Confused

[jacnit]

i am pretty new to this gluten-free lifestyle...a few months now. I basically diagnosed myself after stumbling upon the topic on a morning program. Finally, after years of putting up with my stomach problems I recognized myself and have been trying really hard to eat clean of gluten and have had good success. Fortunately, the foods i love the most i can eat, however, i love condiments too and sauces and that's my problem and confusion. If i buy soy sauce that is labeled wheat free is that gluten free?? I love sushi & my husband and I ate at our fav. japanese bistro friday night..i had 6 pieces of sushi w/seawood and sticky rice..their soy sauce and felt ok until the next morning and was in the bathroom for most of the day! then, as if that wasn't enough for me, we took my son & his girlfriend back to the same place Sat. night and I had the same thing, then came home and had a few meatballs my husband made with flour...by sunday i was doubled over in pain on the couch..in the bathroom...all day...my questions is: what can i eat at this place??? that will not kill my stomach or do i just give it up completely. My other question is with appetizers that contain bacon...is store bought packaged bacon ok..i see three ingredients listed sodium nitrate, sodium this and that...do i avoid these?? and how many times do you have to fall off the wagon before you finally get it under controlled..just very,very upset with myself and confused about ingredients.

[tarnalberry]

you're eating gluten when you eat soy sauce that's made with wheat (any that's what the soy sauce that is out at a japanese restaurant will have), and you ate gluten when you had meatballs with (presumably wheat) flour. if you want to feel better, you must avoid ALL gluten. you can get wheat-free tamari (San-J, for instance) or a couple of gluten-free soy sauces (though I think the tamari tests far more like real soy sauce than the brands that don't have wheat in them), but that doesn't mean you can have wheat when you go out! (I just don't use soy sauce when I got out for sushi, but you could get a very small container and bring some of your own.)

[lovegrov]

What are you confused about? You used their soy sauce, which certainly had wheat in it. And you did it twice. Then you ate meatballs made with flour. You will remain sick if you keep doing this to yourself.

Yes, with soy sauce, wheat free will be gluten free. I've never seen barley in soy sauce. Three that I know of are San-J tamari (make sure it's the wheat-free one), LaChoy, and Kroger.

[jacnit]

i guess what i'm really saying is i'm frustrated with myself for not only making myself sick once but going out the very next night and doing it again but i guess it's like any other change and i will have my ups and downs with it for awhile until slipping up is just not worth it. in my short time of researching how to eat gluten free i believe i've read that just because something states it's wheat free does not mean it's gluten free so i was confused about the soy sauce i have at home that says "wheat free"...it's very overwhelming when you begin this new way of eating. I love fish, chicken and all vegetables so eating them simple and clean is not a problem but it's a little overwhelming still to figure out what is safe as far as condiments and sauces,etc...thanks for clearing up the soy sauce though!

[Korwyn]

i guess what i'm really saying is i'm frustrated with myself for not only making myself sick once but going out the very next night and doing it again but i guess it's like any other change and i will have my ups and downs with it for awhile until slipping up is just not worth it. in my short time of researching how to eat gluten free i believe i've read that just because something states it's wheat free does not mean it's gluten free so i was confused about the soy sauce i have at home that says "wheat free"...it's very overwhelming when you begin this new way of eating. I love fish, chicken and all vegetables so eating them simple and clean is not a problem but it's a little overwhelming still to figure out what is safe as far as condiments and sauces,etc...thanks for clearing up the soy sauce though!

It is very overwhelming. When I started I went through something similar for a couple weeks, then I decided I was trying to absorb too much information too quickly. So I went to a raw foods/paleolithic diet (basically no processed foods or grains). That gave me some significant healing and removed a ton of the stress and let me focus on learning what to eat. If I go out to eat it is normally someplace I know does true gluten-free cooking, or have called ahead and talked to the cook/chef/manager and am pretty comfortable they can cook to my needs (I'm unable to eat soy, casein, gluten, corn sugar). If we go somewhere I'm not familiar with I usually stick with a salad of some kind, let the waiter know I need it with no dressing, seasoning, croutons, or cheese. I follow that up with "I'm highly allergic to gluten, soy, and dairy, and if they even come in contact with my salad I have a reaction. Gluten is usually hidden in most seasoning and it is in any crouton or breading so it is really important they don't even come in contact with my salad, plate, or even the utensils as it will trigger an allergic reaction."

