queenofhearts

Found this over at Clan Thompson:

Open Original Shared Link

Wow, that was interesting! My husband has doubted the need for natural charcoal, saying everything would burn off, & I guess he was right in a way. He's resisted getting the natural stuff because of $$$ (& cussedness...?)so I'm glad there's a way to use the regular stuff safely.

Leah

Congratulations on going gluten-free, & welcome to the board! It's the greatest place. I would truly be lost without it. Great information AND moral support!

Good to have you with us.

Leah

When I contacted Nature Made they told me that only their chewable supplements had gluten. All others are gluten-free. So if they have a non-chewable calcium D it should be okay.

Leah

Oh no, please don't even think that. I'm allergic to enough already. NOT my beloved coconut too!

Sorry! I hasten to add I know nothing!!!! I was just speculating & hope I'm 100% wrong!

Leah

That was me! I use it like pomade. I have long hair and I bleach it, so it's a bit dry. I try to only wash it twice per week, and if I use pomade or other styling products it seems so dirty and hard to style. I use Alterna Caviar shampoo and conditioner, which is gluten-free, but the hair spray is not. It's also very moisturizing, but expensive. Since I don't wash my hair daily, and I don't have to with this wonderful shampoo, I don't go through it too fast. Then I use coconut oil to take out the frizz, and a bit of hairspray.

Wow, I've always had dry skin and love to use coconut oil on it. I've never had this problem; I wonder why it's doing that for you. I, too, use it all the time on everything.

It's all coming back to me now!

I wonder if the folks who get dry skin from it are mildly allergic? I've yet to try it but keep meaning to get some-- have been meaning to for quite a while now-- I blame brain fog!

Leah

Ever since I was diagnosed I've been urging my son to get tested, since he's had some symptoms over the years that make me a bit suspicious. He says "What's the point since I'd never be able to eat gluten-free at school anyway?" He's a rising sophomore at UNC. He's not required to have a meal plan this year & I feel sure we could work something out... but he just doesn't want to hear about it.

Neither does my sister, who I would BET is celiac, & it's really weird because she has had a series of food "issues" for years, but that's for another thread...

Leah

I think I read, somewhere on this board, somebody recommending coconut oil as a moisturizer for skin & hair. Wish I'd thought of this when I was at the Indian grocery just now!

Leah

Be careful when grilling, even the charcoal has gluten!! You need to use natural charcoal. You can grill on a piece of foil to keep your food safe from others' glutenous food.

Hey Carla, when I tell my husband this he thinks I'm nuts. He's fairly supportive in general (I do have an official diagnosis), but with various cc issues, he thinks I'm going overboard. It doesn't help that I am a meticulous type by nature & he is more devil-may-care. So he thinks it's just me being picky. (Yes, I used to fuss at him for getting raw chicken on the counter & not cleaning it, that sort of "neurotic" behavior.) Do you have the original data on the charcoal? It might help if I could show him something other than posts to this board. You know, something OFFICIAL?

Sigh,

Leah

Is this the one you're looking for?

Open Original Shared Link

Leah

I've made homemade mac & cheese using Tinkyada pasta & gluten-free flour blend to make the roux, but there is also a post I've seen that tells how to make "Kraft" style m&c with cheese powder meant for popcorn. And Amy's makes a frozen gluten-free mac & cheese.

Good luck with your sons! They're lucky kids. I wish my mom had figured out my Celiac when I was their age!

Leah

p.s. Just saw your post, Chelsea-- on the ball as usual!

dont know if this is fact but a trainer told me this, apparantly 10 mins of skipping each day will beat off osteoperosis, please if anyone knows this is wrong please let me know. maybe this can help.

If your joints can take it, skipping rope is fantastic for bone-building. But be very careful, wear supportive shoes, & jump on a giving surface if possible so you don't wreck your knees like I did! I used to love skipping, when younger I'd go into a sort of skipping trance, felt like I could go on forever. Now if I try it my knees howl for mercy! Oh well. Fun while it lasted.

Leah

After many irritable e-mails, I finally got an answer from Cover Girl that their Outlast lipstick is gluten-free. It doesn't contain fragrance-- that's where lots of the uncertainty lies since they outsource the fragrances & "can't determine" their gluten-free status. God knows they could if they wanted to! But in any case Outlast is safe.

Leah

Aloha,

C Can you please post your favorite sorghum bread recipe? Thanks

My fave so far is the 4-flour bread in Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, using the sesame variation & replacing all sugar with molasses. It isn't all sorghum, just one of the ingredients, but it seems to make a big difference.

Leah

The elliptical is a great aerobic exercise, but it's not weight-bearing. A weight-bearing exercise is something that increases the load on your bones above what gravity is, as weight-training does. An elliptical, due to the fact that it is very low impact, will only minimally effect your lower body this way, and you really want something to start to build up your back and shoulders.

Did you read my post above, about the resistance? I don't understand how this differs from weight training. True, there is no actual additional weight, but the force required to push against the resistance simulates the additional force of carrying weight. Just from the physics of it, it would seem similar to leg presses.

I do an upper-body program with free weights too, & my elliptical also has u-b bars. I'd like to see the data on ellipticals. I really suspect the resistance is crucial.

Leah

Symptoms & recovery speed both vary so much among Celiacs that there is really no way of diagnosing from symptoms alone. Your healing could have already progressed to the point where digestion is more efficient, so your symptoms are different. If you want to know for sure, you should get an endoscopy/biopsy while you are still eating gluten. But if you just want to feel better, stick with a strict gluten-free diet (including all cc & cosmetics, &c.) & simply enjoy your enhanced health!

Leah

Thank you both for the info. I will definitely pass on the beer info. Is it sold in beer stores or health food stores?

