the gluten (wheat ) free diet

Kate: I found out because I had mad abdominal pains for about three months. They tested for everything and it turned out to be indegestion. Wheat or dairy were suguested and it cleared up when I cut out wheat.

I have frequent indigestion and lots of gas (Sorry if that's TMI) but that could be related to the large amount of cruciferous vegetables that I eat. (Broccoli and Kale etc.) It's hard to tell if it's wheat - though I suspect that it is, cause I have/had lots of the symptoms - because the only time I fully cut out wheat entirely was when I was living under such horrendous dirt conditions that food poisoning was an almost weekly concern.

I wish there were a simple, cheap test that you could tell instead of this "oh cut out this and see if it makes a difference" guesswork. :-(

Donna to thread?

it's a blast from yer past, hanle y!

'Gluten' is a form of protein found in wheat, barley & rye.
it's actually a combination of proteins, classified in 2 groups: prolamines & glutelins.
the most troublesome (allergenic/etc) component of gluten is believed to be the prolamine 'Gliadin'.

gluten appears to adversely affect people in a variety of ways, much of which is not fully understood.
there are those who avoid gluten-containing foods based on 'allergy' and in fact most people seem to do better on a gluten-free diet. substitute grains/flours like rice, potato, arrowroot etc appear to be less harsh on the human digestive system.

however, there's also a widespread genetic auto-immune disease involving gluten, known as 'Celiac Sprue Disease' (aka Celiac Disease; UK varient Coeliac) which has 2 main manifestations:

* 'Dermetitis Herpetiformis', a skin rash - which seems to be less common

and, the doozy - quite common:
* Gastrointestinal damage to the Jejunum (part of the small intestine)

in the latter, the body attacks part of its own digestive system - the villi (hair-like protrusions of nutrient-absorbing tissue) that line the jejunum. with the villi flattened-out, the jejunum becomes like a near-useless rubber hose, conveying food but unable to extract much nutritional value - resulting in digestive-processing problems and, more significantly, a nutrition-starved anemic body.

the condition has been around for aeons, obv, and was sometimes thought of as wasting-away disease. but it wasn't until grain-shortages in WWII Holland (I think) that someone put 2 & 2 together: curiously, patients improved during the war but relapsed once wheat became available again...

every decade since has brought new advances, plus in recent years more & more food companies are getting in on providing gluten-free alternatives to 'foods you'd miss'.

Celiac Disease, though you may carry it genetically all your life, can onset (or become pronounced) at any time. that is, the trigger of full-blown symptoms is not fully understood yet. if you eat well and lots, yet can never gain weight - in fact are struggling to not lose weight - and have no energy, that may be a tip-off.

for my whole adult life I was told: you have a high metabolism, you must have a tape worm, etc - because I always ate tons more than anyone else but had trouble getting back to (hell, even close to) my peak weight. but it got much worse in my late-30's and I got down to 122 lbs (!) and would conk-out in random places (bar/concerts/friends' pads) sometimes.

when I got diagnosed - after a scary period of tests for illness unknown - it all made sense, plus it was a relief. it's an illness you can control, through what you eat. I gained 30 lbs in the first 4-6 months and had waaay more energy.

eating at restaurants is a pain, cos you have to grill the wait/kitchen staff about ingredients - and hidden ingredients in sauces can be a problem (kind of defeats the purpose of going to a place where you can't eat 80-90% of the chef's recipes: plain grilled steak or fish and baked potato is usually easiest). but preparing food at home - I eat better than I ever did!

first up - the two main obvious things you'd have to cut out are beer (barley) and bread (wheat, rye, barley). most pasta is durum wheat also. but all fruits and vegetables, plus rice and many other grains are still OK to eat. it is a bit harder (mentally) to remain a vegetarian, so many people take up meat & eggs again. magnified lactose-intolerance is a side-effect of celiac disease and once on the diet it's easier to eat cheese and drink milk (plain Silk soymilk is my fave substitute).

many companies now make substitutes for common gluten-containing foods: Glutano (German-based?), Envirokidz, Pam's, Food For Life, Amy's and many other companies available in US health food shops, regular supermarkets or by mail-order either specialize in or provide some gluten-free foods. many rice breads, cookies (sorry, biscuits), waffles, pancake-mixes, etc are available. rice-flour is sweeter than wheat-flour, so I actually enjoy a lot of foods more now.

the internet is chock full of celiac groups, lists, info (beware: some of it out-of-date).

the incidence of celiac disease is continually under-study and the rate re population keeps going up: at one time believed to be 1-in-2000 people, it's now consided to be closer to 1-in-200. the gene seems to occur in most ethnic/racial backgrounds, although it is certainly high in people of celtic origin. some towns in Ireland are estimated to contain more than one celiac per hundred people. for families known to have genetic-incidence I've heard figures of 1 in 10 chance per family generation, so if you have celiac disease and you have more than 9 siblings and first cousins, chances are that at least one other of them may have it.

