To Be Vegetarian Or Not Be Vegetarian On Gluten Free Diet?

[LuckyAtlas84]

Hi all,

I am not sure if this is right place to post to ask anybody that are vegetarians about the diet and how we can make sure that we get all nuritious vitamins and minerals.

I am totally clueless to start vegetarian. I tried to go meatless for a week. That was most hardest thing to do until I discovered black beans and that it helped me to feel much safisated as well. I dont know how to make sure that I am actual digests and absorbed all needed vitamins and minerals if I become vegetarian...

I dont know if its good idea or not... I am still working on gluten free diet and discovering new foods that I likes and develop taste for certain uncommon veggies that my family normally dont cook.

Now, I am seriously considering about go vegetarian but still do dairy and eggs. they dont bother me at all. but Meats are giving me hard time to digest and i do get some heartburn sometimes if i eat bit too much meat in a day...

any advices or tips would be awesome!

[Strawberry-Jam]

If meat gives you heartburn, don't eat it.

Can you handle fish?

[Juliebove]

I was a vegetarian for many years. If you eat eggs and dairy you'll be getting enough protein. Nuts and beans are good to add too. Brown rice is better for you than white. Quinoa is another good food. Just make sure to eat plenty of vegetables and fruits if you like them. Try to eat from the rainbow and you'll be fine.

[Takala]

It says at the bottom of your posts that you have PCOS, which means you are likely insulin- resistant and will not do well on a high carbohydrate diet, which is typical of regular vegetarians.

In the beginning of going gluten free, I was so bad off with inflammation from arthritis, that I had to go grain free on a modified Specific Carbohydrate Diet for quite a while, to get my symptoms under control and stop flaring. This SCD is a low carb, low starch diet, and between that and no gluten, it was restrictive enough that being vegetarian was nearly impossible. If you restrict starch you must add protein and fat, and I just cannot handle a lot of that in vegetarian form, it would have been soy, it was making me feel terrible. It was an interesting transition, because I was fairly close to a lavo-ova vegetarian (with dairy and egg) eating a lot of bread, and had been pretty much brainwashed that THAT was the "healthiest" diet. But I did not regain the ability to handle dairy for a while, either, until I had been off gluten and started healing.

I've tried re introducing grain carbohydrates several times to the levels that a dietician- type expert would recommend, and it does so not work with my metabolism, it is almost funny. I know I eat more (good) fats than they would probably recommend, but they don't walk around in my body. My reading of blogs for women with PCOS confirm that this is the way to go, for me, also. I use a lot of almond and high protein seed meals when I bake something. The eggs in the batter and the yogurt add proteins, also, (altho I will work up recipes that don't have them, because I have the baking gene and it is fun to experiment. )

Every meal, I think, needs a protein, a fat, a fruit and/or a vegetable.

I take a gluten free B complex, a multi vitamin, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D supplements.

[eatmeat4good]

I agree with Takala 100%.

I was a very sick Celiac girl.

The first year I went gluten free, I healed but slowly and still had a lot of inflammation.

I eliminated grains and went Paleo the second year. (see Mark's Daily Apple.com if you are interested.)

My muscle function and tone improved dramatically and quickly.

I lost a lot of weight but wasn't trying to...it just happened.

Inflammation disappeared, my legs stopped swelling, headaches gone, energy vastly improved.

I stayed grain free for 6 months with only occasional Dove chocolate.

I felt fantastic!

This month I added grain in moderate amounts but ate some with every meal.

It has been 3 weeks of it. It's yummy, but I don't feel very well.

Fatigued and my muscles are wasting...strange because everything was responding so well...

I just don't feel good.

I'm going back to Paleo...eating meat, fruit and vegetables and good fats.

I seem to need more protein and fat than most and I do really well on it.

As for your heartburn- You can react to many things when you go gluten free, your body is still adjusting.

You need to figure out what makes your body thrive.

But before you give up on animal protein and go vegetarian, please read about Paleo and what it does for the metabolism. It is not just for Celiacs, but it is a perfect diet for a Celiac.

My recovery went exremely fast when I made that change.

And it has declined when I went off it.

Many other's have had the same experience.

Dairy can also cause digestion problems.... I had to go off it and I've tested it several times.

It's very frustrating not being sure how to feed your body and how to get what you need.

If you are determined to be vegetarian, there is also a website for people who are gluten free and vegetarian. I don't remember the name of it, but if you google you will find it.

I wish I could eat grains/carbohydrates, but my experience has been more like Takala's...it doesn't work for me.

