My sister is GF - she has celiac disease. She was diagnosed around age 20 after after having multiple digestive symptoms and problems with nutrient malabsorption/anemia. The diagnosis was confirmed with a biopsy of her small bowel.
She's been GF for about 9 years now, and is having her first child in a few weeks. Since celiac disease can have a genetic component, her and her husband will be speaking with a geneticist to help them decide whether they should raise their child GF.
Luckily, my parents and I do NOT have celiac disease; no idea WHAT I would do without being able to enjoy craft beer...(other than lose a bit of weight perhaps...;) )
My cousin has a child diagnosed with autism. A close friend of the family, a nutritionist, pointed out that autism was over diagnosed based on arbitrary symptoms. She recommended switching to a gluten free diet to see if it was a metabolic disorder.
Was getting them there until I found a local grocer carries them in their deli area! But bigger selection @ Amazon. We get lots of stuff via Amazon Subscribe & Save program. Bob's Red Mill GF Muesli awesome in yogurt. Big BRM fan for decades!
I try to avoid gluten. I'm not particularly sensitive to it, but it is a known trigger for a chronic illness I suffer from. So most products I have at home are gluten free.
Really only reason I bothered trying it was to see if made other things better. At first I didn't notice anything dramatic either way. After a year I was seeing measurable improvements... & getting violent physical reactions after eating gluten.
I have much more control over my health now by constricting my gluten intake. I've found that my episodes are less frequent and less taxing. I also recover much quicker.
I had no idea my body wasn't happy w/gluten, but now it's not worth it. I don't as many migraines and fewer migraine clusters & they are both significantly less severe & go away much faster. That alone is worth avoiding gluten!
I was simply desperate for relief from persistent migraines & picked up any "bug" going around. After looking at the basic concept it wasn't really a huge departure from what we ate anyway. Hubby's psoriasis is 75% better than anything else had done.
yes when I was a teenager I used to get these horrible itchy hives all over my legs, and for a long time the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. They finally ran a gluten test, luckily I didn't have Celiac disease, but a skin condition called
Dermatitis Herpetiformitis. I've never itched so bad in my life. thankfully after I switched to gluten free it went away, but it took another year for it to clear up entirely. Horrible experience.
thanks :) me too, I think would have gone insane if I had to live with that itching for the rest of my life lol. It took me a few years to get used to avoiding gluten, but now I hardly think about it anymore, its become so automatic.
My friend is gluten free for the same reason. His doctor tested him as a last ditch measure and was surprised to find the gluten intolerance. Being gf has helped his skin problems immensely.
Hubby & I chose GF becuz we both have health issues gluten supposedly exacerbates. We started as a test, w/no end in mind. That was over 2 yrs ago now. We both experienced measurable improvement in several conditions for which we decided to test.
The way we are doing it has been very painless, economical, & hasn't posed any particular hardship so we've not found a particularly good reason to stop. We rarely buy any specialty GF ready-made, just focus on naturally GF foods & been creative.
Dad LOVES crackers, so I buy him GF crackers, but otherwise, I mostly focus on naturally GF, too. Other packaged GF products are just for treats around here.
Oh yeah. Forgot about crackers. Only ones I've found I like are CrunchMasters. Peanut Butter & crackers sometimes are only thing that'll hit the spot. I buy a bag or 2 a year when I just can't stand it anymore. :-)
I've tried a bunch of different ones, but the only I've worth the special effort are CrunchMasters. Found them at Costco first time but they've disappeared from there since. :-(
I think our Costco still has them, but they did rearrange the store, so they are in a completely different area. Maybe they just moved them at yours, too.
No. We *scoured Costco several times to find them then finally asked. Gone. Just a trial or something. Breton has GF crackers? Really? They make several of my fav reg crackers! Haven't seen that. That could be bad. I'm very frugal! LOL!
Visiting daughter; she offered me a *really* good Mike's Hard Mango drink w/dinner last night. Wasn't. Even. Thinking. OMG! After just few sips stomach blew up!!! We are taking a long trip today but think I'll be ok cuz I lost *all* dinner! Better...