if you think you have celiac disease and want to be tested, most G.I.'s (Gastroenterologists) recommend not going on the diet until tested, otherwise if you have celiac disease your system will start to repair itself and the diagnosis may not be able to confirm damage. there's a bloodtest for the presence of gluten-specific anti-bodies and if this indicates probable existence of the disease it's usually confirmed through undergoing an endoscopy/biopsy (basically a tube is stuck down your gullet and they look at (on TV) and take a tiny sample of your intestine-lining to check for tell-tale damage.

but I'm not a doctor so this info is just from personal experience and what I've read & heard. consult a doctor.

if you've been tested and ruled out as having celiac disease, I would recommend trying a gluten-free diet some of the time to see if it makes you feel better. even if my celiac disease 'magically' went away, I'd still believe the benefits of non-gluten foods: easier to digest and taste better!

should be most of it for now - probably forgot a few things but that's enough to chew on... for me the beauty of knowing what you're supposed to eat means less time spent thinking about food and more for other things

So, until about 10-15 years ago, he assumed it had gone away, but his stomach still gave him problems (he is, like me, lactose intolerant). So, his GI suggested that his celiac's never actually went away. The way he tested him was to have him not eat gluten for two weeks, then he had dairy with the lactase pills... his stomach didn't get upset and he hasn't eaten gluten since! (poor guy) This way of testing for it sounds much better than the endoscopy/biopsy. So, yeah Mike, if you're not eating gluten and feeling better, you're prolly doing exactly what a doc would tell you to do.

The one thing you might not immediately think has gluten is beer, I'm afraid.

I've always had trouble gaining weight but no major intestinal complaints (other than a bout of lactose intolerace in h.s.). But I'm hoping my skin will improve and that I'll better be able to deal with stress. Also I wanted to force myself to get out of my eating habits, and summer is a great time to go out and find lots of yummy fruits and vegetables.

Tell me your favorite products and secrets!

( I could stand to cut out some wheat myself, having more veg and rice and less bread n pasta will prolly help me lose weight heh)

I was advised that cutting down on wheat might help with anxiety problems - I don't know that it has, but I do know that my skin is a lot better since cutting down.

The only thing is, the list of grains is pretty confusing - rye, bran, oats, barley - are any of these actually wheat? If it is gluten I'm meant to be cutting out then buying the like of Ryvita is a waste of time, isn't it?

Or could it be something else in wheat?

"Technically, gluten is a term applied specifically to the combination of the prolamin proteins called 'gliadins' and the glutelin proteins called 'glutenins' found in wheat. However, the term 'gluten' has been used generically to refer to prolamin and glutelin protien mixtures found in other cereal grains. Although all cereal grains contain prolamin and glutelin proteins, these proteins are not identical in different grains, and not all have been shown to evoke an abnormal immune response that affects the intestinal lining of persons genetically susceptible to celiac disease."

The link between the celiac grains of concern is a taxonomic one; all the grains come a specific divison of the grass family (Graminae, aka Poaceae). They are: wheat (including durum, spelt, and kamut), barley, rye and crossbreeds like triticale.

Safe grains for celiacs include: corn, amaranth, buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa, ragi, Job's tears, millet, Indian rice grass, rice, and teff.

As for oats - there's really a lot of debate on this one. Oats do not contain the specific proteins that cause the Celiac response, but they do contain avenins, which are structurally similar to wheat gliadins. Most tests have shown that the vast majority of Celiacs can tolerate a moderate quantity of oats in the diet, but that some do experience an immune response identical to that they would experience after having consumed a typical grain of concern.

As Paul noted above, the prevalence of Celiac disease is difficult to get a handle on. It's currently estimated that about one percent of the US population consists of Celiacs. It's particularly prevalent in those of European ancestry; less so in natives of Asian countries and those of Afro-Carribean background.

There are a lot of Celiac support groups out there, but I don't know exactly how much stock I'd put in the information some of the more informal ones distribute. The Celiac Sprue Association is a pretty good one from what I can gather.

Are basmati and jasmine rice gluten free?

Crunchy Wheaty Eaty.

so i am not celiac or anything, but i've been considering going wheat/gluten free. after i got all excited about these great spelt products, i realized they are cheating (even though they are sort of marketed as wheat-free items, they are not gluten free and are closely related to wheat iirc). anyone know of any good flours (millet? sorghum?) for baking/cooking, or favorite products?

chickpea flower. My gf makes these italian chickpea flower pancake type things, sometimes with onion cooked into them, sometimes served with some red sauce and cheese. Think polenta but think cakier and dryer.

