Gluten-free - Going Dairy-free

[fripp017]

So, my Celiac "diagnosis" is a long story. Needless to say, I have been gluten-free and feeling pretty awesome for a little over a month. Suddenly the abdominal pain has kicked back in, but not as severely as before. I assume it's dairy and blame my stubborness for not just avoiding both. My main concern is if I have to stay away from dairy products or do I have to stand in the store and read the labels for both gluten and whey?

[maile]

My main concern is if I have to stay away from dairy products or do I have to stand in the store and read the labels for both gluten and whey?

depending on your level of sensitivity I'm afraid it's the label reading although you should note, most of us react to the casein in dairy so there's another word for you to check,

if you want to go fully dairy free watch for: lactose (this is the sugar and often accounts for the gas and bloating associated with dairy); whey and casein (these are the proteins)

you can consider substituting goat's milk products in some things, goat's or sheeps milk feta are great tasting cheeses, misithra cheese (made from sheep's milk and has a taste like asiago) is great on top of your gluten-free pasta.

Coconut milk and oil are also good substitutes for cow's milk and butter; coconut oil is solid at room temperature and there are usually 2 kinds in the store, be careful which ones you get virgin coconut oil will taste like coconut, regular does not - these ones are usually labeled "good for cooking" or some such. I often use coconut milk in my coffee, it takes a bit of getting used to but if you like coconut then it's not so hard. There's also a coconut milk yogurt that is available at Whole Foods (but not in Canada - can you tell I'm annoyed ) you could use in place of sour cream etc

good luck!

[ksymonds84]

I didn't give up dairy at first and after 4 months of feeling great, got the old symptoms back again. I gave up dairy but always cheated and never got full relief until I diligently got serious and checked every lable for casein, lactose, whey etc. You will be suprised at how many products have hidden dairy in them. For instance on vacation, my mother in law bought me gluten free pepperoni but when I read the ingredients it contained milk. The only other thing I've had to give up is high fructose foods and that seemed to be the final missing puzzle piece. I went 16 days with no symptoms at all and I was in Maui, so eating out a lot! That was a new record for me, so just sharing to let you know it is possible to get better but be an active label reader because gluten, sugar, and dairy are sometimes in foods that you would never suspect! Good luck!

[fripp017]

I went 16 days with no symptoms at all and I was in Maui, so eating out a lot! That was a new record for me, so just sharing to let you know it is possible to get better but be an active label reader because gluten, sugar, and dairy are sometimes in foods that you would never suspect! Good luck!

Kathy,

I see that you are gluten, soy, and dairy free. What can you eat!?! I find it tough already to avoid gluten, and I have learned about some of the tricky wording for it, but to have to do that with all three? Do you feel better? Have your symptoms stopped all together yet?

Thanks for the help,

Jessy

[ksymonds84]

Kathy,

I see that you are gluten, soy, and dairy free. What can you eat!?! I find it tough already to avoid gluten, and I have learned about some of the tricky wording for it, but to have to do that with all three? Do you feel better? Have your symptoms stopped all together yet?

Thanks for the help,

Jessy

Hi Jessy, I actually eat a lot of stuff. As for the soy, soy lecthicin and soybean oil does not bother me. Its products that contain the soy protein that I generally stay away from. A little soy sauce (like a tsp on rice) doesn't bother me either but a glass of soy milk would give me stomach issues very quickly. So maybe i should say soy lite in my signature. I eat fresh meats, potatoes, rice, low fructose type fruits, tons of veggies. My husband and I own two restaurants and with two chefs and my husband loving to cook, I can pretty much find an alternative to any recipe. He made me chicken fried steak with potatoes and gravy using unsweetened almond milk the other night! I love salsa and tostitoes and pig out on them alot. Here's a normal day for me (yesterday's menu actually)

breakfast:

decaf coffee with almond milk

egg, bacon, piece of gluten-free/df/sf/ toast with clarified butter

(some days I have chex cereal with 1/2 banana and almond milk)

always a half of banana for potassium ( i can eat low fructose fruits such as blue berries, black berries, cherries and banana's)

Lunch:

hamburger on a gluten-free/df/sf bun (I use outside the bread box breads from a gluten free bakery in old colorado city)with lettuce tomato onion. I only like mustard

raw veggies such as cut up cucumber, carrots, radishes (i put a lot of salt on these, one of my weird cravings)

stax potato chips (again the soy lecithin doesn't bother me)

ice tea

Dinner

BBQ chicken pizza

Chicken breast thinly cut and seasoned with mc cormicks BBQ seasoning, red pepper, onions and garlic.

