Let’s get a little personal today. I was diagnosed with IBS in middle school (irritable bowel syndrome). These days, I do pretty well – I take fiber every day, try to be careful with what I eat, or I at least understand why I’m having pains if I don’t eat well. However, for the past few weeks, my symptoms have come back pretty strong. A lot of abdominal pain and that tends to make me feel nauseous.
Gluten Free Me: what can and can't you eat? Help me out #ontheblog Share on XI reached out to my doctor and she had a few suggestions. One was to get rid of dairy for 2 weeks and see if that helps, and if not, try getting rid of gluten for 2-3 weeks. I don’t really eat or drink much dairy, so I figured I would try the gluten-free method first. It’s only been a few days, and so far it’s going okay, but I’m still slightly confused about what I can and cannot eat.
So, for anyone that eats gluten-free or just knows a lot about it, can you help me out here? If this does cause me to feel a lot better, then gluten-free (or mostly gluten-free) is probably how I’ll have to star living, so I figure I should definitely learn what I can.
Do you have any recipe ideas? Anything I should definitely not ever eat? What about restaurants? Favorite gluten-free options?
Let me know, and I will be so appreciative, and hopefully your comments will help some others too!
I’ve been eating mostly gluten free for the past few years, and it has helped me to feel better. Kroger usually has a good selection of gluten free products. Just look for the purple label on the price tag.
Ooh good to know, as I mostly shop at Kroger!!
My husband and daughter both have Celiac disease. I only cook gluten free and have for years. If you need to be tested for Celiac disease, please do so before eliminating gluten from your diet because you have to be eating gluten for the tests to be accurate.
When it comes to eating gluten free, my suggestion is to change how you think about food. Don’t necessarily try to find gluten free versions of the foods you normally eat but instead find new foods you love. We have a lot of meals that consist of chicken or some other protein, a vegetable, and rice. Or dinner (and sometimes breakfast) is sometimes eggs with either bacon or sausage. I do cook and make all kinds of baked goods like homemade cinnamon rolls, muffins, biscuits, and cakes. I even made homemade pop-tarts for my daughter once. It was a lot of work so she only got those the one time 🙂
For recipes, I recommend you take a look at Gluten Free on a Shoestring. https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/
For eating out, there is an app called Find Me Gluten Free, which can be a lifesaver especially when you are out of town. It shows what restaurants are nearby along with ratings and reviews from other users.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I have been doing this for a very long time but I remember how overwhelming everything can be 🙂
Good luck with this, I’ve heard it’s a pretty hard diet to be on but I hope it works for you or you find something that helps!!
I experiment with different GF items because my daughter has juvenile arthritis and GF is recommended. I’ve been using some recipes from Gluten-Free Family Davorites by Kelli and Peter Bronski. Also, switching out quinoa and rice for pasta.
I wish I knew, but I love Carol’s way of thinking. Just find new things you like. Focusing on what you can no longer have or tryi g to have a replacement of that thing that isn’t quite the same makes things hard. I just hope you get to feeling better! Sending hug!
Definitely search pinterest, I’m sure there is a ton of info out there!
Good luck with this! I hope you feel better soon.
I’m Gluten Free and have been off-and-on for years, but really committed to it a few years ago. My skin cleared up and I wasn’t losing so much hair, so I’m pretty sure for me it’s affecting my hormones. Anyway, there are SO many great resources out there and so many new companies making it more accessible. I don’t really think it’s that difficult once you learn the ins and outs. A quick Google search will help you find recipes and lists of foods to avoid. One thing you may not think of is soy sauce, which contains gluten but you can find coconut aminos which tastes JUST like it but it’s gluten-free and better for you!
I have a friend who has celiacs and eats gluten free. One thing she struggles with is eating something that is gluten free but has been cross contaminated with something that isn’t, it’ll still affect her. She ends up mostly eating at home for these reasons. I have no good information otherwise but I know there are some great cookbooks out there, so maybe something like that will help!
my sister and mum are coeliac, they weren’t really that great sticking to their diets at first, but I think both now have become quite sensitive even if they eat a bit of gluten. There’s such a big range of gluten free foods available – bread, flour, pasta, pizza bases and biscuits. But nowadays, there’s a lot of places that have gluten free menus too, which is really good. My sister is actually thinking of starting a blog about her gluten free diet, I’ll let you know when it’s up and running. Let me know if you need anymore advice!
I’m sorry to hear your symptoms have flared up again. I hope the Gluten free diet helps or that your doctor figures out a better alternative for you.
I’m sorry about your flare up. Hope you figure it out soon.
I wish I had some suggestions for you Lauren but we’re a low sodium, low sugar household, gluten isn’t something we’ve really thought about before but it’s hardy to know. I hope you can find a few delicious new recipes and find relief soon darling.
My mom has suffered with this for years…and recently was diagnosed with SIBO. I know the gluten-free diet has worked for her.
I do the FASTer Way and it is a gluten and dairy free lifestyle and I can easily cut it out on the 2 low carb days they have us do each week, but man… on the other days I struggle with it. I think you’ll feel a lot better without it, it sounds like so many people are making the change.
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
I haven’t been officially diagnosed with that, but I have a lot of the symptoms. And Dr’s said I basically have it. I have gone more towards the KETO diet, and feel better than ever. Lost 10 pounds in a month to boot! There are tons of recipes on Pinterest for KETO.
Sorry to hear your symptoms are back, Lauren. I hope the change in diet helps.
My MIL is gluten free because of a few bad health issues. The Minimilist Baker is a good site for recipes if you want to get an idea of what you can eat.
And I don’t know how sensitive to it you are but make up and beauty products can contain gluten so look for GF if it is.
I have to do a low acid diet.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Best of luck with the new diet and I really hope that you see some improvements from the change. I know that paleo is basically gluten free but you just have to be careful about where the items you buy are processed (like if you get oats from a facility where they also process wheat or barley etc then there could be contamination). But hopefully you wouldn’t be so sensitive since it doesn’t seem like you have an allergy but maybe just a sensitivity.
Good luck with this Lauren! I’m afraid I can be of no help as no one in my house is GF and I’ve had no experience with it in terms of friends/family.
I’m going to wish you luck with this! I’m so horrible about what I eat. I thought I could do the keto diet, because those are my foods, but I have yet to completely give up the sugary stuff. 🙁 And right now my issue is just for weight loss, not anything specific healthwise, like you’re dealing with. I hope you figure it all out soon!
Oh, my heart goes out to you, Lauren. I know how awful it can be living with those symptoms. I had several months of suffering as well and tried gluten free. It helped for a bit and then I was back to the same issues. Gluten is a little tricky because it’s a hidden ingredient in many restaurant foods (not so hard in the grocery store). GF pasta and breads are great.
What has resolved my symptoms (I was not diagnosed with IBS but had similar issues) was eliminating LACTOSE. Not all dairy has it. I can still eat butter, aged and hard cheese. I have been lactose free for almost a year and my digestion has been perfect.