Does Rice Cause Bloating And Constipation?

[Sandi*]

First I want to thank everyone who read my last "complaining" post, I also got a lot of helpful feedback and dietary advice. I also did some more thinking and reviewing of my diet, as well as more research.

I felt so much worse once I started the gluten-free diet, more bloating, pain, constipation....it just didn't make sense since I expected to feel better. I'm thinking that rice might be the culprit. That's too bad since I was going to make rice one of my staples. Oh well but I do want to try and go without rice products for a couple days to see if it helps.

Are there many of you who can't do rice for the very same reasons? I would love to hear your experience!

My next question is, what do those of you who avoid rice eat? Warm meals would be easy, I could use potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat for side dishes.... but I lot of times I need something I can grab in the office, and rice cakes are perfect for that. I found these really good tomato/basil flavored ones that I snack on frequently. Even plain ones are easy to keep around, they don't go bad every couple days and don't need to be toasted....they just make perfect office food. They also travel well.

Can anyone please suggest snack that are easily available, and keep well? I can't tolerate raw vegetables and can't eat too much fruit, otherwise I get very bloated and get cramps. I also want to go easy on dairy, like a little bit is OK but can't overdo it...thanks a lot in advance!

[Wolicki]

I have the same problem with rice and ALL grains and corn. I also cannot tolerate any processed foods. I can tolerate rice cakes, which have become my go to snack- I like the plain lightly salted, and I add cream cheese honey and sliced almonds, or peanut butter, or apple butter.

String cheese, yogurt in those little prepacked contatiners. If you need to stay away from dairy, coconut milk yogurt is delicious. Personally, I found the soy yogurt NASTY

I keep a box of cherry tomoatoes in the fridge at work, along with snack bags of nuts.

I hope that helps!

[Shess0816]

I have the same problem with rice and ALL grains and corn. I also cannot tolerate any processed foods. I can tolerate rice cakes, which have become my go to snack- I like the plain lightly salted, and I add cream cheese honey and sliced almonds, or peanut butter, or apple butter.

String cheese, yogurt in those little prepacked contatiners. If you need to stay away from dairy, coconut milk yogurt is delicious. Personally, I found the soy yogurt NASTY

I keep a box of cherry tomoatoes in the fridge at work, along with snack bags of nuts.

I hope that helps!

I snack on popcorn a lot at work. I usually just throw a baggie full in my purse before I head off to work in the mornings. That way I have a snack to eat between breakfast and lunch. I also like the rice cakes. I keep a packagae of gluten free trail mix here at work too.

[missy'smom]

I recently took a road trip and brought along lots of shelf stable stuff- mini cans of tuna, "canned" salmon cups, pouches of "canned' chicken breast meat, sealed, sliced beef summer sausage, individual packets of mayo, mustard, lemon juice, soy sauce, salad dressing, nuts, etc. Some were purchased at the reg. grocery, other were ordered from minimus.biz, which specializes in travel/individual sizes. You can mix the mayo into the meats and dump on a purchased side salad or eat with a stash of crackers, rice cake etc.

[K-Dawg]

hey Sandi:

Wow -- sounds like we have a lot of issues in common. I can't eat rice at all. I do get the symptoms you described as well as a rash. I was tested and have an allergy to rice (as well as apples and peaches). I find that I also can't eat too much corn, but I can it in moderation.

First, have you considered a digestive enzyme? This has helped me.

Snack ideas:

• I see you can't tollerate raw veggies? Is that all of them because I find sugar snap peas to be great - nice crisp to them.
  
• Can you eat almonds or nuts?
  
• You could make your own trail mix (that's what I do, using coconut shavings, gluten-free and Lactose Free chocolate, dried fruit, almonds, cashews, etc) or buy a gluten-free one.
  
• stiry fry or saute fav veggies.....store them in fridge at work and buy a corn tortilla so you can make a quick wrap whenever you get hungry
  
• I second the yogurt idea -- maybe a probiotic yogurt would be fine -- make sure it is gluten-free. You could put your trail mix on it
  
• corn chips. I like corn tostadas. These are very versitile. Put a spread over them, break them up and use in a salad, eat them plain.
  
• You could make granola bars as many of the gluten-free pre-made ones have rice. Someone on this forum gave me a great recipe that can be modified easily. I am happy to send it to you if you like (or post it). Granola bars are KEY for me...I sometimes get stuck at court and need to eat but have no time to go anywhere
  
• Glutino Spinach and Feta pizza - make it the night before. Store in the fridge at work and snack as needed. There is no rice. There is cheese so I use type of lactase when I do this (I do this rarly as I try to avoid dairy.
  

