Trying Gluten Free

[evey67]

Hi, I'm new to this site, and a little confused

I haven't been diagnosed as being a celiac, but for years I have suffered with terrible heartburn, headaches after eating specific foods. Over the last 12 months or so, my abdomen has bloated so much that I constantly look about 4 months pregnant

My partner suggested that maybe I was allergic to gluten, so I started to look at everything that gave me terrible heartburn, and they did contain gluten (bread, cake, biscuits, pastry ). Bananas give me heartburn too

The last 12 months, not only has my stomach swelled, but I'm constantly tired, have mood swings and generally have no energy at all!

So I thought I would try eating foods that are gluten free. Any advice from anyone would be a huge help on what I hope will be my road to recovery!!

[flourgirl]

Hi there! I wish you luck with the diet and with your health. The only advice I'm tempted to give is to read, have lots of patience with yourself, and ask questions. You are in a great place for information and support! Every one is different as far as symptoms and with how much time it takes to feel better. Some feel relief right away, others take months, even years. Please don't get discouraged if it takes time. Welcome aboard

[evey67]

Hi there! I wish you luck with the diet and with your health. The only advice I'm tempted to give is to read, have lots of patience with yourself, and ask questions. You are in a great place for information and support! Every one is different as far as symptoms and with how much time it takes to feel better. Some feel relief right away, others take months, even years. Please don't get discouraged if it takes time. Welcome aboard

Thanks for welcoming me aboard. I have done some reading already on different websites, and I was amazed that it can be passed from generation to generation! That got me thinking, my mother has rheumatoid arthritis and suffers with depression, her sister suffered from oesteoporasis, their mother suffered with digestive problems (she couldn't eat certain foods and had constant heartburn), my daughter is allergic to pollen, flowers, grass, trees, dust mites and suffers with eczema and then there's me! What a family I never thought that symptoms like these could be linked to a food allergy.

I have tried a low carb diet which was fantastic for me, I felt so full of energy, no heartburn, headaches etc......... maybe that's the answer to all my ailments? Time will tell I suppose

[NorthernElf]

You might want to get tested before you go & cut out the gluten...once you do it is really hard to get an accurate test.

Your symptoms sound a lot like my original symptoms. I got headaches tylenol couldn't touch, I felt really stressed, bloated, and had a lot of reflux and stomach cramps. The problem with pinning it all down is when your stomach is "out", well, it's really "out" ! What I mean is that when I have gluten in my system it seems like everything affects me. It took me awhile to pin it all on gluten (I had a very severe virus a few years ago that triggered this whole mess). Anyway, when glutened my reflux is much worse and I have to be super careful what I eat - I can usually tolerate a bit of dairy but if I'm glutened, no way !

If you do decide to cut out the gluten, keep your diet simple for a few days too - rice, veggies, etc. without a lot of spices. No processed stuff or premade sauces. It's a bit of work to be truly gluten free - another problem since gluten hides in the strangest spots and some products have it simply from cross contamination so it won't be on the label. Sometimes it takes a few days to see the real effects too. Good luck.

[mattathayde]

honestly i dont see a reason to get the test done other than it will confirm/deny your suspicions , i guess since you havent started yet its something to think about but in the long run the only thing other than maybe a medical confirmation of it you will just get higher insurance. my doc told me after i was gluten-free that if it was working for me there was absolutely no reason to get the test.

either way if those foods are causing your issues then you will have to cut them out no matter what. you sound like one of my friends that had really bad heartburn all the time and i suggested she look towards gluten/wheat (before i even had been diagnosed with celiac disease)

it sounds to me like there is a good chance you have celiac disease but no one has set symptoms

-matt

[evey67]

honestly i dont see a reason to get the test done other than it will confirm/deny your suspicions , i guess since you havent started yet its something to think about but in the long run the only thing other than maybe a medical confirmation of it you will just get higher insurance. my doc told me after i was gluten-free that if it was working for me there was absolutely no reason to get the test.

either way if those foods are causing your issues then you will have to cut them out no matter what. you sound like one of my friends that had really bad heartburn all the time and i suggested she look towards gluten/wheat (before i even had been diagnosed with celiac disease)

it sounds to me like there is a good chance you have celiac disease but no one has set symptoms

-matt

Well today I've kept a food diary of everything I've eaten, and I realise that all the stuff I like to eat (which just happens to be all the stuff I shouldn't eat i.e biscuits, cake etc) gives me terrible heartburn.