[srall]

My opinion is that people are different, and their bodies respond to different diets. I have friends who feel amazing on a vegan diet, but I can't do it longer than 6 weeks. I would love to be vegan or vegetarian, but since I can't handle grains, I just think it's too hard to be gluten intolerant and a vegan/vegetarian. But I know people here do it.

I'm the only person in my original immediate family who does not have diabetes. (I am 44) Even my younger brother was diagnosed at 39 (he btw should be gluten free but would "die without bread") So, I'm very aware of carbs and proteins and eating a balanced meal, every meal.

I have made my peace with meat. Red meat is tough to digest and I never feel great so I stick with mostly chicken and fish. But if you are eating something and you don't feel well after, then your body is talking to you. I hope you can find a balance that works for you.

I also feel best eating paleo (no grains), but hey, that's just my body...you may have to experiment a bit.

[Mom23boys]

My dr put me on a vegan diet for a period of time and I believe this is what triggered my body in all it's bad responses. I too can get heartburn from meat. I eat less meat and lean meats. My alternative dr suggested either apple cider vinegar or digestive enzymes after a meat meal.

[cavernio]

B12 is the only nutrient I know of that you have to supplement if you don't eat meat. (Well, provided you eat a good balance of other foods...not that I know what that good balance is.) And in fairly large quantities.

Little to no worry that you'd be not eating enough protein.

Personally, I wouldn't go meatless until I'd be relatively celiac-symptom free, but I don't get heartburn from it or anything else. That said, I tend not to eat a lot of it anyways as I'm trying to eat only ethically raised animals, so it gets expensive and I can only get them at my local farmer's market.

Forgive the bluntness of the question, but just to doulbe check, are you positive the meat you're eating is gluten free? Most sausages and deli meats aren't safe, anything already marinated or sauced too.

[sa1937]

Forgive the bluntness of the question, but just to doulbe check, are you positive the meat you're eating is gluten free? Most sausages and deli meats aren't safe, anything already marinated or sauced too.

Here in the U.S. at least, I think many most sausages (including hot dogs) and deli meats are gluten-free. Personally I avoid the deli because of CC issues and prefer to buy already packaged cold cuts. And I don't buy marinated fresh meats. If I want to marinate something, I can easily do it myself.

[cahill]

I was vegan / vegetarian for most of my adult life. Once diagnosed and I had to give up gluten and soy ( I am intolerant) I was eating close to paleo. But my body does not digest meals well at all so I am coming back the other way closer to vegetarian again

Each of us has to find what work for our bodys. And once we do that may eventually change .

I have healed enough that I can eat dairy and eggs again. Those are basic to my diet . I am also able to eat Turkey but not Chicken

Rice is the only grain I tolerate well on a daily basis .

I have my B and D vitamins checked often to make sure I am maintaining them but other wise I feel my over all diet is healthier then it was before I was diagnosed , I am more aware of my bodys nutritional needs and what I need to do to meet them.

[LuckyAtlas84]

If meat gives you heartburn, don't eat it.

Can you handle fish?

yes Strawberry jam. i can handle fish fine with no problem. Just would have to watch how much amount i do eat tuna and other kind of fresh catch fish for mecury leve

[LuckyAtlas84]

I was a vegetarian for many years. If you eat eggs and dairy you'll be getting enough protein. Nuts and beans are good to add too. Brown rice is better for you than white. Quinoa is another good food. Just make sure to eat plenty of vegetables and fruits if you like them. Try to eat from the rainbow and you'll be fine.

Thank you juliebove! yeah i really love to eat lot of veggies actually. just I need to be more creative with them and mix them up.

[LuckyAtlas84]

B12 is the only nutrient I know of that you have to supplement if market.

Forgive the bluntness of the question, but just to doulbe check, are you positive the meat you're eating is gluten free? Most sausages and deli meats aren't safe, anything already marinated or sauced too.

Good question! I do tends do my own marniade and just cook them plainly with herbs and olive oil.

I dont really eat too much of deli meats. I do eat hotdogs once in a while. it is kosher and gluten free ki

[LuckyAtlas84]

Each of us has to find what work for our bodys. And once we do that may eventually change .

true, I noticed that I might will have to avoid lot of tomatoes since I used to be allergic to them when i was younger. I would break out in hives and itchy often during summer time. I am testing myself with tomatoes. i noticed i am do fine with raw tomatoes rather than condiment kind plus spaghetti sauce. i am starting think it would have gluten in it as well that might set me off along with tomatoes? i am trying figure what made me all itchy and hives when i am eating condiments....

It is truely challenge!

