I think my fiance has gluten sensitivity

SBmini

I've been rolling my eyes at all the people suddenly developing gluten sensitivity/allergies, but I am turning into one of them. My fiance has had digestive issues for as long as we've been together. He gets heartburn all the time, is bloated and gassy regularly and food never seems to sit right (sorry for the TMI). Additionally, he developed eczema about two years ago- that we blamed on our new dog.  

Last week, he started on a no carb diet for a final weight loss push before the wedding and all of that stopped! He hasn't had heart burn once and everything else is better too. I told him that I think he may have an issue with gluten but he refuses to believe it. The issue is that my fiance LOVES carbs. It's beyond just likely them, they're his favorite thing in the world. His favorite Christmas present was the "Breadmaker's Apprentice" and he wants to start brewing his own beer. But I think the writing is pretty clear that while he loves gluten, his body does not. 

Or am I overthinking this?

HisGirlFriday13

I think you're on to something, but you should do more investigation. What kind of carbs does he usually eat? If he usually eats super-processed wheat/grain products, try the less-processed stuff.

Otherwise....it looks not so good for him.

HaileyDancingbear

I don't think you are, a lot of people are sensitive to gluten.  Also people aren't really supposed to eat as much wheat as people generally do.  As far as nutrition goes flour is pretty useless to our bodies, but we eat so much!  I don't necessarily have a sensitivity (Doesn't cause noticeable stomach problems or headaches or anything,) but I've noticed I feel a lot better when I eat a gluten free meal (Sushi, meat+veggies, etc.) than one that's loaded with gluten, such as pasta, and if I go a week or so without gluten, I look a lot slimmer.  A lot of people I know have noticed significant changes just by cutting gluten out of their diet.

Try baking things at home with Rice flour instead of normal flour, it's the closest to normal flour s far as taste and texture goes.

cupcait927

FI has a corn allergy (moderate) and a wheat sensitivity. He had a problem with eczema when he was a kid that he eventually outgrew. Then two years ago it came back with a vengence. He was breaking out into hives as well in numerous hot spots. We eliminated all of the big 8 food allergies (wheat, eggs, dairy, etc) but nothing worked. He got tested and found out it's corn. I would love for him to just have a wheat allergy because it would be a lot easier than corn. You definitely might be on to something if he's getting really bad eczema and the bloating/gas issues.

WinstonsGirl

Has he cut anything else out lately??  One of the girls at work cut out sugar, wheat and 1 other thing I can't remember and is down 20lbs in a month.  She wasn't overweight either, but she's shocked, since weight loss wasn't her goal.  Anyway, she doesn't know which was making her feel bad, so she's planning on waiting another couple of months (3 month mark) and then slowly introducing them back in 1 at a time to see what's really affecting her.  If it's only carbs, it could be an intolerance/allergy, but if he's cut out other things too, it could be that instead

SBmini

He loves rice, which is good if it is a gluten issue, but he's also a big fan of beer and bread. He typically has sandwiches (with wheat bread) for lunch almost daily during the week and beer is his weekend drink of choice. We don't make a lot of pasta. 

He's cut out ALL carbs. We're talking to the point where he doesn't eat carrots because they have too many carbs. So in addition to cutting out beer, bread and rice he's also cut fruit and is eating more selective veggies. But I'm less convinced it is a problem with fruit or rice, since those are so low on the allergy scale.

I don't think he necessarily thinks I'm wrong, but he doesn't want to believe it if it is true. It would mean that he can't have his two favorite things any more. Aside, of course, from the limited gluten free bread/bread options out there.

lc07

It definitely sounds like he has some sort of allergy or sensitivity. Be careful with the "replacement" bread items. They can be very high on the glycemic index.

The good (or bad) news for your FI is once he reintroduces it after taking it out of his system for about 3 months, his reaction to it will probably be more extreme than it was before he cut it.

It's a very common problem. And it's becoming more common in my opinion because of how everything is processed and modified and full of a bunch of crap that just wasn't in our food system 50 or 100 years ago. I have friends with all sorts of health issues and many of their doctors have advised them to cut gluten/sugar/soy/dairy and other generally inflammatory food.

climbingsingle

I'm allergic to wheat. Going gluten free was one if the best things I've done. I actually found out about my allergy more than 10 years ago. But because I loved bread and pasta so much, I just kept eating it. And most of the time, my body just didn't feel right.

There are a lot of GF products out there that are really good. GF pasta that you'd never know is GF. Same thing with flour (that I use to bake cookies) and a lot of the bread. Tell him to try some of that stuff out.

mysticl

A friend of mine was having reflux issues and her doctor suggested cutting out gluten.  It helped the reflux and she was feeling better in general.  The whole family cut out gluten because it's easier than having two different sets of food in the house and making multiple meals.  All of the kids showed improvements too.  

doeydo

I have Celiac disease so I can't eat gluten, either.  I eat a lot of carbs still LOL, they have a lot of products out there now that are GF.  I recommend Udi's for bread.

