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[stella1717]

Hello,

I recently been diagnosed with Celiac on December 23rd. Blood test and Endoscopy. I see a nutritionalist next week and have been taking 50,000 units of Vitamin D per week. I went to Whole Foods the other day and found that most of the gluten free food that I got was not the most appetizing. Is it better just do avoid these gluten free products and stick to fruits, veggies, and meat for the first couple months. This is the first week gluten is out of my system. I drink Lactaid Milk and notice it is bothering my stomach this week. Is that normal? I usually didn't have an issue with it. Any suggestions for a newly diagnosed Celiac. thanks.

Oh, and I am pretty sure I was born with this and I am 32 years old now.

[Wolicki]

Hello,

I recently been diagnosed with Celiac on December 23rd. Blood test and Endoscopy. I see a nutritionalist next week and have been taking 50,000 units of Vitamin D per week. I went to Whole Foods the other day and found that most of the gluten free food that I got was not the most appetizing. Is it better just do avoid these gluten free products and stick to fruits, veggies, and meat for the first couple months. This is the first week gluten is out of my system. I drink Lactaid Milk and notice it is bothering my stomach this week. Is that normal? I usually didn't have an issue with it. Any suggestions for a newly diagnosed Celiac. thanks.

Oh, and I am pretty sure I was born with this and I am 32 years old now.

It's best to stick with whole foods: protein, fruits and veggies. Most have to give up dairy for awhile. Stay away from the gluten free products for a bit. Whole unproccessed foods are much easier on the tummy!

[orchid1]

When i was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago, it was suggested i read the book "Breaking The Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. It helped to put me on the road to recovery. It will help you to learn how to start the healing process. Just GOOGLLE in the title and authoress. Let the journey begin.

[Tigercat17]

When i was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago, it was suggested i read the book "Breaking The Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. It helped to put me on the road to recovery. It will help you to learn how to start the healing process. Just GOOGLLE in the title and authoress. Let the journey begin.

I just ordered the book tonight from amazon. I can't believe all the great reviews! It's amazing that diet alone can heal so many people.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm really looking forward to reading it!

[T.H.]

First, a sincere good luck. It's tough, but at least you know what's going on with your body now, eh? that's such a huge thing!

Second, as a relatively new Celiac in her thirties (diagnosed 7/09), let me share an important statistic I found out. (you may already know, but it's such a big deal, I pass it along) If you have celiac Sprue, there's a good chance any other close family members have it, even if they have no symptoms. The rate is 1 in 22 people who have a close relative with celiac(brother, child, parent), have it themselves. I mention this because for my family, one person was diagnosed, and when we tested all the symptom-free people close to him, three more of us came back positive! So if you have loved ones, I'd seriously poke at them to get tested. :-)

On to the food, yes?

- celiac folk are more prone to food allergies, and it seems that often, after we go gluten free, we can suddenly notice reactions to them more. I never knew I had any food allergies at all, ever, and after I went gluten free, I had so many reactions it was crazy. I tested positive for a surprisingly large number of allergens. So, basically...it's normal that lactaid is bothering you, for a celiac, but as that milk IS gluten free, it's likely that something else that is IN the lactaid is the problem.

- The gluten-free products. They add in more sugar and fat to make up for the taste difference, and they don't tend to vitamin fortify if they use refined gluten-free flours (seriously - even the gluten-free chicken broth I was finding had sugar cane added!). With your body all hosed as it is, it's not going to be absorbing what it should, not until it heals, so I think that's why a lot of us did better without the gluten-free products. At least with whole foods, you have more nutrients to absorb, yes?

- however, I would add grains to your suggested diet, if they are tolerated, and drop anything, no matter what it is, if it's bothering you or your tummy in any way (vitamins, too, considering all the allergens they can have in them). If you haven't had a lot of experience with whole grains? Quinoa is a nice one to start with, I think. Buying it on-line is cheaper, though. It cooks pretty much like rice (2:1 water to quinoa ratio, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover with lid, cook 16 minutes or so). And you can use it like rice, too, as a side dish or something to put other foods on. It's not quite the same taste, but as a transition food, it's kind of a no-brainer one, so you can focus on what you need to and not spend all your time figuring out new foods.

- And just in case this helps. With the lactaid issue, I thought I would mention some gluten sources that I didn't know when I first started, in case it helps. It might be that you are getting gluten from something else, rather than reacting to the lactaid. So...here goes, gratuitous stuff I learned from friendly web folk: tea bags are sealed with gluten, lipstick and gloss often have gluten, shampoos can have gluten, soap we wash our dishes in can have gluten (maybe your soap had gluten, and didn't get rinsed all the way out of your cup used for the lactaid?). Just some ideas, if you are hoping to hang on to the the lactaid milk. :-)

Take care, and good luck. So many people here are really friendly, and helpful, and have been doing this for long enough that they are great sources of information!!

Hello,

I recently been diagnosed with Celiac on December 23rd. Blood test and Endoscopy. I see a nutritionalist next week and have been taking 50,000 units of Vitamin D per week. I went to Whole Foods the other day and found that most of the gluten free food that I got was not the most appetizing. Is it better just do avoid these gluten free products and stick to fruits, veggies, and meat for the first couple months. This is the first week gluten is out of my system. I drink Lactaid Milk and notice it is bothering my stomach this week. Is that normal? I usually didn't have an issue with it. Any suggestions for a newly diagnosed Celiac. thanks.

Oh, and I am pretty sure I was born with this and I am 32 years old now.