Spouse May Have Celiac

[ashes420]

My significant other has been gluten sensitive most of his life to varying degrees. Somedays he can eat an entire pizza without getting sick, other days the slightest thing can make him sick. His mother and grandfather are also celiacs- she can't even touch it without getting sick for days. He has finally chosen to go gluten free, after a few days of feeling very sick. I am a very picky eater and dearly love my pastas, breads and baked goods. I dearly want to show my support for him. What is the best way to do this? It seems most of those in this forum with spouses with Celiac have chosen to also go gluten-free. Is this the most common choice for spouses of Celiacs? I do understand how it can make cooking much easier, but if I choose to also go gluten free, I do not want to become sensitive to it myself. What is the best way to deal?

[kareng]

Not eating something will not make you sensitive to it. For example, People usually only eat watermelon 2 months of the year. They aren't sensitive to it when they start eating it again. You could find that you had a sensitivity to something and didn't know it until you deleted it.

You could certainly eat anything when not at home.

For a person starting a gluten-free diet, it can be hard to see others eating things they like in front of them. So, I would think, if you care about him, you would try to keep those foods away from him - at least until he gets used to the diet.

I'm curious why he doesn't want to get an official diagnosis? For many people it helps them to stick to the diet. It also helps thier relatives believe gluten is a real problem and be more supportive.

[1desperateladysaved]

Thank You, for the loving support of your family member this way. Your sharing in this will help immensly. You can find substitutes that are good tssting for both of you. I agree that eating the same thing at the same time is the very best for families. Eating together helps to bond us together. Being a willing participant in the diet also helps you to understand what the other is going through.

If you enjoy food now, you can still enjoy it. You may actually increase the variety of what you eat. You may increase the nutrients in what you eat.

I got the idea that you do the cooking. There are many recipes for gluten free online. If any allergies arise there are also substitutes available.

Listen to and help through the withdrawl and health effects of the gluten diet. It is simply amazing what the body begins to do.

Diana

[GFinDC]

Well, he should stop in here and do some reading. It can be hard to eliminate all the sources of gluten in your diet. It is present in many, many processed foods and not always obvious. If you do go gluten-free it will probalby help him,. Kissing is not a safe activity if you haven't brushed and gargled after eating gluten. Shampoos and vitamins and meds need to be gluten-free also. Sharing pots and pans and condiments like peanut butter and mayo or even a toaster are not ok. It only takes a trace amount of gluten to get the autoimmune process started and it doesn't stop for a couple weeks at least. Baking with regular gluteny flour is not a good idea. There are gluten-free flour mixes available.

Some starting the gluten-free diet tips for the first 6 months:

Get tested before starting the gluten-free diet.

Don't eat in restaurants

Eat only whole foods not processed foods.

Eat only food you cook yourself, think simple foods, not gourmet meals.

Take probiotics.

Take gluten-free vitamins.

Take digestive enzymes.

Avoid dairy.

Avoid sugars and starchy foods.

Avoid alcohol.

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[pricklypear1971]

My significant other has been gluten sensitive most of his life to varying degrees. Somedays he can eat an entire pizza without getting sick, other days the slightest thing can make him sick. His mother and grandfather are also celiacs- she can't even touch it without getting sick for days. He has finally chosen to go gluten free, after a few days of feeling very sick. I am a very picky eater and dearly love my pastas, breads and baked goods. I dearly want to show my support for him. What is the best way to do this? It seems most of those in this forum with spouses with Celiac have chosen to also go gluten-free. Is this the most common choice for spouses of Celiacs? I do understand how it can make cooking much easier, but if I choose to also go gluten free, I do not want to become sensitive to it myself. What is the best way to deal?

Aside from what was said above, if your favorites all involve wheat flour, and assuming you bake and cook with wheat flour in the house, he can have a big problem.

Flour flies and goes airborne, covers everything. You'll find a lot if people who live in split households (one gluten-free, others not) draw the line at having glutenous flours in the house. It's simply too difficult to control and the Celiac gets glutened by getting into minute particles around the kitchen.

So, how you decide to do it is up to you. But I'd bring glutenous baked goods in, not bake them in your house.

[Takala]

What my spouse did was go gluten free at home. He eats whatever he wants during business travel, sometimes he will get a burger with a regular bun when dining out, but not usually, as he tends to order off the gluten free menu with me so as to lessen problems with cross contamination and leftovers if we get the leftovers bagged for takeout.

If you are not gluten intolerant or celiac, you will not become more sensitive to it over time after omitting it from the diet for a while.

At home, for carbs, he eats his gluten free cereals, rice cakes, rice pasta, corn tortillas, potatoes, beans, and any thing I bake gluten free. Sometimes we get some kinnickinick bagels to keep in the freezer, once in a while a loaf of Udi's bread for him (I don't eat that because it has something else in it that disagrees with me.) If we want pizza, we either make it at home, using either a tortilla (rice) for ultra thin crust, or a home made crust, like from a Chebe mix. There are also a lot of pre- made, frozen gluten free crusts available in health food stores now, but the home-made is better. We also keep a stash of Lara bars around, some gluten free crackers sometimes, along with some gluten free gelato, and he has pre sweetened yogurts that are gluten free - I eat the plain, to which I add whatever I want, as I am more sensitive and cannot do much sugar or corn syrup in foods.

When we travel, even for short trips during the day, we almost always carry a lunch cooler with emergency snacks, so as to be prepared if we get delayed or hungry.

The main difference between normal and gluten free households is that the latter is likely taking a bit more thought and planning to provide food, as opposed to our modern society's reliance on take out and mass production.