Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Safe Foods When You're A Beginner

kathyl2552

Recommended Posts

kathyl2552 Newbie
kathyl2552
Posted

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed 3 months ago with celiac disease after 30 years of suffering and being diagnosed with other things. My symptoms are incapacitating migraines and terrible fatigue. I am excited to maybe have relief and have actually enjoyed some very good days. 11 so far out of 3 months. I am having trouble, of course, with finding the foods without gluten. I know now that foods that say gluten free are probably not for a celiac. I love chicken and I hope you all can tell me what I need to know. Can you have store bought chicken? I've read they inject chicken broth. I bought a "natural" whole chicken from BJ's and now feel terrible. What have you all found is always safe. Right now I eat tons of salads and fruits. Is there anything else I can trust so I can heal? I am 54 and have had this as long as I can remember.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


dani nero Community Regular
dani nero
Posted

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed 3 months ago with celiac disease after 30 years of suffering and being diagnosed with other things. My symptoms are incapacitating migraines and terrible fatigue. I am excited to maybe have relief and have actually enjoyed some very good days. 11 so far out of 3 months. I am having trouble, of course, with finding the foods without gluten. I know now that foods that say gluten free are probably not for a celiac. I love chicken and I hope you all can tell me what I need to know. Can you have store bought chicken? I've read they inject chicken broth. I bought a "natural" whole chicken from BJ's and now feel terrible. What have you all found is always safe. Right now I eat tons of salads and fruits. Is there anything else I can trust so I can heal? I am 54 and have had this as long as I can remember.

It sadly has to do with a lot of trial and error and what the board members told me was the "learning curve". If you buy something that made you feel bad you'll know to avoid it, and in time you'll learn what you want to avoid and what's ok. Also you've only been gluten-free for 3 months after 30 years of having your body damaged, so it might not be the BJ chicken that caused you to feel terrible, but just residue symptoms. It takes a long time to heal sadly.

Are you taking any supplements, enzymes or probiotics, and are you keeping a food journal? All these things are the tools of the trade for celiacs haha :-)

I find that the best thing to do when there is a new type of food I want to try is: First of all I don't try lots of new things at one time so that I know which new thing caused the reaction, and secondly I contact the company by calling them to ask if their products may contain even hints or traces of gluten because I'm super sensitive (even though I'm not really :-P).. but just to make them know that I don't want any amount of traces in my food. If they say it's free of traces I try it, and then I wait the next two days before trying anything else. If all is well after two days, then I know it was ok :-)

As for the anything else things you can eat, I'll leave that for the others to suggest because I myself am currently not very creative in that department. I'm hung on a few specific foods atm!

Good luck and welcome by the way!

mamaw Community Regular
mamaw
Posted

Welcome to the group.

Meats, veggies, fish, fruits in there natural state are gluten-free ( no seasoning, marinades, sauces, or rubs) just plain & naked. I do not buy meats from the local grocery store but prefer farm raised, grass fed, free range meats. For fish I mail order wild caught Alaskan Salmom , shrimp, halibut. I just prefer the texture , taste & go more for natural.. I know there is a better taste & healthy to these better raised products..

There is a learning curve to the gluten-free lifestyle.. Just take your time & learn for instance the naked meats, ect regime then once you got it down to I don't even think about it I just know process then move on..

You will soon learn whether you are going to be a very sensitive celiac that can't eat out , or eat foods that also processes wheat things in the same place.... When you are like the last sentence it does limit even more your food intake..

But majority is that most can eat gluten-free foods labeled gluten-free or ones that do not contain any wheat sources...remeber there are hidden gluten in such things as soy sauce, malt & so on..

Do you like to cook & bake? There are some yummy mixes available while you are learning, then once you get confident in the gluten-free you can do your own baking if that is something you enjoy...

Just don't over-whelm yourself while learning , & never intentionally cheat. Once you do cheating it is alkie to smoking , Very hard to stop ; the process..

Many things on the mainstream store shelf is gluten-free IE: progresso , contadina, corn chips, snacks many clearly label..

Become a label reader & always check as food companies will change the ingredient list when they find a cheaper ingredient.So what may be gluten-free today may not be in 3 months..

Dining out options is growing all the time:

Red Robin. Chili's, Applebees, longhorn steakhose, Olive, Garden, Red Lobster, Wendy's, Burger King, Chipolte, Uno,s, Carina's, dairy queen & hundreds more.

Do a google search for a support group in your area as they usually have great listings of where to dine, shop& so on...

If you are missing a food just let us know & one of us can help you find it or a recipe for it...

Suggestion is to have protein bars for your purse & a gluten-free bag of goodies in your car, office at all times for those unexpected happenings...

hth

mamaw

ciamarie Rookie
ciamarie
Posted

If they add a broth or anything, it should be labeled. Or was it one of the pre-cooked chickens? In that case there may be spices on the skin that aren't gluten-free. I've been doing fine with Foster Farms chicken, it's one of the few things I've been able to eat reliably while I figure out what else works for me. I've also found a local store that carries pork with no added broth or anything, as well as a line of 'natural' beef that I've been able to add. In the case of beef, 'natural' means it doesn't have any additives or dyes, etc. I think another term used in chicken is 'minimally processed' when they haven't added anything to it.

