chatycady

Excellent advice! I too had similar problems. No grains, no sugar, no potato's, yams, rice, no citrus fruit, no nuts, no diary, no soy, etc. etc. etc.... I too follow the SCDiet and feel it saved my sanity and probably my life!

CHeck it out and don't be discouraged. If you get rid of the foods that cause trouble, your stomach will finally heal. It may take a couple of years, but you will feel so much better. I will never go back to eating like I used to. I like this diet and it's very very healthy.

P. S. 50% of my diet is meat/protein. But it's GOOD protein and my body hasn't looked this good since I was 20! I'm 53 with muscles!

Take care.

Chaty

They used to tell me my eyes were "funny" and they could tell when I was feeling poorly. They recently told me my eyes were bright and sparkled! (They - my church friends)

Chaty, what makes you think that you may be lacking in anything? Have you been tested and found to be lacking or are you just assuming it to be so because of the lack of grains?

Don't forget that a huge proportion of the World's population exist perfectly healthily without any grains whatsoever.

As Laurie said, grains don't contain anything that can't be found in many other foods, and often in better ways too.

Making a list of what you eat on its own will tell you little if anything about what you are lacking - unless you were existing on a diet of junk food. Even if any testing did throw up a lack anywhere, that could just as easily be attributed to straggly malabsorption issues than to a lack of actual nutrients.

If you are still following the SCD you will undoubtedly be getting a much better quality of nutrients in general than a lot of people simply because your diet revolves around good wholesome food that should be full of nutrients and not full of empty calories like junk.

Laurie's suggestion to take some supplementation may be helpful if necessary though because, unless you can get hold of mainly good quality organic produce grown in high-quality soil, much of the fruit and vegetables that are grown through intensive farming on poor quality soil is nowhere near as nutrient-rich.

Grains can supply B vitamins and things like iron, but then so can fish, meat, nuts, turkey, liver, lentils, avocado, beans, leafy green veg and well, most foods really. Any deficiency is more likely to be due to gut damage and malabsorption than to a lack of nutrition, although having said that, processing does radically reduce the amount available in any food, so even if you were eating gluten, white flour products would have much less than wholemeal which is why they have to supplement it. No chemically-derived supplement can substitute for the benefit of the real nutrients in the real food.

Most of my life I've been deficient on something!!! Iron, B-12, Magnesium, Vitamin D. calcium. And there are a couple of dieticians at church who insists you can't have a good diet without grains! So I just needed to see with my own eyes I was ok. I can live without grain!

Thanks for asking.

There are no nutrients in grains that are not present in other whole foods. If you eat a balanced diet with good meat, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, you will get all the nutrition you need. On the other hand, if you eat a lot of replacement items for gluten products or junk food, you will not, but wouldn't have anyway. When I first went gluten-free, I carefully researched what vitamins, minerals, and nutrients were present in grains that I might be missing. There were none that were not available in even more abundance in some cases, in other whole foods. Never hurts to supplement with a good multivitamin in any case, since many store bought foods are nutrient poor.

The promotion by the grain industry about how grains are good for you is just that - pure advertisement.

Laurie

I agree with you! I don't eat any grains and was always worried that I might be deficient in B vitamins, but I"ve tracked what I eat and sure enough - no deficiencies! I could stand a little more potassium (don't do well with bananas) and less sodium. But I have all the rest of the bases covered.

Don't know how to lower sodium, when I don't eat anything processed. Don't know if I should worry about it. I ignore their recommendations - for grain. I just needed to know I was getting all the proper nutrients I need.

I just got back from a celiac meeting and the dietician recommended I check out this website. I am unable to eat all grains and have been worried about missing some important vitamins/minerals in my diet. I follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

I had to estabish an account and then will keep track of what I eat. It will tell me what vitamins I'm missing if any. It also tells me what foods I can add to get all the nutrients I need.

FYI.

Open Original Shared Link

You may want to consider a different gluten free diet such as the specific carbohydrate diet. Or some other gluten free diet.

Eat fresh fruits and veggies (no potatoes or yams) too much starch for a damaged intestine

Fresh meat and fish

eggs (if they don't bother you.)

Keep it simple. Munch on carrots, celery, olives. apples, peaches, grapes.

Processed foods may becausing some of your discomfort.

Some celiacs can't handle any grains, citrus fruit, seafood, sugar, starch and dairy as the villi don't produce proper enzymes. It needs time to heal. Eventually you may reintroduce these foods.

