Just Starting Out, Afraid Of Cc

[Dandelion123]

Hi everyone. I'm just starting out on a gluten free diet...this is my husband's and my 3rd day off of it. (I have ADD and many signs of gluten intolerance and my husband has a lot of GI issues that doctors have been unable to find the cause for). We have a 3 year old who does not seem to be gluten intolerant in any way so she's finishing off our glutinous bread and cereals for us and then we won't buy anything else that contains gluten. However, in the meantime, I worry so much about accidental gluten exposure. I really want to give the gluten free diet an honest try, but I keep wondering what's the point if I'm getting glutened from accidental CC from making My daughters cereal or sandwiches or something. I do wash my hands and try to be careful. I guess what I'm wondering is, will minute amounts of it affect whether I improve or not on this diet? like my mother is having us over for dinner in a few days, and I told her about cc and such, but I'm still afraid that eating there will ruin the whole diet. Is a tiny amount of accidental gluten really that bad?

Also, my husband took a bit of convincing to get on this diet. Since we started, he has been completely gluten-free at home, but at work, he'll eat what they have (he works for a food company so they get free lunch) but he'll avoid anything with gluten. However, I need to get it across to him that even if he's eating beans and rice,for example, the cook could have touched breaded chicken and then prepared other plates on the same counter or without washing his or her hands, and that even that amount of gluten might sabotage our hard efforts. I offered to make his lunch everyday but he'd rather take advantage of the free lunch his work provides and thinks he's doing fine. I feel like I'm nagging him with all this....if anyone has some good online articles about how bad even tiny amounts of gluten can be, please post them so I can show them to my husband. Thank you, and I'm so glad I found this forum!! Reading the posts here have helped me immensely.

[kareng]

I know a few people like you , who are going gluten-free for reasons other than Celiac. They try to be gluten-free & don't cheat, but they don't worry about minute cc like a person with Celiac has to. Not sure if that will work for ADD or not.

I'm assuming you don't want to get tested or have been tested & it was negative?

[flowerqueen]

To be honest with you, I don't think anyone should give up eating wheat/gluten unless they know they have a problem. Coeliacs don't have a choice. Why make problems for yourself if you don't need to? I can understand it if someone has been tested and knows they have a problem with either Coeliacs or wheat/gluten intolerance. You and your husband are at liberty to chose to omit wheat and gluten from your diet but unless you know your child has a problem I wouldn't restrict her diet as you could be storing up problems for later and also she could resent you for taking it out of her diet, especially when she sees what her friends eat! Taking things out of your diet that you don't need to and then re-introducing them later down the line can actually cause an intolerance to develop.

Hi everyone. I'm just starting out on a gluten free diet...this is my husband's and my 3rd day off of it. (I have ADD and many signs of gluten intolerance and my husband has a lot of GI issues that doctors have been unable to find the cause for). We have a 3 year old who does not seem to be gluten intolerant in any way so she's finishing off our glutinous bread and cereals for us and then we won't buy anything else that contains gluten. However, in the meantime, I worry so much about accidental gluten exposure. I really want to give the gluten free diet an honest try, but I keep wondering what's the point if I'm getting glutened from accidental CC from making My daughters cereal or sandwiches or something. I do wash my hands and try to be careful. I guess what I'm wondering is, will minute amounts of it affect whether I improve or not on this diet? like my mother is having us over for dinner in a few days, and I told her about cc and such, but I'm still afraid that eating there will ruin the whole diet. Is a tiny amount of accidental gluten really that bad?

Also, my husband took a bit of convincing to get on this diet. Since we started, he has been completely gluten-free at home, but at work, he'll eat what they have (he works for a food company so they get free lunch) but he'll avoid anything with gluten. However, I need to get it across to him that even if he's eating beans and rice,for example, the cook could have touched breaded chicken and then prepared other plates on the same counter or without washing his or her hands, and that even that amount of gluten might sabotage our hard efforts. I offered to make his lunch everyday but he'd rather take advantage of the free lunch his work provides and thinks he's doing fine. I feel like I'm nagging him with all this....if anyone has some good online articles about how bad even tiny amounts of gluten can be, please post them so I can show them to my husband. Thank you, and I'm so glad I found this forum!! Reading the posts here have helped me immensely.

[bartfull]

I respectfully disagree, Flowerqueen. I believe it is just a myth that people will develop an intolerance to foods if they don't eat them for a long time. For example, when I was a kid, my Mom made me eat my vegetables. Once I was out of the house, I never ate broccoli again until I was in my 40's. Now I like broccoli although I hated it as a kid. But when I started eating it again after 30 years of avoiding it, I didn't develop an intolerance to it.

