Goin' Gluten Free

GASoline71

GASoline71

'cause chicks dig scars
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
3,602
Location
The Great Pacific Northwest
Anybody else around here eating a gluten free diet? I have had major lower intestinal and "back end" problems, and "IBS" like symptoms almost my entire life. 25 to 30 years ago docs thought it was a lactose intolerance. I've basically just dealt with it my entire life. So I got a new doc this fall, and he asked me about my gluten intake. I told him it was about as normal as any other red blooded american male. So he told me to try going gluten free.

So I went about as gluten free as you can get, with the exception of drinking beer (which my beer intake has gone way down over the years). I am not a Celiac, but have a gluten intolerance. I can still drink a few beers in moderation, and if I slip and eat a cracker or a piece of toast, it doesn't kill me. But I have no more cramping, lower intestinal pain is gone, I am having normal and regular BM's. I also have way more energy during the day, and I am sleeping better at night than I have in years.

I thought it was going to be a hard transition to not eat bread, pizza, or pasta. The first 2 weeks was the hardest, because I craved it all! I have learned to eat and actually enjoy gluten free pasta. GF breads are a little dense with the texture, but I have gotten used to it. When the bread is toasted, it's much better. My wife is joining in with me, and we are both going to do this together. We are finding the internet to be a welath of recipes and information. But one really good thing that going gluten free has done is cut out pretty much all prepackaged, processed crap food, and fast food. I also am back on a Metamucil supplement twice a day, along with flax seed oil.

All I can say is that my quality of life has improved 100%, as far as my intestinal, and "lower end" health is concerned.

So I was just curious if anybody else is in the same boat and eating a gluten free diet? If you are... any tips? Recipes? Would love to share!

Gary
 
I have a friend who's mother is gluten intolerant. My mom and her were talking about how hard it is for her to cook for her family. She was upset about not being able to eat roast beef and gravy because of the flour in the gravy. My mom told her that she had been using corn starch for years. The look on my friends mom's face was priceless! Kinda like the look on a kids face when a lost dog comes home!

So, long story short, use corn starch instead of flour to make gravy.

As a wheat farmer i find the gluten free diet to be a terrible idea;) but there is no denying the fact that it makes a huge difference in the quality of life for a lot of people.

Glad you are back up to speed! :thumbup:
 
Been debating on trying it. My youngest sister did it with amazing results.
She had bad knees from rodeo.
Asthma all her life...
All kinds of aches and pains.
She had been on a fitness kick and was trying to shed some weight and just feel better. Someone suggested she go gluten free for the joint pain..
Holy Cow! Now she feels so good and is ready to try becoming a personal trainer. She has dropped her weight and has a body of a 30 year old (shes in her mid forties). Rarely uses an inhaler..
 
My wife has Celiac and is completely gluten free. About 3 1/2 hears now. Went years undiagnosed. Thought it was GURD and all sorts of other stuff. Once correctly diagnosed and gluten eliminated from the diet, she has been GTG.

The whole family is on a modified diet, but the kids and I do eat bread and stuff she can't.
She makes all kinds of gluten free breads and dishes that typically have wheat flower. Very creative and the food actually tastes normal, really good even.

Glad you figured it out and have relief.
Beer is good! Glad you can still imbibe!
 
Great watching! I have been following a nutritional ketogenic diet, and so far feel great! And the lbs are coming off, and I feel very clear headed with lots more energy. Bye bye sugar and carbs!
 
If he has an objection to wheat, I don't understand why he has to equate wheat with other grains, as he often seems to express it. The longest living people in the world tend to be those that have the seeds of grasses as the main staple in their diet, i.e. rice eaters. Rice would have increased their blood sugar, which he also says is very bad for you, but there has been low incidence of heart disease in Asia until a more western type diet became common. Simply saying that rice is a fairly benign negative thing, doesn't seem a sufficient evaluation, his point of view seems somewhat paradoxical. Obesity is comparatively minimal in Asia as well, though the high amount of carbohydrates in the seeds of grasses have been a dominant part of the diet for over 10,000 years. Rice is generally gluten free, I believe, one difference between it and wheat.
 