Fairly new to this, from your post it sounds like you really know what your doing on the "what to eat" end.....can you give us all a list of what you eat each da/week...or some ideas???? Anyone else have any suggestions on eating what?????? Just trying to find something that agrees??? Thanks! d

Here is what I eat. I haven't been glutened in a year or more.

eggs boiled, poached or scramble in butter - no milk.

all fresh or frozen fruit without sugar or syrup.

home made yogurt with honey.

pork steak, chops or roast

beef roast, steak or hamburger

chicken - be careful - chicken is tricky as it's injected with "stuff" (gluten?)

orange roughy - my favorite fish

shrimp

all fresh and frozen veggies, except potatos sweet and regular, and yams(too starchy)

fresh baked goodies made with almond flour only.

olives, pickles, carrots, celery, - satisfies me when I get the munchies.

Does that give you some ideas? It's all regular food and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, except the almond flour. It's not cheap.

I pretty much shop on the outside asiles of the grocery store. Produce, meat, dairy aisles is where I hang out! I do drink a diet 7-up once in awhile. The key to this gluten free diet is to stock up on food you can eat. If you have something handy you might not feel sorry for yourself and say "There is nothing here for me to eat!" Boo Hoo! It works for me.

Hope this is helpful. Remember it's only food! No big deal.

Can a lack of vitamin D cause gluten intolerance? I live in the upper midwest and am very low on D. I am getting better since taking D. But is the deficiency due to gluten intolerance? Or is the gluten intolerance due to the deficiency?

I also have pernicious anemia and a 4 family members with thyroid disease. Non of us tested positive for celiac (blood)and none of us had a biopsy.

Celia? Gluten intolerance? Aren't they both very dangerous? Don't they both cause an autoimmune response? Doesn't the digestive system "feed" the immune system and keep it in check?

I'm only 5' 4" ( no 1/2" - bummer) and I weighed around 135 before gluten free. I lost 12 lbs and weight 122. I have lost the cellulite and fat, and added muscle. I'm 53 and don't have the extra fat baaround my middle. I feel good, but think I maY be too thin.

I agree with both comments. I too found I was miserable after being gluten free for over a year. I avoid all starch,grains, sugar, which includes lactose (dairy). I can't tolerate nuts, except for almonds or citrus fruits. I do believe that I will get better and will be able to eat all foods again, except for gluten.

I am getting better a little each day, you will too. Read the book "Breaking the vicious cycle" and visit the website. It will give you some insight on why gluten free isn't enough. ALso, it will give you hope that you will get better! Take care and may Our Heavenly Father heal you quickly and completely!

What color was the blood? Bright red or dark red (maroon to black). If it is Bright read, it is likely from the colon or Anus. Hemorrhoids can cause a surprisingly large amount of bleeding. Trust me - I've had them for years. I bleed basically every time I use the restroom. Like you, I was concerned at first, and after 2 colonoscopies, and a variety of other tests, the bleeding is definitely the hemorrhoids. The moral of the story is that you should have a colonoscopy to identify the source. As others have mentioned, bleeding is not symptom of Celiac disease.

So what does dark maroon or black stools mean?

The Dr. told me he wasn't too concerned about reactive hypoglycemia, but he said if I had low blood sugar because I hadn't eaten that was a big concern. Hope you get insurance soon and get this checked out!

Well i was "extremely" low on vitamin D!! I've been trying to get more sun and taking D supplements and my nails are getting better. They are still short, but they aren't splitting anymore. Also, since adding the supplement my cramps are much less and not nearly as severe.

Who would have thought vitamin D was the problem! Thanks all for the advice! I'm getting better little by little!

I get really bad restless leg when I try to go to sleep, and sometimes my hands get tingly when I don't sleep a certain way. It definitely gets in the way of sleeping because I have to try to move my leg so it stops a little.

Does anyone else have this problem? I've always had trouble sleeping, but never knew why but I think this is the problem. Does anyone know anything to help?

I would suggest you have your B-12 levels checked and vitamin D levels. Both can cause tingeling - or that feeling your leg or arm has fallen asleep. At night seems to be the worst.

People already suggested trying it 6 months ago when I joined the forum. I read about it, then rejected the idea because carbs are what I hang on to when I'm not feeling well. Most of the time I'm not hungry, and tasteless food (which is carbs!) are the only thing I get down easily. As does a bananamilkshake but I guess even that's 'forbidden' in SCD... so I don't know what on earth I'd live from. And then I'm not sure it's the food. Maybe it's my nervous system, my immunity system or both. Going without carbs could weaken those even more... I don't know.

But thanks anyway for sharing what helped for you!! I wish you all the best in your recovery!

I hope you will reconsider. Carbohydrates cause a leaky gut. There is no magic pill (pro-biotic) that will heal a leaky gut. It's only through diet and restoring the balance of good bacteria will one finally heal. There are wonderful cook books for the SCdiet. I just made some homemade butter pecan ice cream that is delicious and it is full of good bacteria (natural probiotic.) I eat a big bowl full before I go to sleep and the calcium & protein gives me a good nights rest. I too use to be exhausted and could sleep 24-7.

