Just Diagnosed - How Long To Stay Off Dairy?

[nw0528]

Hi,

I was just diagnosed on Thursday with Celiac. I started the gluten free lifestyle on Saturday (after a delicious homemade lasagna and bread on Friday - my "last supper" of my old life!). Anyhow, my doctor had advised me to also cut out all dairy for the time being as it can be hard to digest while the villi are damaged from the gluten. Darn it - he didn't mention how long to expect to be off dairy, before reintroducing it. I've never had a problem with dairy before, and we don't think I do now. I'm curious for people who cut out dairy at first and then reintroduced it, about how long did you wait, and how did you know you were ready to reintroduce it?

Thanks,

Nicole

[Lisa]

Hi,

I was just diagnosed on Thursday with Celiac. I started the gluten free lifestyle on Saturday (after a delicious homemade lasagna and bread on Friday - my "last supper" of my old life!). Anyhow, my doctor had advised me to also cut out all dairy for the time being as it can be hard to digest while the villi are damaged from the gluten. Darn it - he didn't mention how long to expect to be off dairy, before reintroducing it. I've never had a problem with dairy before, and we don't think I do now. I'm curious for people who cut out dairy at first and then reintroduced it, about how long did you wait, and how did you know you were ready to reintroduce it?

Thanks,

Nicole

How luck for you to actually have a doctor who knows what he's talking about. Your healing coincides with how diligent you are to the diet. 100% will expedite healing.

Dairy can cause the same type of symptoms as gluten does, but not always and not for everyone. But, it may be hard to tell the difference and gluten has high priority right now.

As recommended I would eliminate gluten and dairy and gradually reintroduce dairy after a few weeks, or longer. In the beginning it's really hard to be 100% and goofs are common.

Do your best and learn from this site. If we can help you, just ask.

[Tallforagirl]

How luck for you to actually have a doctor who knows what he's talking about.

Well, sort of.

The culprit is actually lactose, which is present in some, but not all dairy produce. Things like yoghurt and hard cheese are usually fine.

The reason many Celiacs are lactose intolerant when first diagnosed is because the substance our body makes to digest the protein in lactose - lactase, is secreted from the tips of our villi, therefore, if your villi are blunted, your body does not produce enough lactase, and you'll have problems digesting lactose.

There is a hydrogen breath test you can take to diagnose lactose intolerance.

If you are lactose intolerant, you could consider taking a lactase supplement (check it's gluten-free).

In my opinion, I don't feel it's necessary to go looking for things to cut out of my diet, unless there's an obvious problem with it. Cutting out all the gluten is enough as it is!

[GFinDC]

Hi Nicole,

I had lactose intolerance for 10 years and cut it out for the most part. I was able to re-introduce it as far as not having bad digestive symptoms after a year gluten-free. Still needed a little lactaid though. But I had to stop dairy again due to not being able to sleep when I ate it. I think you could get answers all over the map on this question. Some people have lactose sugar intolerance, some have casein protein intolerance. Some have both. I seem to be mostly over the lactose part but still have the casein problem. It all depends on each individual case. You may not know if you have a problem with the casein protein unless you eliminate dairy for a while. I'd guess 3 months would be a good test. If you do eliminate dairy be sure to take some extra calcium and Vitamin D though. As Mommagoose siad, it could be confusing to try and separate the symptoms if you are eating dairy also. According to Wiki the casein molecule is similar to gluten.

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Casein-free diet

Casein has a molecular structure that is quite similar to that of gluten. Thus, some gluten-free diets are combined with casein-free diets and referred to as a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Casein may also be linked to the promotion of cancer and other diseases which was discovered in the 1980s by nutrition and health researcher, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study.[citation needed] Casein is often listed as sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate or milk protein. These are often found in energy bars, drinks as well as packaged goods.