It's been four months since I went on a gluten free, cow dairy free diet. I specify cow dairy because I can eat goat and sheep cheese just fine. I know that some people go gluten free because it's trendy, or because they think they'll lose weight. I did it because I was sick as hell, and nothing had worked to make me better. The doc tested me for celiac disease, which caused me to go read up on celiac disease. And that's when I found out that even if you don't have celiac disease (or do have it but test negative) you can still have a bad reaction to gluten. So I girded my wallet and tried it.
I felt better, but not 100%, so on a hunch I stopped having milk or cow cheese. And then I felt nearly 100% better. Except when I screwed up and ate something containing gluten or cow milk. Which really reinforced the fact that those two things were causing me trouble.
My initial symptoms were primarily gut pain (at times so intense that I thought perhaps an ER visit was in order) and pretty amazing bloating. Like, several months pregnant level bloating. I had to stop wearing most of my pants because during the day I'd swell up so much that not only did the pants not fit anymore, but there was a five inch gap at the top of the zipper. The bloating was uncomfortable, as you might imagine.
The gastroenterologist I was sent to was completely effing useless. After his tests (including upper endoscopy) failed to reveal anything at all, he just looked at me and said there was nothing he could do. "I can't treat pain", he said. I said that I had tried cutting out gluten and that I felt much better as long as I avoided it. And he told me not to avoid gluten! The fact that it appeared to be the source of my pain was beside the point. The tests had shown no gluten problems, so I had no gluten problems. He said, quoted to the best of my memory, "It's very difficult to avoid all gluten in your diet. You probably shouldn't do that."
I don't care if there are toothy alien heads protruding from beneath my sternum, I will not be going back to that doctor.
Four months is not a long time to heal an overstressed gut, IMHO. I feel much better, but I don't think I'm all the way better. I did try eating a roll a few weeks ago, to see what would happen. I was fine. So a week later I ate another roll - and this time I felt bad. So it would appear that at this point I can tolerate a small amount of gluten, very infrequently. I hope that in the future I can tolerate more, but I'm not counting on it.
I'd heard of gluten intolerance prior to getting sick, of course. It was always one of those "oh please no, not me" sort of conditions. I ranked it right up there with cancer. Fortunately, I don't have cancer (as far as I know) but I do have a gluten intolerance. I think I'm dealing with it reasonably well. I've found several good substitutions for every-day items in my diet. Poor JD, who previously had to deal with my fat intolerance and occasional dairy intolerance, has dealt admirably with cooking for my new gluten intolerance.
I'm going to list some of the things I've found that I really like, just in case you have gluten (and/or dairy) intolerance and could use some tips. Keep in mind that it's only been 4 months so I'm not up on gluten information like somebody with lifetime celiac disease would be. But so far these things have been making my life better.
Almond Breeze original unsweetened almond milk - so much tastier than soy or rice milk. Also I see that they have an almond coconut version and I'm thinking thai chicken coconut soup. Mmmm.
Feel Good Foods has several delicious varieties of dumplings and egg rolls for when I get a dim sum craving. Not the same as going out for dim sum (no pork buns!) but still pretty dang good. They're frozen so you can buy them and stash them in the freezer until you get the craving.
Against the Grain Gourmet sells utterly amazing rolls that are an improvement on wheat rolls. JD wanted one of my gluten free rolls for Thanksgiving rather than a crusty french roll. That's how good they are.
Schar gluten free pizza crusts - not as good as going out for a good brick oven pizza, but as good as most frozen pizzas in a box. You have to provide the toppings. Which works for me, because of my dairy issue. I've been using Manchego cheese, made from sheep's milk, instead of cow cheese. That includes on pizza, sandwiches, and omelets. And plain as a snack. Schar also makes a variety of pretty good cookies.
San-j gluten free tamari - regular soy sauce has wheat in it! Who knew? So I started using this wheat free tamari sauce. There are gluten free soy sauces out there as well. You have to read the label. But this means we can cook asian food at home, and I got some little packets to take to restaurants with me. Sushi is tricky, btw. The dressing on the salad is suspect. The miso soup is suspect. The freaking fake crab in the California rolls is full of wheat. Plain fish is safe. Anything marinated (including my favorite gourd strip rolls) is not. The fish eggs aren't safe - some have soy in them. The eel isn't safe because of the sauce. Basically I can have tuna and cucumber rolls. Don't even think about anything with a tempura coating.
Rice noodles are a safe replacement for wheat pasta, and I like how they taste.
Kinnikinnick gluten free donuts are not a replacement for a glazed yeast donut, but they keep me from feeling sad on donut day at work. If cake donuts are your favorite, they're fine.
I have yet to find a variety of Nut Thins crackers that I don't like.
Popchips are safe to eat and lower calorie, which is a nice bonus. Plus I like the taste. They're expensive in single servings so last time JD bought a big bag and repackaged them into single servings in sandwich size zipper bags. Mmm.
I'm sorry that I have to tell you that Dr. Lucy's Chocolate Chip Cookies are really, really good, because you might develop an addiction to them the way I have. I have to keep them on a shelf way up high and out of my line of sight. They're that good. I haven't tried any of the other varieties of cookies. I'm scared.
Glutino makes a variety of gluten free products, of which by far the best are the pretzel sticks. Although to be fair I haven't tried everything else they make. But the pretzel sticks are excellent.
Van's gluten free waffles are pretty good toaster waffles. They're sort of Eggo-y. I haven't tried all the flavors.
Udi's white sandwich bread is sort of like french bread, but in sandwich form. I.e. I love it. I've always preferred french bread to sandwich bread, so this is the perfect amalgamation.
There are several restaurants that are gluten-free friendly. Either they have a separate gluten free menu, or they note the gluten free items on the menu. Some of the ones I enjoy are P.F. Chang's,
Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, and Chipotle. Also I was amazed and pleased to see that my cafeteria at work has started labeling some of their offerings as gluten free. I have sent them a couple of comments and they have been very responsive.
There are a couple of cuisines which work pretty well for me. I can safely buy a variety of Indian and Thai frozen dinners which by nature have no gluten ingredients. Papadums are often gluten free. Mexican food may or may not be safe, depending on where you get it. Taco Bell has virtually nothing gluten free on the menu. But if the restaurant's main starches are corn, rice, and beans, I'm golden.
Beer is pretty much out, but there are a few alternatives. Anheuser-Busch makes Redbridge Beer, which so far is the most beery tasting gluten free beer I've tried. Most of the other gluten free beers are brewed with rice and sorghum, and they end up with a bit of a sour flavor to them. It's not horrible, but it doesn't keep me coming back for more. However new gluten free beers are being brewed all the time, and I intend to keep trying them. :) Wine is fine, as is hard cider. Gluten intolerance has not kept me from being a lush. It hasn't even kept me from having beer with my crab in summer. It has, however, interfered with my enjoyment of sig-beer. I miss having a good porter with my pals.
Of course, there are plenty of foods that don't have gluten in them, even though it seems like it's in everything sometimes. Fruit, plain meats, plain vegetables, corn, oats (for me - some celiacs have issues), lentils, rice, potato, quinoa, beans, chocolate, cheeses.. there's a whole lot of gluten free food out there. It's just that things get mixed together, and then they're not gluten free anymore. Sadly for me. Even corn cereal (like Corn Chex) or rice cereal (like Rice Krispies) are not necessarily gluten free. I'm reading labels very intently these days.
I really hope that you don't have to deal with this issue, but if you do then I hope my links above are helpful. Bon appetit!
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