Also, the OP said she not only had ADD, but OTHER signs of gluten intolerance, as well as her husband having GI issues. I think gluten-free is a very wise decision for them both.

But Dandelion, you really DO have to avoid cross contamination for it to work. And your husband does too! Have you read the sticky "Newbie 101"? It will explain why this is so important, and it will explain how to accomplish it. If you can stay gluten-free, TRULY gluten-free, you may find that you both had a slew of symptoms that you never would have associated with gluten. It can't hurt, and it might well help.

Your other option is to get tested, if you have the insurance and know a GOOD doctor. You need to be eating gluten to be tested though. Read, read, read - as many threads as you can here. You will learn so much, and hopefully be on your way to better health.

[Dandelion123]

Thank you guys! I definitely understand going gluten free is a big undertaking and not so,etching to be taken lightly, however, I have done lots of research and the more I read about the symptoms of gluten intolerance, the more I think I have it. I have sleep problems like insomnia, bloating, very bad teeth with weak enamel, often tired and sluggish, plus my ADD.

Bartfull, thanks for understanding. I've done a lot of research and I really feel a gluten free diet will benefit my Husband and I. In fact, it's only day 3 and I already see a noticeable difference in the amount of bloating I have! Could be just coincidence though, but I'd like to think I'm improving.

I will definitely check out the info on this board, and forward it to my husband to check out.

[IrishHeart]

Taking things out of your diet that you don't need to and then re-introducing them later down the line can actually cause an intolerance to develop.

Where did you read this information?

For example, I only eat foods like lobster, shrimp, mussels, oysters etc., once a year when I go to Cape Cod and I do not have an intolerance to them.

Not sure where this idea has come from because, in theory, this is not how a food intolerance develops at all.

You would have to be eating a food regularly for an intolerance to occur. To resolve a food intolerance, it is advised that you take it out for a few months, then reintroduce it.

[flowerqueen]

Bartful, I was referring to the fact that they were taking her daughter off gluten even though she has not had any signs of having a problem with it!

I definitely think there is a problem with her own health, perhaps I had not phrased it properly or you had not read the post right through.

I respectfully disagree, Flowerqueen. I believe it is just a myth that people will develop an intolerance to foods if they don't eat them for a long time. For example, when I was a kid, my Mom made me eat my vegetables. Once I was out of the house, I never ate broccoli again until I was in my 40's. Now I like broccoli although I hated it as a kid. But when I started eating it again after 30 years of avoiding it, I didn't develop an intolerance to it.

Also, the OP said she not only had ADD, but OTHER signs of gluten intolerance, as well as her husband having GI issues. I think gluten-free is a very wise decision for them both.

But Dandelion, you really DO have to avoid cross contamination for it to work. And your husband does too! Have you read the sticky "Newbie 101"? It will explain why this is so important, and it will explain how to accomplish it. If you can stay gluten-free, TRULY gluten-free, you may find that you both had a slew of symptoms that you never would have associated with gluten. It can't hurt, and it might well help.

Your other option is to get tested, if you have the insurance and know a GOOD doctor. You need to be eating gluten to be tested though. Read, read, read - as many threads as you can here. You will learn so much, and hopefully be on your way to better health.

[flowerqueen]

I take your point about intolerances occurring through eating something regularly, as once your reach your tolerance max level you have a problem.

There are other problems that can arise from messing about too much with your diet. Many years ago my daughter had a VEGA test to see if she had any intolerances as she had very bad eczema. Her younger sister had a severe intolerance to dairy products when she was only 3 and we had used the VEGA method to see why she was being ill. When it pointed to dairy and took it out of her diet she recovered almost overnight so I had hoped that the VEGA method would help her older sister. They told us she was intolerant to cows milk, plus citric acid. Hoping for a similar recovery to her little sister we cut out the 'offending' foods. Sadly her eczema remained and cutting out citric acid led to her being intolerant to tomatoes as well (which we were warned might happen). She had been happily eating tomatoes and foods/drinks with citric acid in until then. If we'd left well alone, she would not be in this situation.

Where did you read this information?

For example, I only eat foods like lobster, shrimp, mussels, oysters etc., once a year when I go to Cape Cod and I do not have an intolerance to them.

Not sure where this idea has come from because, in theory, this is not how a food intolerance develops at all.