[LuckyAtlas84]

Takala and eatmeat4good,

I completely understand your point of view. I rather not to eat too many carbs. My doctor told me that I need to be on low carb diet as well. I talked to her about veggies be high in carbs etc. She replied that It is good kind of carb and its more simple carb for my body to digest than complex carbs. plus veggies tends to be low in sugar as well. I am not going to eat too much of grains like quinoeas, rice, and corn. I am just eat them in small qualinties.

I can see where you mean about pcos and be insulin resistent would need to eat more protein and good fat.

I looked up online about the good fat which are Olives, olive oil, avocadoes, various of nuts, various of oils, ground flaxseeds, fatty fish like tuna, salmon, herrings, and trout, and peanut butter. I do mostly eat all of those but still need to develop taste for herrings, and certain nuts...

I just thought if i mix them up with salads and still get what kind of good fats i would need to keep up with if I do eat alternative protein.

I would need to develop taste for tofu although.. I am still work on try new recipe with simple tofu.

[tom]

...

Forgive the bluntness of the question, but just to doulbe check, are you positive the meat you're eating is gluten free? Most sausages and deli meats aren't safe, ...

...

"Most"? I don't think that's anywhere near true. At least in California - is there some sort of regional affinity elsewhere for gluteny sausages or deli meats?

[Strawberry-Jam]

yes Strawberry jam. i can handle fish fine with no problem. Just would have to watch how much amount i do eat tuna and other kind of fresh catch fish for mecury leve

if I were you, I'd eat the max recommended amount of fish per week, and mix it up between big fresh-catch predator fish like tuna and salmon and farmed fish like mackerel etc. they both have chemical problems but the problems are different, idk.

plain eggs tend to give me heartburn, but if they don't for you, eggs are great protein, especially the yolks. don't listen to anyone yammer about cholesterol because eggs are good for you, end of story.

also, using digestive enzymes with meat might help. fat can be a heartburn trigger so eating lean meats that are baked or stewed rather than fried in oil might help. chicken is probably easier to digest than other kinds of meat. Making fresh meat stock from bones and joints is super-packed with nutrients and absorbed into the gut pretty much immediately so shouldn't cause digestion problems. I get meaty marrow beef bones from the butcher for free to make stock with (they would just throw them away otherwise).

if you do go veg, don't count on soy for protein. it's a poor substitute and comes with too many problems of its own...

[LuckyAtlas84]

if you do go veg, don't count on soy for protein. it's a poor substitute and comes with too many problems of its own...

Of course!! I am not too crazy about Soy since I heard it was not excatly good for us either but if we eat it in small quanilties which is okay... Since so many products do include soy as well similar to Wheat be included in almost all of products also.

I guess our government must really want us to lead short life span? interesting! right?!?!? lol

[cahill]

Of course!! I am not too crazy about Soy since I heard it was not excatly good for us either but if we eat it in small quanilties which is okay... Since so many products do include soy as well similar to Wheat be included in almost all of products also.

I guess our government must really want us to lead short life span? interesting! right?!?!? lol

Since soy is in so many products ,, similar to wheat,, maybe that alone should set of warning bells for all of us.

Personally, soy is as disastrous ,if not more so ,, for my body as gluten.

Being vegetarian may require more though and planning without gluten and soy in the meal plan but it is most definitely possible( as long as you tolerate legumes ).

[Marie1976]

I'm a vegan and I have celiac disease. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, potatoes, tofu, beans, quinoa (a grain that is a complete protein -- it's good with peas and onions like a pilaf), rice and rice noodles. I drink smoothies and add supplements like rice protein powder, nutritional yeast (for B vitamins), Udo's Oil (for omegas) and spinach (for iron).

All of the faux meats I used to eat had gluten or soy sauce in them so I can't eat those anymore, but I use extra firm tofu in a lot of different ways. Scrambled with onions and turmeric (sp?) for "scrambled eggs." Chopped up with veganaise, mustard and dill pickles like egg salad (on gluten free bread). Stir fried with eggplant, mushrooms and La Choy soy sauce for a stir fry over rice. I even have a pie recipe that is tofu, peanut butter, rice milk and sugar blended up in a blender and poured in a (gluten free) graham cracker crust. Yum! Even my mom loves my peanut butter pie and she doesn't like tofu. I know a lot of people think tofu is gross, but seriously it's just soybeans. Think about what an egg is and where it comes from, ha ha!

Maybe it takes some getting used to. But my kids love it, they eat it plain and uncooked. You can also get yogurt made out of soy, almond or coconut milk.

Well that's my two cents! Take it or leave it!