Other safe foods for me are lundberg rice cakes, green beans and rice and peas and carrots and most beans and eggs and butter and real maple syrup. Those are the things I fall back to if I get too adventurous and I start having bad reactions, though not necessarily gluten reactions.

IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

Welcome to the fold!

Most people eat a plain whole foods diet at first, but many incorporate certified gluten-free foods right away without trouble. You may need to give up dairy for a few months.

May I direct you to this thread for newbies so you can read through it? There are food suggestions, as well as other links for practical advice.

The chicken is probably fine. They do not inject wheat into the chicken and if they did for some strange reason, it would be labeled CONTAINS WHEAT.

I was almost 54 at DX myself and you will see this age group--and even people in their 60's, 70's and 80s ---being diagnosed more frequently now.

Best wishes to you!

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

There is lots of food to eat. Some ideas below:

FAQ Celiac com

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/forum-7/announcement-3-frequently-asked-questions-about-celiac-disease/

What's For Breakfast Today?

What Did You Have For Lunch Today?

What Are You Cooking Tonight?

kathyl2552 Newbie
kathyl2552
Posted
  • Author

Thank you all for the replies. All the links are amazing and a great help.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,915
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    marcusdarrell1
    Newest Member
    marcusdarrell1
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Help I’m cross contaminating myself,

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      I followed the Autoimmune Protocol Diet which is really strict for a while, but later other foods can be added back into your diet.  Following the AIP diet strictly allows you digestive system to heal and the inflammation to calm down.  Sort of like feeding a sick baby easy to digest food instead of spicy pizza.   It's important to get the inflammation down because chronic inflammation leads to other health problems.  Histamine is released as part of the autoimmune response to gluten.  High histamine levels make you feel bad and can cause breathing problems (worsening asthma), cardiovascular problems (tachycardia), and other autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, diabetes) and even mental health problems. Following the low histamine version of the AIP diet allows the body to clear the histamine from our bodies.  Some foods are high in histamine.  Avoiding these makes it easier for our bodies to clear the histamine released after a gluten exposure.   Vitamin D helps regulate the immune system and calm it down.  Vitamin D is frequently low in Celiacs.  The B Complex vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine.   Supplementing with essential vitamins and minerals boosts your intestines' ability to absorb them while healing.   Keep in mind that gluten-free facsimile foods, like gluten-free bread, are not enriched with added vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts are.   They are empty calories, no nutritional value, which use up your B vitamins in order to turn the calories into fuel for the body to function.   Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about supplementing while healing.  Take a good B Complex and extra Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine (shown to promote gut health).  Most B Complex vitamins contain thiamine mononitrate which the body cannot utilize.  Meats and liver are good sources of B vitamins.   Dr. Sarah Ballantyne wrote the book, the Paleo Approach.  She's a Celiac herself.  Her book explains a lot.   I'm so glad you're feeling better and finding your balance!
    • klmgarland
      Help I’m cross contaminating myself,

      By klmgarland · Posted

      So I should not eat my gluten free bread?  I will try the vitamins.  Thank you all so very much for your ideas and understanding.  I'm feeling better today and have gathered back my composure!
    • knitty kitty
      Taking Probiotics but Still Getting Sick After Gluten – Advice?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Some people prefer eating gluten before bed, then sleeping through the worst symptoms at night.  You might want to try that and see if that makes any difference.   Several slices of toast for breakfast sounds okay.  Just try to work up to the Ten grams of gluten.  Cookies might only have a half of a gram of gluten.  The weight of the whole cookie is not the same as the amount of gluten in it.  So do try to eat bread things with big bubbles, like cinnamon rolls.   Yeah, I'm familiar with the "death warmed over" feeling.  I hope you get the genetic test results quickly.  I despise how we have to make ourselves sick to get a diagnosis.  Hang in there, sweetie, the tribe is supporting you.  
    • Clear2me
      Gluten free nuts

      By Clear2me · Posted

      Thank you, a little expensive but glad to have this source. 
    • Xravith
      Taking Probiotics but Still Getting Sick After Gluten – Advice?

      By Xravith · Posted

      @knitty kitty  Thank you very much for the advice. I did the exam this morning, my doctor actually suggested me to take something called "Celiac duo test" in which I first do the genetic test and if it's positive, then I'll have to do the antigen blood test. I have to attend 1 month until my results are ready, so I have some weeks to increase the amount of gluten I eat daily. It will be hard because my health is not the best right now, but I also did a blood test to cheek my nutritional deficiencies. The results will arrive on Tuesday, so I can ask my doctor what should I do to control my symptoms and blood levels during this month. For now I'm resting and paying attention to what I eat— at least I don’t look like a vampire who just woke up, like I did yesterday. I'm still scared because is the first time I've felt this sick, but this is the right moment to turn things around for the better.  I realized that if I eat gluten at lunch I cannot finish the day properly, I become severely tired and sometimes my stomach hurts a lot - let's not talk about the bloating that starts later. Do you think is it ok to eat gluten just in the morning, like some cookies and slices of bread for breakfast? 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.