NWR: Gluten Intolerance

AlliJae

Does anyone have any experience with food intollerance?? For the past few months, I feel like something I've been eating has not been reacting well with my body (stomach aches, digestive issues, gaining weight while working out 1,000 hours!) my trainer also thinks something is fishy, so I want to figure out what is going on...

My guess is that it's Gluten, but I'm not sure. know that it is reccomended to take the suspected food out of the diet and see if that is what is causing the issue. Has anyone done this before? Is it safe to take Gluten out cold turkey? Any tips? How long should I do it for?

I just don't feel good I'm ready to figure out what is going on!

DrPB2b13

My mother has been doing something similar over the past year or so, and it's really helped her out.  She's identified an intolerance/allergy to corn and all corn products, something nearly impossible to avoid these days, but she's doing what she can and is feeling better.  I don't know if her symptoms were like yours, but she definitely had weird joint pain that has been helped a lot.

As far as whether it's safe to go cold-turkey on gluten, I believe the answer is yes but I'm not a nutrition expert.  I do have friends and family members who have decided to go gluten-free for various reasons and I don't think they've had any adverse reactions from cutting it out of their diets altogether.

smittojess88

I had similiar GI issues and went gluten free entirely for a month to trial. It is really hard at first because literally EVERYTHING contains gluten, and you can expect to go through a certain level of frustration/depression, etc. It's safe to go "cold turkey" you just may have cravings/miss the food.
Places like whole foods are amazing for finding gluten free, not sure where you're located but Krogers (cincy grocery store) has labels on their shelves for all gluten free foods. It's expensive, but can make a difference.
just an FYI there is a blood test to see if you have an allergy to gluten however it can only be accurate if you are eating gluten. So i'd suggest seeing an MD prior but that's just my opinion.

[Deleted User]

My FI is a celiac, and as a result I eat 70% gluten free. It is super easy for you to find out (I believe they do a blood test). From what you said it could be celiac disease as well, because when you work out with celiac you won't lose weight because your body is not taking in any of the nutrients you are putting in. 

I would get tested if you are unsure because not knowing if you are a celiac can be deadly. The longer you wait, the more damage you are doing to your digestive system, and that can lead to other things like cancer. And make sure if you are cutting gluten out that you read the ingredients on everything, lots of processed foods have gluten in them.

MoonlightSilver

My FI is gluten free too. Like PP said, there's no problem going cold turkey- you'll just hurt your cravings, because lots of things have gluten. 

Re: Corn- there are diffierent types of gluten in different grain products. Some people react to wheat gluten, while others react to the gluten in corn, and some both. My fiance has chosen to go completely free of grains (so no gluten free pancakes for him), as well as corn. He's also allergic to soy and dairy, so his diet is VERY restricted. He eats lots of meats, veggies and fruit (and hot sauce). 

One thing to watch out for with gluten is caramel coloring. My FI had a really had time at first because many products that you wouldn't think of had caramel coloring, which can have gluten in it. Things like root beer and sauces. 

There are a lot of great gluten free / celiac's websites out there to help you. Good luck! 

DrPB2b13

I just remembered this, so I wanted to add:

I would definitely get tested ASAP if you're interested in having children.  One side effect of gluten intolerance, if you don't know about it and are still eating gluten, can be infertility.  I'm taking a class on diverse families this semester, and one of our guest speakers adopted her two daughters after attempting to conceive for years with absolutely no answers from doctors as to why she couldn't; they tried every infertility treatment time and time again and nothing worked, but nobody could explain why.  Only recently (nearly 18 years after she adopted her first daughter) has she learned that she has a gluten intolerance, which may have explained her problems with infertility.  My understanding is that this is kind of a new revelation, so they're only just exploring it, but it's definitely something to check out just in case!

HarperBargo

My best friend also has celiac. There are now a lot of support groups. And online you can find some great recipes too. I know even though she cut gluten out she still had moments when she still felt bad. She found out that red wine can cause the same type of symptoms as the gluten. Just a thought. 

kristin183

I had GI issues for 10 years and never knew what it was I went to the doc and they told me IBS and to eat healthier.. It never got better. After talking to someone with a gluten intolerance I realized I had the same symptoms and slowly started taking gluten out of my diet... but since I did not know for sure I cheated and still ate gluten. I really like beer so thinking I had a gluten sensitivity freaked me out... but I kept getting sick and curling up on the couch with a heating pad. FI forced me to go to the doctor.

By that time I had been eating gluten free and feeling better but was told if you are getting tested for celiac to make sure you had gluten in your system so I ate gluten for a few days before my appointment. My blood test came back negative for Celiac. My allegrist put me on a food elimination diet and the slowly introduced several foods one at a time to find out what effected me. I always thought I had problems with milk but found out I was okay with milk. I reacted to egg yolks right away and then reacted to gluten on the 3rd day of testing (meaning I can have a little gluten before it makes me sick) I have eliminated both gluten and egg yolks from my diet and have never felt better. I am no longer bloated, I have less headaches, and of course my stomach aches have gone away.

I still have problems losing weight but it seems to be slowly coming off ( 1/2 lb a week) but at least it is starting to come off. Before the scale wouldn't budge. I would suggest going to a doctor and getting it checked out. You may have celiac which is very serious or you may have an intolerance to something you never thought of (Like I did with egg yolks)

I was really frustrated when I first went gluten free after the doctor but have adjusted and it really is not that bad once you get used to it Trader Joe's and Sunflower have lots of Gluten Free foods and I also shop on Amazon and Gluten Freely (gluten freely can be expensive.. but they do living social deals) So of the food sucks and some of it is not so bad.. you just have to try different things. Good Luck!

kristin183

Oh also, when I went on my elimination diet I got really sick because my body was going through detox from all the foods it was a rough week.

Amynutrition

Don't go gluten free BEFORE you see your doctor for a blood test/biopsy.
If you stop eating gluten you can get a false negative Celiac test result.