other denominations are much more kind about this issue. I am ELCA Lutheran and I took some rice crackers that I had snapped in half to the church and my pastor puts one of them in his dish for me to have during communion. It is an easy solution as they are different color so he can tell mine from the others when I get up there. Communion is a very important part of the service for me, so skipping it is not an option. There is a solution for every problem if you just look hard enough.

Barbara

[angel-jd1]

By putting your wafer in the same container as the others you are still being contaminated. Maybe you could have a seperate container, otherwise you may as well just eat the wheat !! ha

-Jessica

[Deby]

I've been gluten-free for 4 years. When it comes to communion, I do several things. first I try to remember to bring a rice cracker. If I forget, I just take the cracker and juice, drink the juice but slip the cracker to my husband.

However, after a recent church split, communing has been done dirrerently. Now instead of passing the communion elements around (little cup of juice, a tray of broken crackers) there is a loaf of shepards bread and a cup of juice to dip the bread into. This is obvously a problem that cannot be over come with a substitute cracter. So I just abstain.

However, last communion Sunday, the lady who gets the bread asked me if I could make the bread for communion next time since she had looked for gluten-free bread but couldn't find it. We used a pita bread last communion (wheat) but a gluten-free pita bread is easy. So I'm planning on that next communion.

Bottom line, just talk to your church leaders and let them know your situation. I think most would work with you.

as for detox. I think it depends on how long you have had celiac. If you went undiagnosed for a long time, the detox can take longer.

Hang in there

[Tricia]

Thanks Debby. I will hang in there. Going gluten free helped me feel better, but then going only raw (except skim milk and nonfat yogurt) has made me feel reeeeally, better - so don't worry, I will definitely "hang in there."

[hopeful]

Hi Tricia,

My doctor told me that gluten intolerance is an immunologic disease. When those of us who have a problem with gluten eat it, we may not exhibit any symptoms, but the gluten in our bowels is doing its thing to attack our immune system. We then become allergic to all kinds of foods. That's why everyone has different food allergies. But the underlying cause is gluten, and not just wheat gluten. Products produced from barley and rye cause the same immune reaction. In the U.S., it's also best to stay away from oats because they are usually contaminated in the manufacturing process. Your allergies are specific to you. So, stay away from anything that hurts you, plus stay away from gluten, not just wheat gluten. Remember, wheat free isn't gluten free. For more info, see gluten.net.

[Maggie1956]

Hi Maggie - Thanks. I have been thinking about maybe having a rice cracker, too, in a very small amount.  Don't remember what I read about rice crackers that was bad, but there was some concern about them, and I have definitely noticed in the past that they make me tired, one of the first symptoms for me of allergic reaction.  But I guess it's not as bad as wheat.  I will give up the wheat as everyone is suggesting.  Why take a chance?

I'm not sure if there are other things that may be bad about rice crakers, but I know I've had to make sure that I don't eat the ones which had soy in them.

Here in Australia, we have a brand called Sa-Ka-Ta. I love them. They have become a treat for me. But there is a ' seaweed' flavor which has soy in it. I ate some the other day, and I'm still paying for it. So, now I check even more thoroughly.

It might be the same for you. Maybe the rice crakers have soy, or another ingredient which contains gluten??? Just a thought. I get really tired if I've ingested gluten too.

I know if I eat too much rice, particularly boiled rice, I get all bloated up and in pain from it. So I keep it to a minimum. I don't think it actaully causes more trouble with the villi.

I'm still really new to all this, so don't quote me as being entirely correct. If I'm wrong, someone tell me please.

[Janice C]

According to dogtorj.com around 400AD several grains (including the original wheat) were hybridized together. The resulting grain was high gluten. The original wheat mentioned in the Bible had negligble wheat.

[Tricia]

Hopeful - Thanks. Good things to remember.

Maggie - Yes, I am sensitive to soy (though I have a probably soy based estrogen patch which

works great and causes no problems).

Janice - I think you are maybe clearing up a mystery for me, though I don't know all the facts.

(One thing we can be sure of. Those little white wafers don't look anything like the bread at the

Last Supper or like what was in Goshen.)

It would seem odd that the Lord would mention bread so often in the Word, even telling people

to eat unleavened bread at Pesach/Passover, if wheat is so harmful. But hybrid wheat and

so on, that makes sense. People so often want to mess with the original food we were given, thinking they have a better idea, when really they do not.

[tyki]

Have told a bit of my history in other posts....but going way back....my paternal grandmother was gluten intolerant (even if we didn't call it that) and a devout Roman Catholic. In fact, she worked as a cook in the convent after my grandfather passed away.

Anyways, her solution to not being able to eat wheat, was that she had her own small silver chalice (the cup of the chalice was no bigger than a thimble). She would take the chalice to the Church before Mass (we always had to get to church early when she was visiting) and talked to the Priest before Mass to explain her special circumstance. During the Mass, the Priest would put some of the wine in her Chalice and that was how she received Communion (and that was before us Roman Catholics started having the congregration receive from the cup). Then we stuck around after Mass so she could retrieve her chalice and wrap it back up until the next week.

[brian26]

You can get gluten-free communion wafers at:

Open Original Shared Link