As I said before, I've tried a low carb diet cutting out bread, pastry, cake etc., and I couldn't believe how good I felt in myself. Now I'm wondering, should I follow low carb or go gluten free??

I suppose I'm thinking cost now. I'm sure when I check the supermarket, gluten free items are going to cost a fortune. Living in the Republic of Ireland, everyday items are expensive anyway, and to go gluten free will be an extra drain on the purse strings.

Would it be better to bake bread, cake etc myself using gluten free flour?

What do people do when they eat out? Do they inform the waitress they have an intolerance, or just choose something from the menu that they think doesn't contain gluten?

I'm sorry for all the questions and uncertainty on my behalf, but whatever I decide it's going to be a lifetime change, and any advice from people in the know of the condition and it's benefits and pitfalls will be an advantage, and help me form my own opinion.

[mattathayde]

Well today I've kept a food diary of everything I've eaten, and I realise that all the stuff I like to eat (which just happens to be all the stuff I shouldn't eat i.e biscuits, cake etc) gives me terrible heartburn.

As I said before, I've tried a low carb diet cutting out bread, pastry, cake etc., and I couldn't believe how good I felt in myself. Now I'm wondering, should I follow low carb or go gluten free??

I suppose I'm thinking cost now. I'm sure when I check the supermarket, gluten free items are going to cost a fortune. Living in the Republic of Ireland, everyday items are expensive anyway, and to go gluten free will be an extra drain on the purse strings.

Would it be better to bake bread, cake etc myself using gluten free flour?

What do people do when they eat out? Do they inform the waitress they have an intolerance, or just choose something from the menu that they think doesn't contain gluten?

I'm sorry for all the questions and uncertainty on my behalf, but whatever I decide it's going to be a lifetime change, and any advice from people in the know of the condition and it's benefits and pitfalls will be an advantage, and help me form my own opinion.

I would bet its gluten free but you could try eating things that contain gluten but are not baked goods to see if that still gives you the issues.

look at it this way, you dont NEED to eat bead, pastries, etc a paleo diet is easy to do (if you cannot grow it or kill it you shouldnt eat it). im going to be honest in that most of the gluten-free baked goods do not taste great and it will take a while to figure out a decent substitute but it is easier to cut it out and then add in gluten-free versions later once you get used to not eating them.

gluten-free versions of foods cost a lot but there are plenty of foods that are gluten-free by nature instead of design.

as to eating out, calling a head, seeing if the place has gluten-free options, choosing things that are less likely to have gluten in them and making sure your waiter/waitress knows whats up are all ways to go about it

-matt

[evey67]

I would bet its gluten free but you could try eating things that contain gluten but are not baked goods to see if that still gives you the issues.

look at it this way, you dont NEED to eat bead, pastries, etc a paleo diet is easy to do (if you cannot grow it or kill it you shouldnt eat it). im going to be honest in that most of the gluten-free baked goods do not taste great and it will take a while to figure out a decent substitute but it is easier to cut it out and then add in gluten-free versions later once you get used to not eating them.

gluten-free versions of foods cost a lot but there are plenty of foods that are gluten-free by nature instead of design.

as to eating out, calling a head, seeing if the place has gluten-free options, choosing things that are less likely to have gluten in them and making sure your waiter/waitress knows whats up are all ways to go about it

-matt

So basically a paleo diet is similar to the 'diet for your blood type' am I right? I looked into that too, and as I'm blood type O+, according to this diet, I'm not supposed to eat any type of grain, which at the moment makes a lot of sense!