Moral? Malt liquor drinks & GF do not mix!!! Hardly drank any, thank goodness! Worst reaction ever! Now wish I'd ralphed last 2 times cuz doing so much better, relatively, faster. Took a bunch of gluten enzyme caps but just getting it *out* = better!
After second round of ralphing was able to sleep about 4 hrs. Yogurt & ginger tea & more "gluteneze" = better. *Miserable* whole day but better than last night! Still extremely uncomfortable & bloated but seems better. Won't *ever* do *that* again!
Yes, I did experience some slight withdraws because it was a normal diet one day and GF the next. Although I have not heard how addictive it is, and that withdraw symptoms are normal.
We've learned to read labels very carefully. Doing so has caused us to change *brands* on many items but we've not found many things there isn't a "not specially GF product." It is true that *lots* of things have gluten added. But lots don't.
My roomie is always complaining about the cost of things that are specifically GF. And she is always so thankful for things that are normal priced and GF :)
Periodically we buy a loaf of GF bread for grilled cheese sandwiches. Hubby likes pancakes & we've found a GF mix he likes that isn't too bad for a diabetic. Maybe once a month he makes pancakes; I pass. We eat GF Chex & GF Rice Krispies. That's it.
Reading labels, being creative, & focusing on what we *can* eat GF rather than on what isn't. And we've both lost a little weight. Oh! We also eat lots of fresh fish & lean meats.
I am VERY gluten intolerant. My dad is, too. We not only eat gluten free, but recently noticed that we were having a reaction to lotions, body wash, shampoo, & conditioner. We have switched to GF beauty products & are MUCH better.
First, gluten intolerance is not limited to digestive issues. Many have skin issues related to gluten. Secondarily, about 90% of the things you put on hands eventually end up in your mouth.
I wonder if the skin issues are allergies. It really doesn't make much sense to me otherwise. (Understand I'm no expert, though.) But about the hand-to-mouth route, definitely. Hard to imagine there's much gluten in, say, a shampoo, that would
CC, thanks. It is overwhelming at first, but once you see the difference (if you are sensitive or celiac), then you realize it is worth it like anyone with a food sensitivity.
How does gluten "build up in your system over time"? Where does it go? Do you know what the symptoms of celiac disease and GS are and why some people avoid gluten?
One of my ex-sisters-outlaw, for gluten sensitivity - which I question, but her choice of diet doesn't really affect or bother me. She's also lactose intolerant. Whenever we're all together, once a year or so for some days, we accommodate
I question non-celiac GS in general, & maybe hers in particular because she's been on several restrictive diets over the 50 years I've known her, each if which has made her feel better & healthier - until she finds another one to try, & segues into
that - and feels better & healthier. But it really doesn't matter to me with her personally, as I said. Whatever she wants to eat is fine with me, especially since it's all very healthful in general. We all (our family) have our own food quirks.
She sounds like she might be a bit off-kilter, so she might not be an example of NCGS (non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). I KNOW that my dad & I have NCGS. (If we don't then, we have an allergy to something in wheat, barley, & rye products.) I have
I'm not saying there's no such thing as non-celiac GS. I just question it in general, & think that WAY too many people think they have it. Just because they've heard about it (without understanding even what it is at all) & assume gluten is evil.
Yeah, it could be an allergy to wheat, too. I don't know how the symptoms differ, but I'm pretty sure that, at least, is medically testable/diagnosable. Part of the problem with GS is that it *isn't* (as far as I'm aware) - that makes it harder
an area in my abdomen that gets hot & bloats/swells when I eat anything that contains or has been contaminated by gluten. I have spent most of my life thinking it was normal for that to happen after you eat, until I became GF & noticed that it only
There is a GS test, but the believe it is only accurate about 60% or less of the time. Most insurances won't cover wheat allergy testing & it is expensive, so very few are tested for it. I do know that I have reacted to something that only contained
Wheat, barley & rye grain contain gluten that triggers gluten intolerance for those who react badly. I had to stop eating rye products in my 20s because it triggers cold sores every time. I miss pumpernickel bread. :-( Just not worth 2 ugly weeks!
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