I was diagnosed with "gluten-induced enteropathy" (what was called Celiac Sprue back then and now called Celiac Disease) 29 years ago, when I was 29 years old.
I have ben gluten-free ever since. It is a whole lot easier now, as it became somewhat of a fad diet and the availability and amount of gluten-free products has skyrocketed.
Lots of great resources online.
Watch out for gluten in medicines and other hidden sources.
Best of luck, and drop a PM if you have any specific questions.
 
woodworkingboy said:
If he has an objection to wheat, I don't understand why he has to equate wheat with other grains, as he often seems to express it. The longest living people in the world tend to be those that have the seeds of grasses as the main staple in their diet, i.e. rice eaters. Rice would have increased their blood sugar, which he also says is very bad for you, but there has been low incidence of heart disease in Asia until a more western type diet became common. Simply saying that rice is a fairly benign negative thing, doesn't seem a sufficient evaluation, his point of view seems somewhat paradoxical. Obesity is comparatively minimal in Asia as well, though the high amount of carbohydrates in the seeds of grasses have been a dominant part of the diet for over 10,000 years. Rice is generally gluten free, I believe, one difference between it and wheat.
Click to expand...
Jay I didn't pay much attention to his comments on rice but was focused on wheat which seems to be a big problem as he says in our world food supply.
I have heard vitamin A deficient white rice was such a problem in India that people were losing their eye sight from eating so much of it. So what they did was fortify the rice with vitamin A to curb the problem, but many there can't afford the more expensive rice.
 
Willard, the man does have a lot of interesting comments on wheat. It's true, once you turn brown rice into white rice, much of the nutrient is lost. You can get part of what's lost by fortifying, probably mostly what you see on the shelves in more prosperous countries. To me, white rice tastes a lot better though. Rice is a pretty deep subject, all the years of developing it, at least over here, have turned it into a very hearty plant. The taste can vary a lot depending on growing locations within the same small country, and the fields getting cold clear water is a big factor. Fresher rice exceeds older rice in taste by far, something to look for if you have the option when purchasing. For the commercial growers, chemical fertilizers are most common. It makes the plants an almost iridescent green. There is no comparison between the yield of naturally fertilized rice and the chemical fertilized. Plants grown without the chemicals are smaller with less seeds. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find the natural grown much anymore.
 
GASoline71 said:
Anybody else around here eating a gluten free diet? ... All I can say is that my quality of life has improved 100%, as far as my intestinal, and "lower end" health is concerned.So I was just curious if anybody else is in the same boat and eating a gluten free diet? If you are... any tips? Recipes? Would love to share! Gary
Click to expand...

That is great to hear, Gary, and I am glad you found out what it was that was causing your problems. I have been wheat-free for years and ( barring the whole old age thing ) have never felt better. Unfortunately, though it is a good start, just cutting out gluten will not give you a maximized dietary health potential. We have cut out all refined products.

I hope that by now, everyone realizes it is not just calories in vs calories out. Trust me, your body will know the difference between 500 calories from lean meat compared to 500 calories from glazed donuts. The good doctor in his anti-wheat video just touched on and focused on one component of the nutritional problems we are facing. I couldn't believe he minimized what they have done to corn and how it has also invaded almost all aspects of the food industry. Everyone wants to focus on the one thing they can do that will make their lives better, preferably with the least amount of effort.

Here are a few more things anyone interested in staying or getting healthy should research. Things to watch out for or be aware of are Candida epidemic and the inflammation factor and IF rating of foods and the chronic problems they can cause or exacerbate. Read the labels on anything you pick up which is processed...actually I don't recommend buying anything processed. Just SOME of the key words to watch out for is sugars, HFCS, and "natural flavors".

For a healthy gluten free grain, try quinoa. Get off the white, refined table salt and get some pink Himalayan salt. They are not even close to the same thing.
 
With my families gluten / dairy free diet quinoa is important along with hemp hearts, various gluten free pastas.
We replaced white sugar with coconut sugar, replaced dairy with almond milk, almond butter, coconut oil......list goes on, even a few dairy free yogurts .
 
Amy and Little D and are gluten free. It doesn't seem to bother me at all, but its easy for me to do without. Her boss has Celiac Disease, and for 4 years of working with him, didn't realize that she was gluten intolerant.

I try to avoid processed carbs and balance carbs/ protein/ fat (Zone diet, similar to paleo, I think), so GF goes in well with that. Some grocery stores (like Trader Joe's, don't know about one close to you) have a GF product list or section. Are you finding this where you shop?

Some people are more sensitive, A and D get oats processed in a GF environment, as she can tell. Barley and rye, as you probably know, are other sources of gluten besides wheat, but in case someone else doesn't know, its worth saying.

Its hardest at first to avoid things, but over time it just becomes natural, and knowing what gluten's impacts are, it becomes very worthwhile. We have chosen hotel rooms that have kitchenettes while traveling. More work, but healthier. We have always been able to find as good of accommodations as we wanted without a lot a trouble.
 
A neighbor of mine works at a research station in Antarctica. He gave me a bottle of sea salt produced from that area. 8)
 
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