I have been surprised several times by, "Oh, do you have celiac disease? My sister's uncles best friend's little sister's brother has that!", or one time just recently (at my wife's company Christmas dinner) I was going over the menu and asked our server about the ingredients and gave my little spiel and she responded, "Oh, no problem we can do gluten free for most things on the menu, and my sister (our table's other server) and I are both highly allergic to soy!" That was a pleasant surprise! You just kind of have to work up to it.

Simplify your menu and add things back into it. Even now after ten months When my wife and I go out to eat with friends at an unknown place we usually eat at least a small something to tide us over just in case.

[jacnit]

i think you're right about trying to take in too much knowledge at first and it is a little uncomfortable for me yet to ask questions when i'm out as my husband even though he is HIGHLY supportive of me in this finds it really hard to believe that " just a taste" of his udon noodles (which i have now researched and found are made w/wheat flour) could have contributed to my misery. I need to work on my willpower and just say no! I started by eating very pure..plain meats, veggies,etc and noticed such a huge difference so fast...i tried to get a little fancy and throw in the sauces,marinades,etc and fell flat on my face...plus thought maybe a bite of it here or there wouldn't make a difference...lesson learned:)

[Korwyn]

i think you're right about trying to take in too much knowledge at first and it is a little uncomfortable for me yet to ask questions when i'm out as my husband even though he is HIGHLY supportive of me in this finds it really hard to believe that " just a taste" of his udon noodles (which i have now researched and found are made w/wheat flour) could have contributed to my misery. I need to work on my willpower and just say no! I started by eating very pure..plain meats, veggies,etc and noticed such a huge difference so fast...i tried to get a little fancy and throw in the sauces,marinades,etc and fell flat on my face...plus thought maybe a bite of it here or there wouldn't make a difference...lesson learned:)

Ohhh...yeah. Sauces, marinades, glazes. Those are hard unless you make them yourself. Even then finding appropriate ingredient substitutes can be interesting. There is a local (to me) company that makes fantastic dressings and marinades (Open Original Shared Link). I ran into them at a Christmas bazaar at our local fairgrounds. They are wonderful and the cranberry dressing actually makes a fantastic marinade for roast turkey breast.

I was so frustrated to find just recently that almost every commercial mayonnaise is made with soybean oil. Fortunately because of my diet I hadn't had any in recent months. So we'll be making our own from duck eggs now. My wife can't eat chicken egg whites. Yolk is ok, just not the white. But duck eggs are fine. Go figure.

[sandsurfgirl]

The deal with the "just because it's wheat free doesn't mean it's gluten free" statement means that it can have barley, rye or derivatives like barley malt extract in it. Also there are wheat free breads made of spelt, rye, barley that will have gluten but not wheat. Well spelt is a cousin of wheat, but the breads will say wheat free on them sometimes.

The barley malt thing bums me out. I love love love malt and malted milk, malt shakes. Waaahhhh!! I cry over the loss of that one.

[jacnit]

ok, so spelt,rye and barley i should also avoid?? wow...early on i was told at my local health food store that i was safe with spelt pasta...although if i remember right it did not agree with me and now i only buy rice pasta that specifically states gluten-free on the front....i have alot of homework to do!! I am so glad i found this forum though as i have learned alot more today than i knew yesterday..thanks everyone!

