Gluten Free Lifestyle/Dieting

[nova022]

My son-in-law is on a gluten free diet. He eats meat, vegetables, fruit, eggs and cheese, as well as the gluten free foods that are available at most supermarkets now. Gluten free flour is available and can be used for most recipes that we use wheat flour for, although it does not rise in quite the same way. It's hidden gluten that you have to be wary of for example in ready prepared sauces etc. Soup stock can be made out of vegetables and meat bones in the usual way but I'm guessing you mean thickening it without flour. Try instant mashed potato but read the label carefully before you buy as some brands contain traces of flour.

I found a gluten free Bisquick. So far everything that I have made with it has turned out pretty good. I am going to try adding yeast to it to see if I can make a decent pizza crust. I really hope it works.
Yes, you do have to read the labels. I was very surprised to learn that some cole slaw uses flour as a thickener, as well as some instant oatmeal and some potato chips.

 

[KBlue]

My parents have been gluten free for about a year and my mother especially has been ecstatic about how much better she feels. My sister has also started to show signs of an intolerance and has mostly cut gluten out of her life too. Since this is looking to be genetic, at some point I'll likely need to start doing the same. I dread the thought, because I love noodles, and biscuits, and pie, and bread......

Most grocery stores sell gluten-free items and many restaurants now have gluten-free menus. Just tell your waiter and they'll either get you the menu or let you know what other people with gluten intolerance have enjoyed at the restaurant. In the past couple months, there has even been a gluten-free cafe that opened their doors near me. The movement is getting popular, there should be a lot of resources for you.

Also know that barley, rye,and to some extent oats have gluten in them as well.

Best of luck!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Gluten free is such a fad diet right now (I don't mean that gluten intolerances and Celiac's aren't real and very serious issues...I mean that what helps a select number of people is being promoted as a cure-all for everyone), I am more than a bit embarrassed to be trying it. I don't do diets, and have never tried a diet, until this one. I started because I wanted to see if I could clear up my adult cystic acne without Yaz. Yaz cleared it up wonderfully, but I've been on it a long time leaving me a bit concerned with some health risks, was getting annoyed by the pigment marks continuous Yaz makes on the face, and it is expensive even with insurance. I've known for a long time that iodine, coffee, and beer make cysts pop up terribly for me. When I looked into that, gluten kept getting mentioned (coffee can trigger people with gluten intolerance), so I figured trying to go gluten free was cheap enough that it is worth a shot. A huge break out after a dinner of breaded fish and malt vinegar gave me an extra nudge since both contain gluten.

I am just shy of a month going off gluten, so no idea if it will do anything for me or not. I had no new cysts pop up, but then ate walnuts halfway through and had hives and cysts make a lovely appearance. So, I am cutting out walnuts too, and have gone back to not getting any new cysts. The most surprising thing is that the tendonitis I have had for the past four plus years in my jaw (non-stop tendonitis) is gone. The tendon makes a squelching noise I can hear when it is inflamed, and this is the fist time in years it has not done so. TMJ is part of a long list of health issues I have and have had in the past. Many of them seem to be increasingly linked to issues with gluten. My mother, her siblings, and her father have issues like Hashimoto's, female hair loss, etc, which also sound like they may be connected. Well, too soon to tell if this diet is really doing anything for me, but if it is, I will look at my acne as a blessing rather than a curse for the first time since it started me down this path. It would be a relief to me if something as controllable as eliminating gluten could clear up all these health problems for me and any maternal family members who might listen...so just me.

Quick tip though for those who know they need to cut gluten out or are wanting to try gluten free:
Buy things like rice flour/gram flour (NOT gluten graham flour), millet, tapioca, etc flours at Indian and Asian markets. I buy my spices there too. Food that is gluten-free and marketed as such in US grocery stores is extremely pricey, but these non-gluten flours are staples of these cultures and priced as such. Better yet, if you know you want to go gluten free for life, buy a flour mill and run brown rice/etc through it. Even cheaper!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Update: Starting to see a pattern in health not tied to gluten per say, but carbohydrates. I'm looking into blood sugar issues, and how it relates to my/my family's history of autoimmune disease and hormone imbalance. If cutting out gluten seems to slightly help someone but that their health is still going up and down, maybe consider looking into carbs and studies linking carb intake to certain issues. My forearms often get pins and needles and I can get hand tremors and feel faint inbetween meals, and this seems to correlate with blood sugar issues of some kind. Sure would like to figure it all out!

 

[StupidBird]

Good subject. Going strictly vegetable based, that is, half the plate real vegetables (fresh, only herbs and un-chemicaled spices) one-fourth meat or egg (grass fed local beef, our eggs and chicken, or organic bought meat and fish) and the other quarter starchy vegetables, fruit, or the more primitive, non-gluten grains from trusted organic sources.

It is wild how much better I and DH feel after a few weeks, how much better his glucose levels are and how steadily the weight comes off. And unbelievable how crappy, want to curl up and die, I feel having cheated. (fritos)

Through many food testing (remove from diet for weeks, then try it again) I am pretty much sensitive and downright anaphylactic allergic to many things. So many things, such tiny amounts of cross contamination that I dare not eat out any more as it's just not worth it. There are a very few places were one or two things I can eat, and only so many naked salads with no sides or dressing to choke down.

The first major health issue diagnosed was hypoglycemia, which had been making for near-psychotic mood swings and illnesses galore. Punkadoodle, it is tough, but well worth the sanity factor to treat carb/sugar intolerances as soon as possible so it does not develop into diabetes.

I have a duffle bag portable kitchen for travel. Hot plate, tiny pot and pan, handful of utensils and spices. Small cooler in case room does not have a frig. A bag of groceries and we're good!

Any body else have travel or eating out tips?

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Thanks Bird, that is really encouraging to hear about your improvement! I've been reading into a lot about pesticide links, and am looking into that as well. It may not be that, say, I break out with horrible cysts after eating strawberries because I am reacting to strawberries, but rather that strawberries are on the dirty dozen list of high pesticide counts. I had an experience last week where both my husband and I had intensely burning lips after eating carrots, and my TMJ flared up after that. That got me thinking about pesticides, and there is some research out there exploring a possible link to autoimmune and other issues.

I hope to be able to grow my own food soon and hope to do an elimination diet when we do get settled. Just cutting out harsh cleaning chemicals (I use things like vinegar now), processed foods, and high fructose corn syrup helped so much with chronic fatigue, frequent illness, and fibromyalgia type pain, but cutting out gluten helped with even more issues, and it would be so nice if finding the rest of the main triggers will help further. Your post gives me hope that it will.

Your travel cooking kit is a great idea!

 

[Kjordanov]

Good luck!! Do you mind if I pray for you?

 

[StupidBird]

On the travel cooking kit, I also make sure I've cleaned up and put all away before leaving the room. And not cooking fish; although I couldn't resist buying 2 pounds of fresh shrimp in florida and the two of us stuffing ourselves silly. I did make sure to take that trash out back to the dumpster right away.

Same experience with burning mouth, etc. with some apples and such. Yup, trying to grow it myself or buy organic.