Gerbertmcway

Even if he does have a gluten sensitivity/allergy he doesn't have to stop eating these things all together. I mean, if it were me and I were living with the digestive/heartburn/etc issues anyway, I would continue to eat the things I really love, I would just be more selective about which ones I eat and when. I would still eat the ones that are "worth" the pain later on.

blabla89

Cutting processed foods from your diet will do wonders, gluten sensitive or not.

Depending on his level of gluten sensitivity, he may find that it's worth giving up. My college roommate was a sandwich and beer lover, but he went gluten free and swore that all the problems in his life got better when he stopped consuming gluten (everything from IBS, headaches, insomnia, acne to anxiety and ability to focus) - he decided it was totally worth giving up beer to feel that much better. Has your FI ever asked his doctor about it directly? I think only celiac can actually be tested for, but my doctor said that blood tests could show other indicators of a non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

lc07

@doeydo if you can find Canyon Bakehouse bread near you it is like 40 zillion times more delicious than Udi's. It's amazing!!!

doeydo

lc07 said:

@doeydo if you can find Canyon Bakehouse bread near you it is like 40 zillion times more delicious than Udi's. It's amazing!!!

OK, good to know.  Thanks.

jacsquared

I wouldn't focus just on gluten, since there's likely a lot of other things that he cut out when he went no carb too.  Did he cut out alcohol, milk, or caffeine?

I've greatly reduced the amount of gluten I eat and it helps alleviate my IBS symptoms.  I don't eat gluten everyday, and when I do eat it, I keep my portions small.  My doctor suggested cutting out gluten entirely (ie, be careful with sauces and soups) for two weeks to help determine if gluten was a trigger for me.

lc07

doeydo said:

lc07 said:

@doeydo if you can find Canyon Bakehouse bread near you it is like 40 zillion times more delicious than Udi's. It's amazing!!!

OK, good to know.  Thanks.

You're welcome! I Udi's was my favorite before I discovered Canyon Bakehouse. You don't even have to toast it. It's soooo good.

SBmini

jacsquared said:

I wouldn't focus just on gluten, since there's likely a lot of other things that he cut out when he went no carb too.  Did he cut out alcohol, milk, or caffeine?

I've greatly reduced the amount of gluten I eat and it helps alleviate my IBS symptoms.  I don't eat gluten everyday, and when I do eat it, I keep my portions small.  My doctor suggested cutting out gluten entirely (ie, be careful with sauces and soups) for two weeks to help determine if gluten was a trigger for me.

He cut out alcohol too- but still has dairy and caffeine. If anything, he has more dairy now because cheese is one of the few things he can eat. I don't think he can ever cut out gluten all together because of his favorite foods, but I do think he'll be a lot happier if he eats less of it. I told him that I think it will have to be more of a special occasion food for him moving forward. He said he'd rather have heartburn every day than give up bread, but that's not healthy.

mbross3

My BF and all of his sisters have a gluten allergy/sensitivity. However, his sisters are much worse than he is. Recently he went to the doc to get a panel taken (another option for your FI to consider). The doctor informed him that women are generally more susceptible to gluten allergies! Which I thought was fascinating. Apparently it's more likely to affect women and be more severe. 

BF has a slight sensitivity, but not to the degree of any of his sisters, which seems in line with what the doc said. We have cut out some gluten, but not all, and BF has doubled his daily water intake (which was already very high). Drinking more water can also help to alleviate gluten allergy symptoms, but only if you drink a lot of water (think 100 - 150 oz/ day). So if your FI wants to keep some gluten products in his diet, maybe encourage him to be more conscious of his water intake.

kaos16

i have a close friend who can't eat gluten.  She claims that there are some yummy gluten free beers out there, FYI.  I want to say they are made with sorgum or something. . . . . maybe worth looking into?

mrsbanany

When you were describing your FI's problems you were essentially describing me.  I have the exact same thing.  My doctor suggested cutting out gluten and it did wonders.  I cut it out completely for about a month and slowly started incorporating it again.  I eat gluten but really limit my intake.  It gets worse when I get stressed out. I have a very milld sensitivity (it sounds like you FI does too because we literally had the exact same symptoms) and slowly adding it back in was really helpful because it helped me to understand what I could and could not tolerate.  Also, Angry Orchard and other ciders are usually gluten free!  

SBmini

amandaj424 said:

When you were describing your FI's problems you were essentially describing me.  I have the exact same thing.  My doctor suggested cutting out gluten and it did wonders.  I cut it out completely for about a month and slowly started incorporating it again.  I eat gluten but really limit my intake.  It gets worse when I get stressed out. I have a very milld sensitivity (it sounds like you FI does too because we literally had the exact same symptoms) and slowly adding it back in was really helpful because it helped me to understand what I could and could not tolerate.  Also, Angry Orchard and other ciders are usually gluten free!  

Thanks for sharing! I'm REALLY going to be cutting down on the gluten I use when we get back to eating carbs. We'll be going to almost entirely brown rice and quinoa from now on. Flour will now be a special occasions thing. His reaction isn't so strong that I think it is necessary for him to cut out gluten all together, but if he makes it a once a week thing, I think he'll feel a lot better and be happier.