First I want to thank everyone who read my last "complaining" post, I also got a lot of helpful feedback and dietary advice. I also did some more thinking and reviewing of my diet, as well as more research.

I felt so much worse once I started the gluten-free diet, more bloating, pain, constipation....it just didn't make sense since I expected to feel better. I'm thinking that rice might be the culprit. That's too bad since I was going to make rice one of my staples. Oh well but I do want to try and go without rice products for a couple days to see if it helps.

Are there many of you who can't do rice for the very same reasons? I would love to hear your experience!

My next question is, what do those of you who avoid rice eat? Warm meals would be easy, I could use potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat for side dishes.... but I lot of times I need something I can grab in the office, and rice cakes are perfect for that. I found these really good tomato/basil flavored ones that I snack on frequently. Even plain ones are easy to keep around, they don't go bad every couple days and don't need to be toasted....they just make perfect office food. They also travel well.

Can anyone please suggest snack that are easily available, and keep well? I can't tolerate raw vegetables and can't eat too much fruit, otherwise I get very bloated and get cramps. I also want to go easy on dairy, like a little bit is OK but can't overdo it...thanks a lot in advance!

[K-Dawg]

PS. I also found one book in particular to be very helpful. It contains meal plans and a discussion on lactose intollerance that may be helpful.

Also has lots of other goodies. Honestly, the best book I came across.

Gluten Free Diet: A comprehensive Guide by Shelley Case

[Sandi*]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! Unfortunately I can't eat nuts safely (I do sometimes, but then I pay for it later). A few people suggested corn tortillas - that's really a bummer because believe it or not, the "corn" tortillas they sell here (Czech Republic) are actually a mix of wheat/corn flours! So annoying! I'm visiting my relatives for Thanksgiving in November, and I'm seriously considering just purchasing a couple packages of corn tortillas in the US and bringing them back and freezing them.

Wolicky - ditto on soy yogurt, I also find it nasty. I've tried several brands but it's just nasty. I don't think dairy yogurt bothers me that much (just trying to stay away from ice cream, etc.) so I think I'll stick with it for now. Coconut milk yogurt sounds delicious, unfortunately I can't find it where I live. I also love cherry tomatoes, adding them to the shopping list right now .

Shess0816 - thanks for the popcorn idea! I'm always looking for safe ways to add fiber to my diet and popcorn sounds great!

missy'smom - I love tuna, my grocery store actually sells little, single-serve packs !

K-Dawg, thanks a lot for such a detailed response as well as the snacks idea! I cannot do all of the suggestions (no raw veggies or too many nuts, alto ugh a few are ok with my cereal, etc.). I would love to have your granola bar recipe, could you please post it (so that others can benefit from it, too)?

I've tried digestive enzymes before but didn't see any results.

Also thanks for the book suggestion, I'll look for it when I'm in the US in November.

I've stayed away from rice/rice products for a couple days now (even passed on the opportunity to have sushi last night which is a huge sacrifice for me ) but I'm still bloated, and constipated...just don't get it. Oh well.

[K-Dawg]

Hey

Sure thing!

The recipe has been posted on the forum and below you will find a link for the discussion thread. I can't seem to find my saved word doc (very frustrating).

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...hl=granola+bars

Hope this works! I'm down with the worst cold in the universe so I"m hoping I don't need to type out the recipe.

[K-Dawg]

hey

Are you able to eat lettuce? You could always use lettuce as a wrap instead of corn wraps. I do that often. You can use lettuce in place of bread.

[Sandi*]

Hi, thanks a bunch for the recipe, I really appreciate it, especially after hearing you're sick! Hopefully you feel better, soon! The link works great, I'll need to stop by my HFS tomorrow to get ingredients.

Using lettuce is a great idea, Iceberg lettuce has these large, soft leaves on the otside that I'm sure will work great .

[missy'smom]

I use the lettuce trick alot for "sandwiches", fish tacos, burgers etc. I like the green or red leaf lettuce as it's more flexible.

[K-Dawg]

Yep, ice burg lettuce is pretty hard to use as a wrap. Like Missy's mom I also use red leaf lettuce or romaine as these types are more flexible.

With respect of the bloating you are still experiencing, I think (and this is just my opinion) that you need more time to heal. In the beginning there is just so much damage that, perhaps, it is difficult to properly digest a lot of things even if they are gluten-free. I know that when I first went gluten free about 6 months ago it seemed like I could not tolerate anything...but I am starting to be able to tolerate more foods (such as probiotic yogurt which was IMPOSSIBLE 6 mnths ago as I would bloat up severely if I ate it).