New.....some Questions

[Martyg]

Hi:

New to this board and this problem. Have been on the IBS board for years. Have had IBS for over 40 years and just recently diagnosed with celiac (though we will be doing another blood test next week).

Little difficult as my diet is already restricted. I am a vegetarian for 30 years and a vegan for 6 years. I also did a food allergy test last year and tested positive for soy, broccoli, cane sugar, and some other foods. Will retest later this year as insurance does not cover and it is an expense.

One of my questions is that I read somewhere that you cannot have mustard or ketchup and was not sure if this is correct.

I'm quite sure as time goes by that I will have many, many more questions, but right now, just trying to look at this as another food challenge and move forward. My husband is Italian, so the semolina pasta will be very difficult to give up. We eat out frequently, so another challenge.

Thanks for listening and please let me know about the mustard and ketchup.

MartyG

[lovegrov]

Ketchup does not have gluten. Virtually every mustard is also gluten-free, but there might be a couple out there with wheat. Good luck. Sounds like some very tough restrictions.

richard

[Carriefaith]

Welcome!

I eat Heinz ketchup all the time with no problems and I believe that Heinz mustard was gluten-free the last time I checked. Tinkyada pasta is the best and it is gluten-free. I don't even notice a difference from regular wheat pasta.

[Merika]

Hi Marty,

Welcome I've been vegetarian for about 14 yrs (with egg & dairy). My diagnosis came 18 mos ago. This past winter I did the allergy test. Tested positive for just about everything I eat except tomatoes. Positive for soy, beans, eggs, dairy.... Tested negative to every meat on the planet.

The past few months, I've been trying to add meat in. As you can imagine, it's not easy, on many levels. I have not been very successful, and not persistent enough. I've eliminated soy (easy, since ds is allergic, though at first it was shocking), lentils and eggs, since I tested highest in those. I still eat kidney-shaped beans and dairy.

Since I'm allergic to so many things, and not at all to meat, the plan is to get to a very varied diet where I am less reliant on plant protein. Hopefully, this will ease up the allergies and i'll feel better.

Also, I've noticed that it is 99% impossible to eat out gluten-free and vegetarian and get anything other than a plain lettuce salad. Yuck! So for practical reasons, as well, I'd like to be eating meat again.

Italian food...mmmm...love Italian, we eat lots of it, but with fake noodles. Some are pretty good, but not like semolina. You can get close to De Cecco. You'll notice at first though that the food combination of rice noodles and your usual toppings is good but not quite....right...filling.....something. It's ok though. Soups of course are still great, as are many other things.

Hth,

Merika

[tarnalberry]

Yep, I have to say it, but I think that with soy and gluten restrictions, you may want to reconsider going completely vegan. I respect the choice, and am only suggesting you look at it anew, with this new data you have to work with. Even if you only include milk and eggs (lacto-ovo vegetarian), you will find it much easier to get the balance of protein you need that cannot be provided by the gluten containing grains.

If you decide to stick with it, it's important that you take a look at all your options. You can convert to gluten-free items without gaining nutritional value, or you can convert to gluten-free items that give you a lot more nutritional value.

Semolina pasta, for instance, can be replaced with brown rice pasta, which has a bit more fiber. Wheat bulgar can be replaced with millet or buckwheat, both of which have more complete proteins. Oatmeal can be replaced with quinoa flakes, which has just as much protein. Dairy substitutes made from soy can in some cases be replaced - you can get rice milk, nut milk, or a milk substitute made from potatoes.

You'll do fine, I'm sure, it'll just take a bit of time to adjust.

[Martyg]

Thank you for all of your responses. I do understand the difficulty, especially being vegan.

I have become aware of some of my options, just makes it a little more of a challenge when I travel and when we go out to dinner, etc.

I will miss "real" pasta and those good Italian desserts.

Thanks,

MartyG