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So What Can I Eat?

llama3

By llama3
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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llama3 Apprentice
llama3
Posted

I just need to vent a bit. I've been gluten free for a few months now and keeping a food journal and I keep finding more and more foods that I can't eat! The latest is I discovered that chickpeas are absolutely out - they make me really really sick. They were becoming a staple for me. Well, not anymore. It's getting to a point where I'm wondering what on earth I CAN eat. Leafy vegetables and fruits seem to be OK, and meat, I think, but I'm honestly not sure about anything else.

I haven't been eating a ton of the specialty products or anything, but when occasionally I try them for a treat, oh, guess what - there is something in there that makes me sick, too. So not only do I have to walk past most of the things in the grocery store knowing I can't eat them, or not sure if I can, but I walk past the section with the big "Gluten Free!" sign and I know I can't eat any of that either.

I hate food. I hate thinking about food. I want food to go away forever and leave me alone.

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burdee Enthusiast
burdee
Posted

I just need to vent a bit. I've been gluten free for a few months now and keeping a food journal and I keep finding more and more foods that I can't eat! The latest is I discovered that chickpeas are absolutely out - they make me really really sick. They were becoming a staple for me. Well, not anymore. It's getting to a point where I'm wondering what on earth I CAN eat. Leafy vegetables and fruits seem to be OK, and meat, I think, but I'm honestly not sure about anything else.

I haven't been eating a ton of the specialty products or anything, but when occasionally I try them for a treat, oh, guess what - there is something in there that makes me sick, too. So not only do I have to walk past most of the things in the grocery store knowing I can't eat them, or not sure if I can, but I walk past the section with the big "Gluten Free!" sign and I know I can't eat any of that either.

I hate food. I hate thinking about food. I want food to go away forever and leave me alone.

I don't do well with gluten free processed foods either, because I have allergies to most common ingredients (dairy, soy, eggs, cane sugar, vanilla and nutmeg), which are contained in most gluten free processed 'treats' and/or condiments. So I stick with naturally gluten free fresh vegs, fruits, meats, poultry, fish, legumes and nuts, as well as gluten free grains. Fortunately I finally found condiments free of my other allergies. There are only 1-2 frozen dairy/soy free desserts I can eat, one brand of soy/dairy free cheese, one brand of dairy/soy free buttery spread, but amazingly 2 brands of egg/soy free mayonnaise (after making my own mayonnaise for 5 years). There are no gluten free packaged cookies or pastries or even mixes for cakes, cookies, etc. that don't contain my other allergens. I was fortunate to find 1 pancake mixe that is free of my other allergens. However, I have 2 safe bread varieties (from Ener-g) which I enjoy. Also I have 2 great baking cookbooks which exclude 5 of my 7 allergies.

Nevertheless, I focuss on finding or making safe substitutes for any foods I can't buy. I also focus on healthy 'whole' foods, rather than processed/packaged foods, because those contain my allergens.

If you're really worried that you might have other allergens, consider getting an ELISA (blood) test for IgG and IgA (delayed reaction) allergies, as well as more immediate reaction (IgE) allergies. If I hadn't gotten my other allergens diagnosed within 2 years after my celiac disease dx, I'd probably still be wondering what's causing my constant reaction symptoms. Guessing what foods bothered me may have made me afraid to eat anything after awhile.

cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

I just need to vent a bit. I've been gluten free for a few months now and keeping a food journal and I keep finding more and more foods that I can't eat! The latest is I discovered that chickpeas are absolutely out - they make me really really sick. They were becoming a staple for me. Well, not anymore. It's getting to a point where I'm wondering what on earth I CAN eat. Leafy vegetables and fruits seem to be OK, and meat, I think, but I'm honestly not sure about anything else.

I haven't been eating a ton of the specialty products or anything, but when occasionally I try them for a treat, oh, guess what - there is something in there that makes me sick, too. So not only do I have to walk past most of the things in the grocery store knowing I can't eat them, or not sure if I can, but I walk past the section with the big "Gluten Free!" sign and I know I can't eat any of that either.

I hate food. I hate thinking about food. I want food to go away forever and leave me alone.

I have been there and honestly it SUCKS!!!! I know that and I agree.!!!!

I discovered sooooooo many intolerances in addition to being celiac,, there was a period of time where about the only thing I could eat was ground lamb and white rice.

But it got better. I got better. My gut began to heal and slowly , very slowly , I have been able to add back foods.

There are foods ( in addition to gluten and soy) that I still can not tolerate but the list is soooooooooooooo much shorter than it was.

Hang in there , it is a long hard road, with A LOT of ups and downs, but it does get better.Your physical and mental health are worth it !!!!

eatmeat4good Enthusiast
eatmeat4good
Posted

Meat, vegetables and some minimal fruits is all I know that is really safe for me too. Lentils and garbanzo beans were absolutely terrible. Lectins? Who knows. I get sick from gluten free stuff too. It is maddening. I want to eat eggs again...but I can't. Dairy I can live without. It's really difficult but if I'm strict I am well. It's when I cave to cravings that I suffer. I wish I would just quit testing other foods and stick to the veggie and meat I know is right for me. Good Luck and I hope you heal soon.

llama3 Apprentice
llama3
Posted
  • Author

Thanks to all who have responded! It is nice just to know I am not alone ... not that I wish this on others!

Another small irritation today - the one trail mix (really just seeds and dried fruits) that I know I can eat without problems, my local store has just stopped carrying. Sigh. I know, there are larger problems in the world ...

If you're really worried that you might have other allergens, consider getting an ELISA (blood) test for IgG and IgA (delayed reaction) allergies, as well as more immediate reaction (IgE) allergies. If I hadn't gotten my other allergens diagnosed within 2 years after my celiac disease dx, I'd probably still be wondering what's causing my constant reaction symptoms. Guessing what foods bothered me may have made me afraid to eat anything after awhile.

I've been thinking of going to see an allergist and get tested for some things. Do they order such blood tests? I know they do scratch testing and that sort of thing. I'm reluctant to go back to my GP because she is unhelpful and already thinks I'm a hypochondriac, especially since I seem to be cursed with blood tests that ALWAYS come back negative (my gluten intolerance is self-diagnosed). Any advice on this would be helpful.

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

This "shakedown" phase is really exasperating. You have my sympathy, I have some ongoing issues with common ingredients to gluten free items made commercially, like flax, and I was also reacting to something I was using at home, I had to really go "back to basics" in November, but wow, subsequently, I actually lost weight over the holidays, :blink::DB) and my joints are better.

With legumes (beans) I have to drain the canned ones really well and rinse them. If dried, they would get a boiling water soak, a drain and a rinse, again. This gets rid of the starch which is so hard to digest, even for normal glutenoids. I can't taste bean flour as "odd" ( this is either a blessing or a curse, depending on one's attitude ;) ) but I might be starting to react to Bob's Red Mill products. I hope not, I really don't want to do an oat challenge, I've been avoiding them anyway, but there is a lot of the Bob stuff in storage, and that is a lot of bread I would have to make just for my spouse to use it up. I keep looking at my now so much better looking ankles in disbelief that I actually CAN just AVOID something things like processed lunchmeat with certain preservatives, and some types of gluten free grains, and the swelling finally went down. And I've been stuck with this for over 4 years.

So I just tried baking something tonight, it would be close to paleo, as I didn't use grain at all, but left out what I think is the latest culprit, so let's see what happens.

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