Gluten?

[Liz-Melbourne]

I'm still new, so I hope I've posted this in the correct spot.

I've done a couple of searches to see if others have tried a gluten free diet, but the ones I found were a couple of years old, so I thought I'd do a new one if that is ok.

So, who else is trying/has tried a gluten free diet?

I am about 3 weeks into it. My reasons are as follows:
- The implication of gut health in many, many illnesses including cfs
- Lots of auto immune illnesses in my materal family tree
- And perhaps most importantly my little girl has just been diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance and I want to support her.

Anyone care to share their experiences? Good, bad or in between?

 

[Calathea]

I tried it for a year, then came back onto gluten so that I could be tested properly. To my surprise, apart from a few weeks of feeling a bit bleh when changing either way, I felt exactly the same when off gluten and when on it. While I am now equipped to cook gluten-free for friends if I need to (hasn't happened yet), and learnt a few useful tricks, in general it cost me a lot of money, made cooking more awkward, and was generally inconvenient. It was certainly something that was worth trying, I just wish I had thought to get tested earlier on than a year. My diet is restricted enough already, I shouldn't be adding unnecessary restrictions.

Main tips, from a UK point of view so you may have different options in Australia.

1) 2 parts chickpea flour (gram flour, garbanzo bean flour) to 1 part buckwheat flour makes a good GF flour base. You need to add bits of this and that if you want it to rise, however.

2) GF pastas vary. A rice/corn blend is usually fairly good and easy to obtain. My favourite was a millet-based pasta, but it was too expensive for me.

3) GF breads vary even more, though they tend to be dire. There is probably an Australian GF community, I'd ask around for advice there.

4) If you find that you are now eating much more rice than before, and feel that you are better off with wholegrains in the interests of fibre and nutrient content, but don't like brown rice, keep trying different types. I'm not that keen on most brown rices, but I really like a brown jasmine rice I get from a local health food shop.

5) Grains tend to be valuable sources of some nutrients - check whether you are low in anything if you're not eating much in the way of grains. Manganese, for instance.

6) If you're not already aware of it, watch out for stealth gluten turning up in surprising places. Again, GF organisations can help you adjust to this. I found a nice GF tamari which I could use instead of soy sauce, which made Chinese cooking possible again.

 

[xchocoholic]

I'm still new, so I hope I've posted this in the correct spot.

I've done a couple of searches to see if others have tried a gluten free diet, but the ones I found were a couple of years old, so I thought I'd do a new one if that is ok.

So, who else is trying/has tried a gluten free diet?

I am about 3 weeks into it. My reasons are as follows:
- The implication of gut health in many, many illnesses including cfs
- Lots of auto immune illnesses in my materal family tree
- And perhaps most importantly my little girl has just been diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance and I want to support her.

Anyone care to share their experiences? Good, bad or in between?

Hi,

This thread should tell you what you need to know about gluten. FWIW. Most people who eat those "GF" foods don't see the results of those who go Paleo and eliminate all sources of gluten. This is explained in this thread too ...

hth ... x

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/gluten-bad-for-us-all.17436/

 

[Calathea]

Actually, that was the one thing you didn't explain. How can a gluten-free food be a source of gluten? Are you talking about people who go wheat-free?

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi Cal,

I did explain this in the other thread. FWIW hon .. You may need to read the info more thoroughly to comprehend what you're reading ... tc ... x

Actually, that was the one thing you didn't explain. How can a gluten-free food be a source of gluten? Are you talking about people who go wheat-free?

From the link given previuosly ...

Hi Calathea,

I'm sorry this didn't work out for you. FWIW tho were you eating those GF foods ? They're not really gf so this may why you wouldn't have noticed any difference. The FDA has yet to come up with standards in the US so we're taking our chances with these. Trish Thompson has a new website that's evaluating these foods.

The other side of that is that if you've been eating these foods, your nutritional status may have been too low. Dr. Terry Wahls explains this in her TED video.

 

[Calathea]

Yes, I remember you saying that, but nowhere does it explain how GF foods contain gluten. In fact, you don't even say which foods you are talking about when you say "these foods". I have no idea whether you mean entire food groups, or you're talking about contamination during the manufacturing process, or whether you are accusing manufacturers of processed foods of lying about their ingredients. You seem to be assuming that I was eating certain foods without my once having told you what my diet consisted of, and you still haven't told me which foods you assumed I was eating. I also don't have a clue which element of "nutritional status" you're referring to, and again I don't know which foods you are talking about.

By the way, there are no links in any of those posts. Did you mean to include a link and then forget it?

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi Cal,

You're just going to have to google what I put in that thread if I didn't include a link. I don't have the time or energy or desire to do this for you for anyone else ..

Imho, I thought I was helping enough by providing the info I already provided.

FWIW ... I'm totally disabled and on my own and all my energy has to go to meeting my basic needs. I'm only on the web because I have OI and have to be supine for an hour at a time in order to get my HR down ... that and I need to research my OI.

tc ... x

 

[xchocoholic]

Hey hon,

I'm done trying to explain this or anything else to you. Good luck with your health .. Tc .. X