[runningcrazy]

ok, so spelt,rye and barley i should also avoid?? wow...early on i was told at my local health food store that i was safe with spelt pasta...although if i remember right it did not agree with me and now i only buy rice pasta that specifically states gluten-free on the front....i have alot of homework to do!! I am so glad i found this forum though as i have learned alot more today than i knew yesterday..thanks everyone!

A lot of people think spelt is gluten free. It is not. Spelt is healthier than the normal refined wheat, but wheat is wheat and gluten is gluten. At first we were confused too because many things were "spelt" at the natural food stores and stuff so we assumed they were gluten-free(though never tried them) My moms friend is trying out gluten free diet but she was eating spelt pasta thinking it was gluten-free!

Also-although some rice pasta is fairly good, I have to say corn/quinoa pasta is WAY better in my opinion. 'Ancient Harvest' makes these and they are a lot closer in taste and texture to regular pasta than rice is. 'Schar' brand also makes a good corn pasta that is a lot like wheat.

[mangomagic]

Have you been tested for coealic's disease or wheat intolerance etc? I'm just wondering, because if it just wheat, you have more options. I think you should get some blood tests before going off everything because otherwise you might be giving up things for no reason.

[Korwyn]

ok, so spelt,rye and barley i should also avoid?? wow...early on i was told at my local health food store that i was safe with spelt pasta...although if i remember right it did not agree with me and now i only buy rice pasta that specifically states gluten-free on the front....i have alot of homework to do!! I am so glad i found this forum though as i have learned alot more today than i knew yesterday..thanks everyone!

Living Gluten Free for Dummies. Available on Amazon. A friend of mine loaned me this sometime during my first two weeks and I ordered a copy before I was through chapter 1. It is a life and sanity saver.

[jacnit]

thanks for the tips everyone! i was just on amazon yesterday looking for a good book so i'll check out the one for dummies. No, I haven't been tested mainly because i started down that path maybe 15? years ago going to my family doctor w/classic symptoms of this and SO many tests..nothing "big" came back but i did go to a very good allergist and i did test positive to alot of environmental and food allergies..he told me my problem was msg too and just avoid it. I did start avoiding msg but i didn't even know gluten issues existed and have continued with my stomach issues. As i said, i stumbled on a morning show where the host was talking about her experience with celiac and i couldn't believe what she was describing as it sounded exactly like me. At that point, i started researching and went off all gluten as in only chicken, veggies and fruit...no spices, no marinade,etc and NO PROBLEMS for the first time in all these years. With that said, i was just so happy to have found an answer i didn't want to get back on the doctor treadmill but the further i get into this i see where that may be necessary.

[ravenwoodglass]

thanks for the tips everyone! i was just on amazon yesterday looking for a good book so i'll check out the one for dummies. No, I haven't been tested mainly because i started down that path maybe 15? years ago going to my family doctor w/classic symptoms of this and SO many tests..nothing "big" came back but i did go to a very good allergist and i did test positive to alot of environmental and food allergies..he told me my problem was msg too and just avoid it. I did start avoiding msg but i didn't even know gluten issues existed and have continued with my stomach issues. As i said, i stumbled on a morning show where the host was talking about her experience with celiac and i couldn't believe what she was describing as it sounded exactly like me. At that point, i started researching and went off all gluten as in only chicken, veggies and fruit...no spices, no marinade,etc and NO PROBLEMS for the first time in all these years. With that said, i was just so happy to have found an answer i didn't want to get back on the doctor treadmill but the further i get into this i see where that may be necessary.

If you do find you want a doctor derived diagnosis at this point you will need to go back on a full gluten diet for about 3 months first. You have no chance of a positive blood test or biopsy if you have been gluten free for a while. If it is obvious that gluten is an issue you need to get as strict as you possibly can. If your issues do not clear up then do make an appointment to see if you might have another issue. Accurate testing for celiac is not going to be possible at this point though with a GI doctor without a lengthy challenge. Enterolab testing might be helpful. They do stool testing for antibodies and you can be gluten light (what you have been doing) or gluten free for up to year and still be throwing antibodies into the stool.