You would have to be eating a food regularly for an intolerance to occur. To resolve a food intolerance, it is advised that you take it out for a few months, then reintroduce it.

[kareng]

I take your point about intolerances occurring through eating something regularly, as once your reach your tolerance max level you have a problem.

There are other problems that can arise from messing about too much with your diet. Many years ago my daughter had a VEGA test to see if she had any intolerances as she had very bad eczema. Her younger sister had a severe intolerance to dairy products when she was only 3 and we had used the VEGA method to see why she was being ill. When it pointed to dairy and took it out of her diet she recovered almost overnight so I had hoped that the VEGA method would help her older sister. They told us she was intolerant to cows milk, plus citric acid. Hoping for a similar recovery to her little sister we cut out the 'offending' foods. Sadly her eczema remained and cutting out citric acid led to her being intolerant to tomatoes as well (which we were warned might happen). She had been happily eating tomatoes and foods/drinks with citric acid in until then. If we'd left well alone, she would not be in this situation.

Tho this doesn't have anything to do with the original question, I think you aren't understanding what we are saying.

One more example: People only eat watermelon for 2 months a year then go 10 without. They don't become intolerant to it because they weren't eating it for a while. Maybe she always had a problem with tomatoes that was masked by her other issues. When they cleared up, all that was left was the tomatoes? Also, I think people can develop allergies. Maybe she has an allergy to tomatoes?

[Dandelion123]

Im sorry everyone, I made it seem like my daughter would be on a strict gluten free diet too, but she isn't and won't be. I should have clarified better by saying that the house would be gluten free just to make things easier regarding cc concerns and such, but when she's at the babysitter's (who provides her lunch) or we're eating at someone's house she can eat whatever's served.

You all are making me think twice about not getting tested before we started this, though. My husband has been tested for several things but doctors haven't been able to figure out the cause of his GI issues(we hadn't thought to ask about celiacs or a gluten intolerance) and now we don't have insurance anymore, which is why we're doing the diet without getting tested, just trying to improve things on our own, for free.

Is there anything that could prove to us that we do have a gluten intolerance? Let's say we go through gluten withdrawal (looks like I might be...I've been dizzy and had an unusual breakout of exzema on just one spot of my hand), or that we notice measurable improvements on the diet, or we get a very bad reaction after a slip up...could any of those things indicate we have a gluten intolerance?

[flowerqueen]

Wouldn't like to say. Some people get worse before they get better. Others improve straight away, others struggle with puzzling symptoms for a long time, while their gut heals. It's a dilemma deciding whether to go gluten free without a test. You are the best judge of that. If you do decide to get tested, you will need to be eating gluten for at least 6weeks (regularly) before hand to get an accurate result. (so that is something else to consider, if you were rethinking about getting tested).

Im sorry everyone, I made it seem like my daughter would be on a strict gluten free diet too, but she isn't and won't be. I should have clarified better by saying that the house would be gluten free just to make things easier regarding cc concerns and such, but when she's at the babysitter's (who provides her lunch) or we're eating at someone's house she can eat whatever's served.

You all are making me think twice about not getting tested before we started this, though. My husband has been tested for several things but doctors haven't been able to figure out the cause of his GI issues(we hadn't thought to ask about celiacs or a gluten intolerance) and now we don't have insurance anymore, which is why we're doing the diet without getting tested, just trying to improve things on our own, for free.

Is there anything that could prove to us that we do have a gluten intolerance? Let's say we go through gluten withdrawal (looks like I might be...I've been dizzy and had an unusual breakout of exzema on just one spot of my hand), or that we notice measurable improvements on the diet, or we get a very bad reaction after a slip up...could any of those things indicate we have a gluten intolerance?

[IrishHeart]

I take your point about intolerances occurring through eating something regularly, as once your reach your tolerance max level you have a problem.

There are other problems that can arise from messing about too much with your diet. Many years ago my daughter had a VEGA test to see if she had any intolerances as she had very bad eczema. Her younger sister had a severe intolerance to dairy products when she was only 3 and we had used the VEGA method to see why she was being ill. When it pointed to dairy and took it out of her diet she recovered almost overnight so I had hoped that the VEGA method would help her older sister. They told us she was intolerant to cows milk, plus citric acid. Hoping for a similar recovery to her little sister we cut out the 'offending' foods. Sadly her eczema remained and cutting out citric acid led to her being intolerant to tomatoes as well (which we were warned might happen). She had been happily eating tomatoes and foods/drinks with citric acid in until then. If we'd left well alone, she would not be in this situation.

What is VEGA testing?