Other then that, generally brown rice pasta is a big thing. Regular rice noodles can be too "asian", but brown rice pasta can be hard to tell the difference from regular bad/generic pasta.

yeah, i have been fooling around with brown rice pasta. it is SO sticky! it's such a fine line with cooking time btw not cooked enough and overly sticky.

i will check out the chickpea flour, thanks!

it is sticky but maybe if you get a good brand or the timing right it'll do the job. However, when it gets cold it gets weirdly hard and stuck together.

Also, I think Buckwheat/Soba has nothing to do with wheat or gluten but I'm not sure.

Bittman on socca (chickpea flatbread)

Known as farinata across the border in Liguria, this is essentially a large pancake made from chickpea flour, water, olive oil and a lot of black pepper. Bakers in Genoa often add onion and rosemary.

But its main attractions are these: The batter is quicker to put together than pancake batter; it can rest for an hour or even half a day, or not; it is baked in a normal oven, finished in a broiler and done in about 20 minutes; it's served hot or warm, to be eaten with the fingers. And it's irresistible.

gluten-free master mix

thinking about trying this for cookies.

i tried to make biscuits using bob's red mill gluten-free all purpose flour. they are pretty gross! i think this is more bc i did not have baking powder so i added some extra baking soda, though. ughhhh.

If you don't have baking powder, mix baking soda + acid of some sort (cream of tartar, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk) 50/50 instead.

yeah... i had no cream of tartar - did not know that lemon juice would work! i think these are going in the garbage cause i'd rather not eat the fat and carbs if they're not even good! ah well, can't succeed at every experiment!

Yeah, cream of tartar is tartaric acid from grapes - the dry acids like cream of tartar or citric acid powder are easier to handle plus you can sift them in with the dry ingredients, but in a biscuit emergency adding a wet acid to the wet ingredients works okay. You basically want to mix two things that fizz, and try to capture the fizz gas asap by baking to get some puffiness/leavening action.

i discussed wheat glutens with a dietician who used to be a marathon runner yesterday. her take: even for those without wheat sensitivities, current research says our bodies (esp those of european and middle eastern descent) can't really handle the glutens well, so it's not a bad idea to limit wheat for everyone, even non-celiacs. sprouted grains and lower-gluten things like spelt could be easier to digest for a lot of people as well.

oh sure believe her but not me ;)

i think i was the one who didn't believe you! still don't tbh. maybe i'm not a real european :)

i never said i didn't believe you, cutts! in fact, she just affirmed what i've been doing since pre-nazi thread :D

(i didn't pay her to say that, it was a casual friendly conversation with a new acquaintance, btw. i don't have my own personal dietician haw)

we are your personal dietician

:D

we are all dieticians, now

I live in Portland, hotspot for any and every random food trend that comes down the pike. I'm wondering how much of the gluten-free hype is an outgrowth of folks who've already gone as hardcore veg/vegan/organic as possible, and need another level of food fetish to bump things up a notch.

I'm guessing that the number of norteamericanos with celiac's is dwarfed by folks who'll automatically grab any food perceived as "healthier"(whether its greenwashed or not), whether or not their body actually requires it.

It reminds me of a point in _The Gospel of Food_; Barry Glasner points out that it doesn't logically follow that, when you are harmed by having too much of one thing in your diet, you'll be "healthier" by the complete removal of it from your diet.

i went mostly wheat free sort of out of curiosity, and am definitely not vegetarian/vegan. i never felt sensitive to wheat before, but there was a period where i was about 95% wheat-free. now i am probably 70% wheat-free, and at times when i am eating a larger volume of wheat, i feel noticeably shittier. maybe it is all in my head, but i generally end up with sharp stomach pains and poor digestion when i eat things that are very wheat-heavy.

I kicked most wheat, potatoes, and rice from my diet a little over a year ago and lost 40lbs in like 6 weeks. Nowhere near 100% I just don't eat eat them with most meals. Sometimes for social reasons I'll go 2-3 days eating like I used to and totally feel shittier for a couple days.

^^^this. basically at home: no wheat. not at home: some wheat, and too much is bad news.

like out at a restaurant: sandwich AND fries? Blearghhhhh.... avoid the starches.. Most of them are empty-calorie carrier foods for something that actually tastes good.

people look at you funny if you eat the ketchup straight though

fries and chips are my #1 weakness

xp: that's what meatloaf is for

very true.

I guess I'm basically wheat-free at the moment from taking the low carb path. I can see valid reasoning to cut out (or down) refined starches and sugars, but oh they taste so good.

My best friend is full-out Celiac and I went gluten-free (as best as I can) initially just to make cooking and restaurant ordering easier, but over time I've noticed my health had improved quite a bit. I dropped twenty pounds, am hungry less frequently, and (to paraphrase Hanle y upthread) my post-digestion physiology is substantially better. FWIW, neither of us are vegetarian.

