Celiac's Disease - Gluten free?!


Question: I was just diagnosed with Celiac's Disease. I have no symptoms except headaches, tiredness and constant sinus infections. No stomach problems. Anyone else have the same experience?

Also what are your favorite gluten free recipes?

Thanks


Answers: I was just diagnosed with Celiac's Disease. I have no symptoms except headaches, tiredness and constant sinus infections. No stomach problems. Anyone else have the same experience?

Also what are your favorite gluten free recipes?

Thanks

I acquired Celiac disease while in Iraq. I had no symptoms before I went, and it took several months at Walter Reed to get it diagnosed, but it was. I am the only male in my family with a confirmed case - reinforcing the belief it is more prevalent in women.

Understand that you have an intestinal disorder, not a food sensitivity and too many manufacturers don't understand the depth of problems their inadequate labeling creates.

When you go out to eat, preface your order by telling the waiter that you have an allergy to gluten and you need to make certain you get a gluten free meal. Most restaurants are more than delighted to accommodate you. They understand that it is really bad for business to have a customer carried out in a stretcher because of something they ate. Some shining stars in the gluten free dining realm are Carrabbas, The Outback (Chocolate Thunder from Downunder is gluten free), and Kelseys (only in Canada).

Ingredients to avoid that you may have missed:
-soy sauce, unless it specifically says it is gluten free
-distilled vinegar, almost always made from grain
-malt, it's made from barley
-caramel coloring, often made from barley, Pepsi uses a barley based coloring, Coke does not. I'm assuming they have not altered their content since they responded to our inquiry
-MSG, was the main factor in my first trip to the emergency room after I was diagnosed. The first dietician I met with said it was OK. The next one (after my episode) said, I don't know, but I'll find out. That afternoon I got a call saying stay far far away from MSG. No repeats since following that advice.

Some of us can tolerate low quantities of oats. Don't try this until after you've been on a strict gluten free diet for at least 90 days and are comfortable with your knowledge of gluten free contents of your diet. When you are certain you can reintroduce it as the only gluten in your diet, start with very small quantities. I started with a fourth of a chocolate no bake cookie and worked my way up to two cookies per day over the course of 4 weeks without any complications. I'm not willing to push it any farther than that.

OK grains/flours - rice, corn, buckwheat, tapioca, sorghum, fava bean, garbanzo bean, guargum, xantham gum

If you want bread, get a bread machine and make your own.

My favorite recipes are varied, but here are some general comments I'll make. ANYTHING from the Gluten Free Pantry is worth trying once - I especially like their angel food cake. I don't care for all of their products, but that is a matter of personal taste.

The Gluten Free Gourmet series of cookbooks are worth their weight in platinum.

Look for Bob's Red Mill products to blend your own mixes - not all of them are gluten free, but they are clearly marked when they are.

My favorite pasta is bionature pasta, available from a variety of sources.

My bride has developed her own blend of flours for pie crusts. Contact me by clicking on the "email" link and we'll send it to you. The rest of the family has come to prefer it to "regular" crusts.



I've added some useful links below that will help.

Don't worry, in this day and age there are LOTS of Celiac cookbooks, and substitutes out there, so you'll be sure to still enjoy food.

Also, you'll find that a gluten-free diet is really healthy for anybody ...

FYI:
Kinnickinnick is a company that has all sorts of things you can eat ... (my sister is one of their best customers!)
http://www.kinnikinnick.com/

good luck!

You poor thing! Most people have mild forms of Celiac's disease, and restaurants are wise to this. A lot of European countries and their restaurants base thier menus around things that are gluten free. Rice is a great thing to eat and its safe and filling... My boyfriend's dad loves Japanese rice crackers. They're great to have around for snacks. There are several websites around gluten free recipes... hopefully they'll come out with some good gluten free beer soon. If you like alcohol, sake is a good way to go. Good luck!

Did you have an intestinal biopsy? That is the only way to truly diagnose coeliac's disease. That's strange that you didn't have any diarrhoea, gut problems or weight loss/nutritional deficiencies, as these are the main signs.

There are so many ways that Celiac presents- not everyone has stomach problems. I did have lots of digestive issues, but also headaches and fatigue as well. I was diagnosed 3 years ago and believe me, it is really hard at first to follow a gluten free diet but then it gets so much easier. Give it a few months though before you really start feeling better- it takes awhile to get the gluten out of your system.

I recommend tinkiyada pasta, chebe bread, pamelas baking mix, and the gluten free pantry as some great products to start off with. Budweiser makes a gluten free beer called Redbridge that is really good. Also, Dragon's Gold and New Grist beers are gluten free, though hard to find. Bob's Red Mill makes many gluten free flours if you like to bake. For cookbooks- Bette Hagmann is the tops, everything I have made turns out great.

For support, I like to visit www.celiac.com-lots of good information, an online grocery, an a really helpful forum where you can ask questions.

Good luck- it is a tough diet at times, but your health is worth it.

Congrats on your recent diagnosis. There are tons of foods out there, I'm sure you're probably not a vegetarian or vegan, but check out http://www.vegiac.com , there are a lot of pretty good product reviews of different stuff out there like frozen pizzas, breads, cookies, tons of stuff really, good luck! Keep your stomach full best you can.

Hi Leanne- I hope you have an easy time going on the gluten-free diet and a very speedy recovery from your headaches, fatigue and sinus infections. No fun --good thing though that you now know the source of these health challenges.

My favorite gluten-free recipe is:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 ? cups almond flour
? teaspoon salt
? teaspoon baking soda
? cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
? cup agave
1 cup dagoba chocodrops

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ? inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes

Here is a link to more fun and easy dessert recipes:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

There are other types of dishes on the above site as well.

I hope this helps and also want to say that after hanging around the celiac section of this site for a while I was particularly impressed with CHOPPERMAN'S answer. It is nice to see a supportive community around this issue with such clear and helpful answers.





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