Gluten free

[kaiilyn_23]

So awhile back I was officially diagnosed with celiac disease (they hemmed and hommed, said it was a simple intolerance, but then ran a few more blood tests and yup, celiac) and therefore should really be staying away from all things wheat/gluten. For all of those who aren't familiar with celiac disease, it's basically meaning whenever I am eating wheat or anything with gluten (which sadly is MOST things), it's attacking my small intestine.

Anyway, I'm really trying to clean up my act and start eating healthily and do myself a favor. I'm also lactose intolerant. So I'm making the decision to cut out gluten and lactose. I tried the gluten-free diet when they speculated I had celiac months ago, and then there were almost no options for going gluten-free at the stores. If there were, they tasted god awful. Now it appears that there are several options at all of my local stores, thank goodness. And dairy free hasn't really been an issue, since dark chocolate has always settled fine on my stomach, and they make delicious lactose free milk and chocolate milk that I love. It's gluten free that'll be a change for me since I love pasta so much...

Just out of curiosity, does anybody else either choose not to eat gluten or has some type of intolerance/sensitivity to it? Or are there any other members who deal with celiac? I should've stopped consuming gluten the minute I was told that I officially had celiac but I'm a stubborn little girl.

Also hoping that this helps me lose some weight... I've been working out daily but I also need to reevaluate my lifestyle choices regarding food, so I'm hoping this will help lead me on the right track. I'm not overweight, but recently I've gained some weight and it's upsetting me. I hate letting those stupid numbers on a scale dictate the way I feel, they're numbers, what matters is being healthy... but they do... and I hate it. But anyway, hoping this all goes well.

[jkl81]

I'm curious why you or your doctors thought to test you in the first place. A lot of us here have suspicious symptoms, but in many cases it is caused by IBS, anxiety or both, however from what I've read the blood tests are very good at picking it out, an endoscopy and biopsy is the only 100% accurate test, but that is invasive and probably unnecessary if you respond well to a gluten free diet. I'm very sorry for the diagnosis but glad that you found out early so you can avoid any of the damage that can go along with it.

[JellyBn83]

Whenever I have some sort of stomach problem (a bad IBS attack or worse) my system can not take gluten or dairy. So there are quite a few times where I had to do gluten free/dairy free diets. I lived on meats, veggies, rice, fruit (some). It is hard when you have been about to eat gluten before. Udi's I felt was the best bread type I could eat. I love their bagels and regular bread for sandwiches. Amy's is another frozen food company I like. I did see my numbers go down. But really, as long as you are balancing your meals (meat, veggies, etc) you are doing it healthy. Good luck!!!!

Oh, Betty Crocker makes some REALLY good gluten free snacks!!!

[olschesky]

my mom has been gluten free for over 10 years.....no celiacs just gluten intolerance. she's very happy with all the new choices available to her....she was making her own gluten free bread and bagels for a while...pain in the ass....lol. she does well with it now and feels much better. my sister has decided to join the gluten free lifestyle in the past month just because she thought it might just help her feel better over all.....no major complaints....and she is amazed at how much energy she has....(she is also a doctor btw)...

i've often thought about doing it myself.....now with all the options available (even pasta )....

hope it brings you some relief....i know you've been suffering a long time with this......good luck, little girl

[kaiilyn_23]

Thank you all! And jkl81 I'm not exactly sure why. Mainly because I had a lot of stomach issues, emet aside, and even going lactose free (they'd already established I was lactose intolerant) wasn't fixing anything. They ran some blood tests, and they were all over the place. They did quite a few, then I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy done, to first of all see about celiac and secondly to rule out anything else going on.

Thanks so much! I've started slowly cutting out gluten, like today I haven't had anything containing gluten and I was still eating foods I loved.

[kate16]

I've recently started trying to cut out gluten. I absolutely love Quinoa. You can do almost anything with it, it's very good for you (complete protein) and it's easy to digest. I like it instead of eating rice all the time. I have a great cook book (Quinoa 365) that has tons of great recipes.

[mvanessa]

I am both gluten and dairy free. I do not have celiac, but have some sort of intolerance. There is alot more gf stuff out now then there was 6 years ago when I went gf. Lots of good websites and cookbooks

[kaiilyn_23]

I can't believe how many alternatives there are now. I went gluten free a year and a half ago, and there was barely anything that tasted decent. Now I've found some really awesome cereals, cookies and bread that I actually enjoy eating.

[RuthKnoll]

God bless u all