I must ask you though Matt, I had cornflakes for breakfast this morning, as I assumed they are made from corn I would be ok, but I had my usual awful heartburn again, does this mean I should be looking at eliminating foodstuffs that contain any grain?

[nutralady2001]

So basically a paleo diet is similar to the 'diet for your blood type' am I right? I looked into that too, and as I'm blood type O+, according to this diet, I'm not supposed to eat any type of grain, which at the moment makes a lot of sense!

I must ask you though Matt, I had cornflakes for breakfast this morning, as I assumed they are made from corn I would be ok, but I had my usual awful heartburn again, does this mean I should be looking at eliminating foodstuffs that contain any grain?

Welcome! Check the label on the corn flakes packet.......... all corn flakes in Australia unless they specifically say gluten free, contain gluten

[mattathayde]

So basically a paleo diet is similar to the 'diet for your blood type' am I right? I looked into that too, and as I'm blood type O+, according to this diet, I'm not supposed to eat any type of grain, which at the moment makes a lot of sense!

I must ask you though Matt, I had cornflakes for breakfast this morning, as I assumed they are made from corn I would be ok, but I had my usual awful heartburn again, does this mean I should be looking at eliminating foodstuffs that contain any grain?

i am O+ as well and so is my father (he has been on acid reflux meds for years and is a huge stress eater and just doesnt have the will power to go gluten-free with the stress in he life, i keep telling him how much less stress he will have from gluten-free but hes stubborn). i never looked seriously in to eat right for your type i just looked at the list of stuff if suggests but paleo (from my understanding) limits you basically to meat, veggies, fruit, nuts

for the corn flakes there are 2 things that could of caused it, most likely is that they are flavored with barley malt (a lot of corn flakes are this way, iv fact i was getting glutened from the Kellogg's cornflake crumbs i was using in my "gluten-free meat loaf" for months). the second possibility is that you have a sensitivity to corn as well, it is very common for people with celiac to have secondary allergies/sensitivities which may or may not improve with a gluten-free diet.

unless its meat or a plant you have to start reading ingredients on it (and if its not a solid piece of peat too, a lot of cold cuts have gluten, ground meats some times do but prepared burgers have it a lot as well)

also it takes at least a month for the gluten to clear out of your body, and it takes a long time for your stomach to heal if you have been having bad acid reflux so eating anything that your stomach thinks is harder to digest may give you issues for a while before it can work right

-matt

[evey67]

i am O+ as well and so is my father (he has been on acid reflux meds for years and is a huge stress eater and just doesnt have the will power to go gluten-free with the stress in he life, i keep telling him how much less stress he will have from gluten-free but hes stubborn). i never looked seriously in to eat right for your type i just looked at the list of stuff if suggests but paleo (from my understanding) limits you basically to meat, veggies, fruit, nuts

for the corn flakes there are 2 things that could of caused it, most likely is that they are flavored with barley malt (a lot of corn flakes are this way, iv fact i was getting glutened from the Kellogg's cornflake crumbs i was using in my "gluten-free meat loaf" for months). the second possibility is that you have a sensitivity to corn as well, it is very common for people with celiac to have secondary allergies/sensitivities which may or may not improve with a gluten-free diet.

unless its meat or a plant you have to start reading ingredients on it (and if its not a solid piece of peat too, a lot of cold cuts have gluten, ground meats some times do but prepared burgers have it a lot as well)

also it takes at least a month for the gluten to clear out of your body, and it takes a long time for your stomach to heal if you have been having bad acid reflux so eating anything that your stomach thinks is harder to digest may give you issues for a while before it can work right

-matt

After looking on the packet, the cornflakes do contain barley malt extract!!

It's soooo confusing!