Take care - I hope you find an answer to your problems.

P.S. Carbs weaken the immune system. Fresh fruits and veggies strengthen it, as they contain wonderful enzymes that keep us strong. Carbs (sugar and starch) cause inflamation - possibly your hip trouble. Sore throat, and upset stomach. Do a websearch on carbs and leaky gut and see what you find.

It's been 6 months since I was diagnosed with leaky gut. I've taken probiotics every morning, fish oil supplements and followed a strict gluten/wheat/diairy/egg free diet. And nothing's changed!!

I still have sensitive bowels (and stomach), I haven't gained anything, I still need 12 hours sleep and feel exhausted nevertheless. I have a chronic throatache, headache, bleeding gum, am feeling dizzy and have a bad inflammation on my hip I don't know what to do.

How do you know you have a leaky gut, then how do you heal it? And -perhaps most importantly- how do you know when it's healed??

Last week I was in a rash on the palm of my hands, but I'm sure I had not eaten any of the 'forbidden' foods. Yet, with a leaky gut, I guess you can become intolerant to whatever comes into your bloodstream, if not wheat and diairy, than corn and soy, no? So what's the point in following a gluten-free diet? I'm not celiac.

Anyone any ideas?

You sound like me last year! I was miserable. I was gluten free but had similar simptoms. I knew if I ate only plain meat and fresh veggies I did better, but I couldn't figure out the rest until I came across the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I found the website and bought the book and have made great progress. Each of us is so different so each of us has different food issues, but I'm healing and now have been able to add small amounts of my problem foods back in.

I am able to eat the homemade yogurt and find it satisfying. I can not do any other milk product as I don't have the enzymes to split the sugar molecules. I read everything on all the websites about the diet. It has helped me, and my two sisters who are having the same problems.

Make some beef broth (recipe on the website) and add fresh veggies and eat that for a day or two and see if you feel a little better. I've been on the diet 8 months and each month I got stronger, had more energy and feel much younger.

I recently found I am very low on vitamin D and since taking the supplements I've made more progress.

God bless you and may you heal too!

P.S. I found I can't take supplements - such as probiotics etc. They have ingredients in them that bother me such as starch, sugar and other stuff.

Oatmeal can be pretty irritating to a damaged intestine. They don't recommend gluten free oatmeal for a least one year after being gluten free. Have you checked out this website? Open Original Shared Link ? It might help you with candida,yeast or imbalance in the digetive system. Many of us celiac's follow this diet and get better.

Have you been tested for celiac? Start there. If it's not celiac, maybe it's a bad yeast infection or IBS or something else that can be fixed.

Eat more protein, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. Avoid processed foods for awhile. Eventually you will heal and get feeling better, but right now your digestion is broken. Carbs may be hard to tolerate. Stay away from starch too. It takes a perfectly healthy instestine to digest complex carbs right now.

It will get better, but it's a learning process, on what we can and can't eat.

I too have given up on Dr's. But I was still having muscle cramps and was starting to go backwards a little bit. So I made an appointment with an Endo and found out I was very low in vitamin D again! Guess I didn't take enough through the winter - so now I'm on mega doses. I think it will solve the muscle cramps. All that delicious yogurt I was eating probably wasn't getting absorbed - a real bummer!!

I hadn't been to a dr in 2 years - because I was tired of getting bad news with no solutions. I will stick with the SCdiet, it is an excellent diet for EVERYONE. My sister is researching diet for her Rheumatoid Arthritis and she says what she has found is basically another form of the SCdiet. She eats tons of SCD yogurt too.

So maybe a person should go to a Dr. once in a while, if you feel your are slipping backwards, but I also feel we need to be our own professional and learn and try (experiment) with whatever it is to get better.

I stumbled across the SCdiet which is a God send. maybe someone will stumble across a cure for them - through unconventional means.

I had a similar problem. My Dr. called it "dumping syndrome". Food passed too quickly through the stomach and small intestine to the colon which caused my blood pressure to dive. Very very tired all day long. I could sleep all day and all night and still have trouble getting out of bed the next day. Miserable!

Run to Walmart after you eat and test your blood pressure. Certain foods made it worse. - Dairy, carbs, and starchy food did me in. I'm not real familiar with the South Beach Diet, but doesn't it allow complex carbs like brown rice and beans? Both are high in starch - very hard to digest for some of us with celiac. It all kinda depends on how much damage has been done to the microvilli and enzyme production.

Hope this helps you figure out what's happening and you find an answer. You will get better!