I don't attribute this *solely* to going gluten-free, but just a little extra attention spent on looking at ingredients and being mindful of what exactly you're putting into yourself.

FWIW, I believe that gluten-free diets is getting mucho press ever since Chelsea Clinton's gluten-free wedding cake.

do you really get less hungry? i am someone who gets hungry very easily but i feel like eating grains helps with that. or i would have to eat way more food if i didn't eat them.

do you really get less hungry? i am someone who gets hungry very easily but i feel like eating grains helps with that. or i would have to eat way more food if i didn't eat them.

As I said at the end, I can't attribute it solely to reducing grains (we eat a fair amount of rice) but just paying more attention to what I'm eating.

Do you really lose weight on a gluten-free diet? My sister has been gluten free for a year, I try to stifle my frustration, she never goes out to eat anymore! I try not to judge as I am a strict vegetarian. She lives in a "food desert" and I offered to lighten her load and shop for her and she turned me down!

I can't imagine living without wheat but if alternatives were within a few miles I'm sure it would be easier.

I have lost like 10 pounds - I think just because less food options

I don't consider myself "on a diet" but recently I have been eating more of a protein/veggie/fruit diet and trying to eat less carbs and dairy, now all of a sudden every time I eat bread, even wholewheat bread or whatever, I feel like I am dying. What's going on?

i dunno, i feel like i am dying when i am not eating bread

different strokes

I DID feel that way once.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity May Not Exist

Turns out, it was just FODMAPs.

Roman Catholic position

Roman Catholic doctrine states that for a valid Eucharist, the bread to be used at Mass must be made from wheat. In 2002, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith approved German-made low-gluten hosts, which meet all of the Catholic Church's requirements, for use in Italy; although not entirely gluten-free, they were also approved by the Italian Celiac Association.[96] Some Catholic coeliac sufferers have requested permission to use rice wafers; such petitions have always been denied.[97] As Catholic doctrine affirms that Christ is wholly and equally present under both species, it is possible to receive under the species of wine alone.

The issue is more complex for priests. As a celebrant, a priest is, for the fullness of the sacrifice of the Mass, absolutely required to receive under both species. On 24 July 2003, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated, "Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of a priest, one must proceed with great caution before admitting to Holy Orders those candidates unable to ingest gluten or alcohol without serious harm."[98]

By January 2004, extremely low-gluten Church-approved hosts had become available in the United States, Italy and Australia.[99]

Passover

The Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover) may present problems with its obligation to eat matzo, which is unleavened bread made in a strictly controlled manner from wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye. This rules out many other grains that are normally used as substitutes for people with gluten sensitivity, especially for Ashkenazi Jews, who also avoid rice. Many kosher-for-Passover products avoid grains altogether and are therefore gluten-free. Potato starch is the primary starch used to replace the grains. Consuming matzo is mandatory on the first night of Pesach only. Jewish law holds that one should not seriously endanger one's health in order to fulfil a commandment. Thus, a person with severe coeliac disease is not allowed, let alone required, to eat any matzo other than gluten-free matzo. The most commonly used gluten-free matzo is made from oats.[100]

judaism, 1, catholicism, 0

gluten free products have gotten a lot better even in the four years since this thread revive. thank god because i've been forced to realize over and over again that eating wheat at all (even like in soy sauce) results in my mood getting awful about a day or two afterward

these pizzelles are the MVP of everything:

http://glutenfreepizzelles.com/

Soy sauce having wheat as a second ingredient has ruined so much food for me that would otherwise be rice-based and delicious.

I'm ordering 1000 of those pizzelles though!

In Orbit, check out the soy sauce from http://marusoy.com - my parter is full celiac and has been using it for several years now. I actually prefer it to the boring, salty stuff now.

(You can also order it in packets to travel with. Been using it across China all last week)

Thanks for the rec, that looks good! But if the kitchen cooks with soy sauce it's going to be the cheap kind, so I can't have, say, pad see yew despite them being rice noodles.

It depends on the place - usually we order no soy sauce and it’s it’s fine.

Forgot to mention that San-J makes a GF tamari sauce that easily stands in place of the runny/salty soy sauce.

Yeah that's the stuff I get!

i love this company's DUMPLINGS! (which come with gf dipping sauce)

https://feel-good-foods.com/

also joyce chen's gf sauces are okay.

“VEGAN GF ORANGE DATE CAKE”
vegan girlfriend orange date cake

😆😎

maybe I should try this one weird trick, maybe I don’t even know how badly bread makes me feel

my brother was just diagnosed with celiac.

I have had lifelong digestive issues that look a lot like what webmd says can happen if you are celiac.

I believe there is some genetic component to celiac.

god don't take my beer and bread away from me!

Dont worry gluten free sh1t is awesome these days

My 16 year old daughter was just diagnosed with Celiac.

She's probably had it for more than 5 years. Just very few symptoms.