New Grist is available at Whole Foods in my area.

Leah

I'm pretty new too, & I've found that I sometimes crave foods I never even liked! The lure of forbidden fruit, I suppose. What really helps me is getting on this board & reading the threads that show how much better everyone feels when they have been gluten-free long enough to heal. When I'm tempted I think of all the ways gluten has hurt me & all my hopes for restored health.

Most folks say that the cravings do fade as you continue to stick to the diet. And definitely, do learn to cook gluten-free versions of your faves. They may not be quite the same, but it will help you make the transition. Carol Fenster & Annalise Roberts are great resources as well.

Hang in there!

Leah

Here's a great thread for when you need a boost: Unexpected Positive Effects Of New gluten-free Eating Habits

Open Original Shared Link

I'm a relative newbie (about 2 months now) & I can assure you that it does get easier. It's so overwhelming & confusing at first, suddenly dealing with a restricted diet, figuring out all the hidden sources & so on, but once he finds his favorite substitutes, new recipes, safe restaurants, it starts getting less daunting, & when he starts healing he won't want to turn back!

If you can go gluten-free with him at home it will make your lives much easier, since avoiding cross-contamination is the most difficult aspect of the diet. But it is possible to be safe even in a gluten-eating household. Check out Nini's newbie kit for lots of helpful suggestions: Open Original Shared Link

Best of luck to both of you!

Leah

I've been told and read that it wasn't - and in general, low impact isn't as weight bearing - but I could well be wrong about that. It's certainly better than standing! :-) The impact itself helps stimulate bone growth, but the pressure helps as well. Interesting question... We'll have to see if we can find any more information on it! :-)

I'm hoping the sources that say it isn't good are either comparing it directly to higher-impact activities like jogging-- there's no doubt that's better for bone-building, so long as your joints can take it!-- or assuming that people will take the "path of least resistance." On low resistance & low incline, the force required is much lower.

Now I am anxious to know, because unless my knees get well as my gluten issues fade, the E will be my mainstay for cardio forever. I haven't been diagnosed with osteoporosis (haven't been tested) but I have the body type, family history & so on, & I know it's related to Celiac. I was a running addict until my knees gave out, so I always thought that would be my ticket to bone health... now I'm worried! All that calcium I was taking too, that was probably not doing me a bit of good remaining unabsorbed... arghh!

I should just get tested & know for sure... but I'm so sick of doctors!

Leah

Seems to me I read somewhere that spotting between periods is tied to Celiac (one of the many hormonal/menstrual effects) but it can also be a sign of other illnesses so it might be a good idea to discuss it with your GYN. The thing that would make me a little uneasy about it is that it just started recently-- unless your other Celiac symptoms are also new.

Leah

1. you need to take, at a minimum, a calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium supplement. studies have shown the magnesium is as, if not more, important than calcium for celiacs for bone density. and calcium is not useful without D for bone growth.

2. make sure to stay strictly gluten free, so you get the minerals and vitamins (and nutrition) you need!

3. ellipticals don't provide much in the form of weight bearing exercise - its not much more than standing - due to the way they're designed. jogging, or even hiking or walking, would be a much better weight bearing exercise. yoga can help as well, if you get a moderate intensity class, and stick with it regularly (3x a week). the weight training is definitely good, though I'd work up to adding another day a week eventually on that.

4. getting your weight up to normal will help with the bone density! eat, eat, and eat some more. hopefully being gluten free will help your body absorb what you're eating so you can actually keep some weight on now. stick to healthy, high calorie-density foods (nuts, avocados, dried fruits) for the best effect.

good luck! :-)

Are you sure about ellipticals not being a good weight-bearing exercise? It's definitely low-impact (that's why I use it instead of treadmill, because my knees are a mess), but if the resistance is moderate to high it certainly feels as if my legs are exerting lots of force. Definitely much more than just standing! I'm thinking it's akin to weight-lifting in that it is a series of alternating single-leg presses, more or less.

Leah

When I had really bad hives a year or 2 ago, my doctor said that Claritin wasn't very effective for skin-type allergies. He recommended Benadryl, along with Tagamet, the acid reducer. Strangely, something in this is supposed to be very helpful for hives. Not sure if it would be the same for other allergic skin reactions, but it might be worth a try.

Leah

Thanks for the helpful tips Bully4You. I know cold turkey is out for me so I'm off to get some decaf. now and then I'll eventually get off coffee too - but for the occasional Starbuck's latte - decaf. I rarely drank coffee at home except when I had house guests. Then when the anemia hit I needed more than my usual tea to get through the day. I know I can do this. It may take a while but it will be worth the effort in the end. Thanks again.

I'm a java junkie, & I really think it stems from an attempt to combat my anemic fatigue, so I'm hoping that as I heal I can back off from the caffeine at least a little. But I will note that coffee is actually good for you in some ways-- recent studies have shown protective effects against several ailments. Most recently it was shown to be good for the liver. This is from moderate use though & I think I'm probably beyond the moderate level!

Leah

These sound great but does anyone have a recipe that does not call for sweet rice flour or brown rice flour

I dont have access to either, I have white rice flour potato starch corn starch tapioca and bobs red mill all purpose, cinnamon rolls are somethin I just havent conqured yet and would love a recipe!!!

You can substitute white rice flour for the brown, but you really want to buy the sweet rice flour. There's nothing quite like it & it is dirt cheap at Asian markets.

Leah

This site is helpful with different food families -- Open Original Shared Link

I also found this by a doctor -- Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

This really is interesting stuff. My son has a mild oral allergy to carrots & apples. He can eat them, but they sometimes make his mouth & throat tingle. He also suffers from hay fever, & I'm sure there is a connection with the pollen proteins.

Leah