I can never seem to fall asleep on my first try. I always rest for about 20 minutes and then get up and eat a decent size meal. After the meal I usually fall asleep pretty quickly. It is just getting annoying to have to keep eating something to get myself to fall asleep. I am not overweight by any means. If anything I could probably stand to gain a few pounds. I'm 6 '2, 160lbs. which is in the medium-low range scale for a normal healthy weight. This seems to happen quite often. Am I just not eating enough during the day? And that's why my body won't let me fall asleep?

I've only been gluten free for 5 months and recently just picked up some digestive enzymes. And ever since then it seems like I can never get enough food. When I do get full, which only occurs thanks to peanut butter, it doesn't last for more than a couple of hours. My energy levels never seem consistent either. Some days I feel completely healthy and on others it is just a struggle to get up in the morning.

Any Ideas?

Protein. Are you eating enough protein? Calcium will help you fall asleep - eat some yogurt before bedtime. Too many carbs will keep you always hungry. I eat a big bowl of yogurt every night before I go to bed and fall asleep fast and sleep all night. I think it's calcium that solved my many sleepless nights.

I feel like you do a lot of times. I also have hypoglycemia and have realized I feel much better when I avoid almost all complex grain carbs. I know some people say it's unhealthy but from my personal experience it helps. Also I have to eat at least every 2-3 hrs. If i dont I get horrible mind fog, anger, dizziness, ect that can also occur with gluten intolerance. It might have been the eggs actually. The other morning I made scrambled eggs and felt horrible. it was the other thing I ate that was different than normal. It might just be a little while before u can add them back in. How long have u been gluten free? good luck! May Jesus Christ be with you!

Jenn

I can relate to the hypoglycemia and complex carbs issue. I follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, it works great for me. Everyone has different issues and there is no fast rule for everyone. It takes time and lots of effort to figure out the trigger foods. I'm really hoping this diet cures those other food issues. She (the author) claims that if you follow this diet faithfully the intestine will heal and one may be able to return to a normal diet (gluten free of course). I'm on month 7 and am pretty much symptom free I am hoping and praying it works.

A fellow friend in Christ. <><

chaty

Thanks for the reply. 2 questions - where can I find more information about the SC Diet? and how do you make your own ice cream? You mentioned that dairy bothers you.

Thanks!!!

You can find out more at Open Original Shared Link or read or buy the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle. I got mine from Amazon. Also Open Original Shared Link has recipe's (ice cream) and all sorts of information about this diet.

I bought a yogurt maker from Amazon - Yogurtmet. It makes a half gallon of yogurt that is lactose free - you can find information about it on those websites. I use 1/2 and 1/2 and whipping cream to make the yogurt that I use for the ice cream. My favorite is Butter Pecan Ice Cream. I can not tolerate any other dairy. I eliminated dairy as it causes all sorts of problems, but I'm fine with this yogurt and I love it! It tastes so creamy and is so satisfying.

The book has a chapter on celiac disease that is very very interesting and explains why some of us can't digest grains, and other foods. But the diet is suppose to cure this.

Hope this answers your questions.

Thanks everyone. I went to the Dr. today (endo) and he's testing me for hypoparathyroidism. Not sure what that's about. He's also testing my thyroid. I'm not realy tired, but I do get muscle spasm and lots of cramps in my feet.

He said since I have pernicious anemia and take B-12 shots I shouldn't be low in B-12. I guess I will wait and see. I'm hoping everything is negative and eventually the last symptoms will go away.

I do find when I eat plenty of calcium I have less muscle cramps and spasms.

This may seem minor compared to some of problems others are having.

I've been gluten free for over 2 years and on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet last 7 months. Most all my symptoms are gone, but a couple.

1. My fingernails are a MESS. They are splitting, thin and have ridges in them.

2. On occassion my ears ring - mostly very early in the morning

3. Occassionaly cramps in my feet. - painful and annoying.

These are the last symptoms - the other 1,000 are finally gone!

Any ideas what this is all about? Thyroid? Blood sugar?

Thanks.

Hi-

Im new to this- Im still in the process of getting a diagnosis - its been a long and miserable 5 months. Does anyone here get nausea, hot flashes, and hallucinations at night - that keep you up tossing and turning????. In the morning I usually have some sort of bowel movement-and by then i feel like I want to rip my insides out. the nausea will stay with me the rest of the day. uggh

Yes, many many nights. I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia. I"ve changed my diet and no longer have any of those nasty symptoms.

Does your heart race too? Ears ring? Wake up feeling like you just ran for your life?

What you discribe sounds like low blood sugar. - Part of the celiac experience for some of us. It will get better but you will have to watch carbs. If your interested I can help you out with this. Send me an email.