Elimination Diet?

[FMcGee]

Hi, everyone! So, I'm over two weeks into the gluten-free diet and not feeling all better, which I know is not cause for concern. I've read a couple of places that celiacs tend to be lactose intolerant, so I'll cut out dairy, but I've also seen that people start out eating one thing (rice, maybe) and then add another thing, and then another thing, until they can pinpoint problematic foods. Is this the way to go? I haven't met with a nutritionist yet (I actually only got back the official biopsy results this morning, which were positive, no surprise). My doctor is going to set me up with a nutritionist in the next couple of weeks, but in the meantime, what's the way to go? I already eat a whole-foods, vegetable/fruit based diet, so I'm not a nutritional lost cause, but should I just cut out gluten and dairy and see how that goes? Should I start from scratch and work my way up? Any advice is welcome! I love this forum - thanks to all of you for being so supportive and helpful to me and to everyone else.

[ravenwoodglass]

I would start by cutting out just the gluten and dairy and possibly soy. It does take a while to heal and there is much to learn about nonfood sources of gluten in the begginging. If you are still having severe issues freqently after that a good person to see is an allergist. They can do skin testing for actual allergies and then give you a nutritioanally sound starting point for the diet that will generally start with about 5 allowed foods. Welcome to the board and I hope you feel better soon.

[Crayons574]

Hi, everyone! So, I'm over two weeks into the gluten-free diet and not feeling all better, which I know is not cause for concern. I've read a couple of places that celiacs tend to be lactose intolerant, so I'll cut out dairy, but I've also seen that people start out eating one thing (rice, maybe) and then add another thing, and then another thing, until they can pinpoint problematic foods. Is this the way to go? I haven't met with a nutritionist yet (I actually only got back the official biopsy results this morning, which were positive, no surprise). My doctor is going to set me up with a nutritionist in the next couple of weeks, but in the meantime, what's the way to go? I already eat a whole-foods, vegetable/fruit based diet, so I'm not a nutritional lost cause, but should I just cut out gluten and dairy and see how that goes? Should I start from scratch and work my way up? Any advice is welcome! I love this forum - thanks to all of you for being so supportive and helpful to me and to everyone else.

When I cut out gluten and dairy, it took me about 5 months for me to actually feel better, and about a year for my stomach to heal. If you are unsure about the need to cut out both, just start by cutting out gluten. But you have to really cut gluten out (and by that, I mean avoiding cross-contamination and hidden sources). Give it a month or so, and if you don't feel the least bit better, try cutting something else out. The most frustrating part about the elimination diet, is that it's no direct answer over night. It took me about a year of trying and avoiding certain foods, and you will eventually learn to tell what your body can and cannot tolerate. It's all process of elimination and trial & error. Good luck!

[mattathayde]

2 weeks in dont even think about elimination diets. it takes AT LEAST a month for the gluten to clear from your body and then your body can start to heal. in a couple of months if you have no results then look into it.

personally i think elimination diets are a waste of time and put a lot of stress on you but i also have an alternative medicine person who does muscle testing to test for sensitivities and allergies so instead of wasting 3 weeks to figure out what makes me sick i can spend 3 hours to go down, get tested, get treated for it and wait a day before i can eat it again and am fine (the method is called Bio Set).

just eat simply, organic, etc and you should get more results pretty fast

-matt

[FMcGee]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate your feedback. I'm already a pretty healthy eater, and I think I'm overthinking things a little. I'll give it two more weeks, and in that space of time hopefully I will be able to meet with a dietician who can do all the good evaluating stuff they do.

[mattathayde]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate your feedback. I'm already a pretty healthy eater, and I think I'm overthinking things a little. I'll give it two more weeks, and in that space of time hopefully I will be able to meet with a dietician who can do all the good evaluating stuff they do.

o also get a good gluten free multivitamin if your not taking one yet (if you are taking one and have not yet checked into it make sure it is gluten free, i take a mix made by thorne). i found that helped me a whole lot, slept better, had less digestive issues even after being gluten-free for a while

pick up "1000 gluten free recipes" its a great resource.

have they put whole foods in where your at yet? if so they are awesome with the stuff they stock, their in house stuff is pretty bad over all honestly but they have a god amount of frozen meals, a whole isle of gluten free stuff, and mark basically everything that is gluten-free except drinks

-matt