Annie's BBQ sauce (no high fructose corn syrup like other brands)

food for life brown rice shell for my pizza crust

topped with thinly sliced green onions and hormel real bacon bits

(believe me, you won't miss the cheese!)

A couple glasses of chardonnay (I stay away from sweet wines)

So as you can see I eat very well. I felt good after discovering the casein issue, I tried just lactose free and that didn't help. I would still have bad days and spent some time googling the internet etc and came across fructose malabsorption and found an article stating that celiacs can have a problem with both dairy and fructose and it was like a light bulb going off. Such as once I ate at a restaurant and blamed the meal but I did have a cup of hot tea with a ton of honey (all fructose) in it and 1/2 hour after the tea was in the loo but again I thought I was glutened by meal. Also, tried pamela's bread mixes and gluten pantry. Got sick on both and suspected maybe xantham gum and posted this a few times on this board that xantham bothered me. Gave up all xantham and that still didn't work. After I discovered the fructose malabsorption, I looked up the products I was giving up and Pamela's contains both honey and molasses and the gluten pantry mix contained Honey! I have gone back to bread products that are gluten-free/df/sf with no honey (plain sugar is fine as long as not too much) and have been totally fine, so poor xantham gum got a bad rap. So I guess what I am saying is everyone is different and you maybe fine with a high fructose diet or having soy proteins but if you are still not improving become a detective and keep a food diary listing EVERYTHING you ate that day plus how you felt. Also remember it can take two or three days to show symptoms sometimes so it can be frustrating. Feel free to PM me anytime if you need encouragement. It's taken me a year and a half gluten free to finally go 16 days with no symptoms but I was also sick with stomach stuff for over 20 years so I need to also keep that in mind.

[fripp017]

So as you can see I eat very well. I felt good after discovering the casein issue, I tried just lactose free and that didn't help. I would still have bad days and spent some time googling the internet etc and came across fructose malabsorption and found an article stating that celiacs can have a problem with both dairy and fructose and it was like a light bulb going off. Such as once I ate at a restaurant and blamed the meal but I did have a cup of hot tea with a ton of honey (all fructose) in it and 1/2 hour after the tea was in the loo but again I thought I was glutened by meal. Also, tried pamela's bread mixes and gluten pantry. Got sick on both and suspected maybe xantham gum and posted this a few times on this board that xantham bothered me. Gave up all xantham and that still didn't work. After I discovered the fructose malabsorption, I looked up the products I was giving up and Pamela's contains both honey and molasses and the gluten pantry mix contained Honey! I have gone back to bread products that are gluten-free/df/sf with no honey (plain sugar is fine as long as not too much) and have been totally fine, so poor xantham gum got a bad rap. So I guess what I am saying is everyone is different and you maybe fine with a high fructose diet or having soy proteins but if you are still not improving become a detective and keep a food diary listing EVERYTHING you ate that day plus how you felt. Also remember it can take two or three days to show symptoms sometimes so it can be frustrating. Feel free to PM me anytime if you need encouragement. It's taken me a year and a half gluten free to finally go 16 days with no symptoms but I was also sick with stomach stuff for over 20 years so I need to also keep that in mind.

Thank you so much for your advice. I see how creative you can be. It's just frustrating to have so many "normal" options taken away. By the way, where do you buy the almond milk?

Thanks,

Jessy

[ksymonds84]

Thank you so much for your advice. I see how creative you can be. It's just frustrating to have so many "normal" options taken away. By the way, where do you buy the almond milk?

Thanks,

Jessy

I use the Blue Diamond brand non sweetened. I get it at King Sooper (Kroger, City Market) and also at Safeway. Its in the cereal aisle at my Safeway and the health food section at King Sooper. Cheaper than at the health food store that usually has it. I understand about normal options being taken away. On vacation when we would go to a happy hour, I would usually have to just have a cocktail or two because there would be nothing for me for appetizer I would try to remember to pack stax, almonds, etc in my purse but its easy to forget when on vacation.

[RiceGuy]

You can make almond milk (or rice milk, etc) very quickly and easily. It will also cost less that way, and you'll know what's in it. There are a zillion recipes on the Internet which you can try, but basically you put almonds and water in the blender.

Here are some recipes:

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