rachel-gf

It is hard at first. And then it gets better. My experience is that after a few months gluten-free, you look at gluten food, and it doesn't really look like a food anymore. This is hard to explain. But it's kind of like looking at a food you don't like (chicken feet?) and thinking, "Gee, I see other people eating this, but it just doesn't really look like...

I guess I'm coming at it from a different perspective -- not a picky eater. I would really recommend developing your love for Mexican, Greek, Thai and Indian food. (Do you like those?) These cuisines have a lot of naturally gluten-free food. Do try some pastas and find one gluten-free pasta you love. Try risotto. It's sooo good and creamy. Enjoy your...

I found that changing the proportions of what I was eating was helpful. Do try increasing vegetables, protein (meats), reducing starchy stuff (chips, bread). You may also want to try removing dairy for a while - it can cause bloating. Also be sure you don't have vitamin deficiencies. That could be wreaking havoc on your body as well. Now that your body is...

I would say commit to being strict for 6 months. For that time, pretend that your celiac tests came back positive. :-) If you can, keep a food log of what you're eating. If your problem isn't gluten, you'll want to know what it is. Dairy? Corn? Totally unrelated to food? Something else? In your food log, you can also make notes on anything strange...

Yes, it's normal to feel better after only a few gluten-free days, and it's also possible to go through a lot of ups and downs. I would say I felt a lot better after a few days or a week, then hit another improvement milestone maybe 2-3 months later, then felt a bit worse (too much dairy, I think), and now at exactly 4 months gluten free, am better than I...

Do they have it every Tesco's? I tried a few and couldn't find it in London.

I'm also a very cranky person if I go more than a few hours without eating, though this has improved as I removed gluten completely and reduced refined sugars. My favorite way to deal with the no-food problems is to keep a small baggie of nuts and raisins (about 30% unsweetened raisins, and 70% nuts). The raisins help bring up my blood sugar so I feel...

If you want to try something a little bit different: Greek food is tasty, and has very little grain! Maybe try buying a Greek food cookbook or trying some Greek recipes online. They do a lot with meat, veggies, and dairy.

I also gain weight when eating gluten. If I eat gluten for only a week, I swell up by 5 pounds, and then it takes about 6 weeks to fully go away. I've heard a few guesses about the mechanism: - eating gluten somehow encourages overeating for people who are sensitive - your body cannot get enough nutrition due to malabsorption, so you keep craving food...

For me: mentally felt better within a week. Intestines felt better within 2-3 weeks. 2 months later: significantly improved. But my celiac tests are negative. I think it depends on what other issues you have and how severe your damage is. I tried to speed up my recovery by taking vitamin D, vitamin B complex, magnesium, and calcium.

I'm trying to figure this out as well. From my understanding, most doctors will not diagnose celiac unless they see two things: (1) lots of intra-epithelial lymphocytes (IELs) and villus atrophy. (You can look these things up online for photos and explanations.) The other thing I would do if I were you is to find a good list of the symptoms of wheat allergy...

I did have the same experience as the original poster. When eating gluten, I did experience nearly uncontrollable desires to eat certain foods, such as gluten-containing bread and cookies. The exact same foods gluten-free can somehow sit around in my kitchen and I don't feel an uncontrollable urge to eat them until they are gone. I mentioned it to someone...

It's so sweet that you're trying to help your sister. Another thing you may want to look into is gluten-free food blogs. They're really fun to read and can make a gluten-free lifestyle seem a lot more fun. One that you or your sister may like is Gluten Free Easily glutenfreeeasily.com The author uses a lot of naturally gluten free foods rather than...

Hi Silverdawn, Yes, it is up to you. But I would say if there's any chance you would ever want a definitive diagnosis of celiac, I would recommend getting a biopsy before you go gluten-free. Otherwise, you may never really know if you have it. I am now in this strange "is-it-celiac-or-isn't-it" state. From my perspective, if you're not ready to commit...

Hi Nora Thank you very much for your reply. I really appreciate it. Thanks also for the thoughts on DQ2,2. I guess there are two ways to interpret my results: I have gluten sensitivity but not celiac, or I have celiac even though not all signs were present. I suppose it doesn't make a difference because it's quite clear gluten is not doing anything...