Please help im really ill with my current diet need advice?!
Question: ok so i cant eat wheat, gluten and dairy. this has always been bad for me but i was always lazy with my diet and never listened to doctors through my teen years and ate those things anyway (it gave me a stomach ache, but i got used to that pain and i had to take laxatives every now and then because i couldnt digest the food properly) i know all this was really dumb but it didnt seem that big a deal until now (im 20 and ive hit the wall) i recently had an extreme case of gastritis (i have been put on a course of pills to get my stomach back to normal) but now i have to go on proper diets as my stomach cannot handle my current diet anymore. this seems almost impossible, there seems to be wheat, dairy and gluten in everything. does anyone have any tips or how difficult is it to maintain this diet? what about when i go to resturants? i dont know where to begin. & dont ask why the doctor isnt more helpful, she just said stay clear of those foods and didnt even try to help when i asked.thanx
Answers: ok so i cant eat wheat, gluten and dairy. this has always been bad for me but i was always lazy with my diet and never listened to doctors through my teen years and ate those things anyway (it gave me a stomach ache, but i got used to that pain and i had to take laxatives every now and then because i couldnt digest the food properly) i know all this was really dumb but it didnt seem that big a deal until now (im 20 and ive hit the wall) i recently had an extreme case of gastritis (i have been put on a course of pills to get my stomach back to normal) but now i have to go on proper diets as my stomach cannot handle my current diet anymore. this seems almost impossible, there seems to be wheat, dairy and gluten in everything. does anyone have any tips or how difficult is it to maintain this diet? what about when i go to resturants? i dont know where to begin. & dont ask why the doctor isnt more helpful, she just said stay clear of those foods and didnt even try to help when i asked.thanx
I am so happy I came upon this question.
See, my mother has Celliac Sprue...so she is allergic to gluten, wheat, etc. also. She didn't discover this until well into her 40's. The doctor said that she had pre-cancerous cells in her stomach and that unless she went on a strict diet, she would face serious health problems. It was a major pain at first. We had no idea what to buy or where to buy it. No bread, cereal, cake, muffins, NOTHING with a hint of flour or tomato paste or sunflower oil in it (and many more things). You name it, she couldn't have it.
But, we found that at some grocery stores, on the health foods isle you can find many yummy meals and snacks which fit into this horrible diet. Go to your local grocery store, look for the natural foods isle, and only buy products that say "wheat free and gluten free" on the front. If it doesn't say this, DO NOT EAT IT.
Also, there are many books that provide wonderful recipes that contain no gluten or wheat products. Those things are SO useful. There are also numerous books you can buy telling you what name brands you can eat that don't have gluten or wheat in them. ie: A little blue packet we got from my mom's doctor told us the brands she could and couldn't have. We found out that she couldn't eat kit-kats, 100 grands, Hershey's, etc. She can have Pepsi but no Dr. Pepper. Thats how we discovered her limitations. Just the other day I saw a book in the library titled, "Living the Gluten Free Life for Dummies".
When you described your stomach problems, it completely sounded like my moms case. She now throws up everytime a tiny little pinch of wheat or gluten enters her mouth. It takes her at least two day to fully recover from accidentally eating something "contaminated" as we call it. So when you said you went against your doctors orders at first, I was thinkin, "This girl must have been in misery..."
Believe it or not, I even found out that some make-up contains gluten. So as you can see it will take a lot of work to get used to this. Don't worry, it will take time but it soon becomes second nature to you. Hopefully I helped in a small way :)
Call your local public health unit and ask to speak to the dietician. They should be able to help. You will likely need to buy special foods from specialty or health food stores.
Try to locate the Celiac Society for your country, they will have diets etc.
I am surprised that your doc has not mentioned Coeliac. Coeliacs have a real problem with gluten, which is a protein found in wheat and rye grains. Also barley and oats.. Gluten triggers your immune system to attack itself, leading to symptoms such as diarrhoea,vomiting, tummy pains and bloated tummy. It is important to see your Doc before taking yourself off gluten. There is a coeliacs uk's food list. You are being brushed off by your GP, speak up, if you have been advised not to consume gluten you need more than a simple avoid it.
your not alone! my friend has exactly the same stuff.
Of course, there's soy products, yam, corn, potatoes, rice, tapioca, sweet potato, yam, arrowroot, gram flour, chickpeas, and buckwheat also work. Also, always check on meat products if they are gluten free, and if ata restraunt, ask for a gluten free meat dish or such, cause most meats might have a breadcrumb batter. Don not ave pasta, thickened soups, canned vegies and malt vinegar, many mustards, relishes, pickles, salad dressings, sauces, gravy and yeast extracts. liquorice, some lollies and chocolates, packet savoury snacks and some flavoured potato and corn chips. no instant noodles either.
onto dairy:
No milk, not sure wat types of choc, ... look, just no dairy products full stop. Take the trusty soy bean instead. Check on the back of products, and by law they must tell you whether they have stuff in it.
DO NOT EAT KETCHUP!!!!!!! it uses a lactose thickener!!!!!
Ps, double check my info, it could save you.
And i can't stress this enuff, CHECK THE BACK OF THE PRODUCT PACKAGING FOR DETAILS!!!!!
Hope that helps: and here's a few sites that will help a ton:
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2...
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~coeliac/d... good luck!