Below is a list of foods that you CAN eat. But again, remember, ALWAYS check your labels.
fruits
vegetables
meat
chicken
fish
potatoes
rice
rice pasta, corn pasta, rice noodles
risotto
sushi with wheat free soy sauce (be careful of imitation crab!)
salads (check dressings)
yogurt
hummus
guacamole
salsa
tortilla chips
popcorn
meringues
flourless chocolate cake
ice cream (check labels - obviously stay away from cookie-dough ice cream)
gluten-free bread, bagels (I recommend Glutino)
gluten-free cookies, muffins (I recommend Whole Foods Gluten-Free Bakehouse)
gluten-free pancakes (I recommend Bob's Red Mill)
gluten-free cakes (I recommend Dowd & Rogers chestnut flour cake mixes, Bob's Red Mill, and Gluten-Free Pantry)
wheat-free soy sauce (I recommend san-j)
wheat-free teriyaki sauce
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
the bad list
First thing is first... the foods to avoid.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS check your food labels... even if it states it's gluten-free. Sometimes a label will state something is gluten or wheat-free... but in the small type will say something like "made in a facility that also processes wheat" or "made on equipment shared with wheat".
The obvious:
bread
bagels
pasta
cookies
most cereals
cakes
oatmeal (unless specifically labeled gluten-free)
wheat
barley
rye
flour
The not so obvious:
spelt
matzo
kasha
soy sauce
msg
modified food starch
malt
thick sauces (usually thickened with flour)
gravies
chicken broth (check ingredients)
beer
bread crumbs
fried foods coated with flour
french fries (often coated with flour)
imitation crab meat (check your sushi!)
vegetarian - veggie burgers, soy burgers, imitation meat, etc (often held together by gluten)
some medications - check with your doctor or pharmacist
ALWAYS, ALWAYS check your food labels... even if it states it's gluten-free. Sometimes a label will state something is gluten or wheat-free... but in the small type will say something like "made in a facility that also processes wheat" or "made on equipment shared with wheat".
The obvious:
bread
bagels
pasta
cookies
most cereals
cakes
oatmeal (unless specifically labeled gluten-free)
wheat
barley
rye
flour
The not so obvious:
spelt
matzo
kasha
soy sauce
msg
modified food starch
malt
thick sauces (usually thickened with flour)
gravies
chicken broth (check ingredients)
beer
bread crumbs
fried foods coated with flour
french fries (often coated with flour)
imitation crab meat (check your sushi!)
vegetarian - veggie burgers, soy burgers, imitation meat, etc (often held together by gluten)
some medications - check with your doctor or pharmacist
Monday, February 18, 2008
The path of discovery
I was diagnosed with Celiac sprue (also known as celiac disease or gluten intolerance) in 2004. I had been sick for years, including various gastro-intestinal problems (from constipation to diarrheah), lower back pain (I was convinced I had ovarian cancer for several years) and dysmenorrhea (heavy menstral periods that lasted for over 2 weeks in my case and included debilitating cramps and pain all the time). I also could not lose weight despite years of excercise and dieting and often struggled with low energy and in particular the last year or two before I was properly diagnosed I also caught every virus that crossed my path and was by far more sick each time I caught something than I ever had at any time prior in my life. I kept thinking, why is my immune system failing me? It's like it doesn't exist anymore! And in effect, I guess it wasn't.
The doctors I saw couldn't find anything wrong with me. Other than the fact that I was overweight I seemed healthy to them and more than once it was suggested to me that I should just try to eat less and maybe some of my problems would go away with the weight loss? Well, I did and the weight did not budge and I was starting to feel unatractive; not necesarily because of the weight but because I couldn't control my body and I was always sick, run down, in pain and embarassed to have enter the bathroom after me because the smell was worsening almost every day.
Finally, when I could not stop complainin about the gastrointestinal problems I was referred to a gastroenterologist. He said "I think you have IBS but I'm going to do a few blood tests to rule out a few possible but unlikely alternatives". And low and behold a week or so later, he called me in to say that I had tested positive for the antibodies commonly found in people with celiac sprue. He suggested I undergo a colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis.
Now allow me to pause and thank this man for getting to this moment. I now know many people now who were shuffled around by doctors who did not take this crucial step- who did not think that giving a colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis was important- who may have read about celiac sprue in two lines of medical school and would not consider it an option for an overweight 28 year old but he did. SO THANK YOU! We are now only beginning to understand how common this disease really is in this country and how poorly diagnosed it has been (in part because it has not been a focus in many medical school's cirriculums). I can only express gratitude for not suffering longer than I did because of this doctor's willingness to consider something so "rare".
Now back to my story; everyone I talked to who had experienced a colonoscopy (mostly men like my dad and the taxi driver who took me to the hospital at 5:30 am) relayed that I should prepare myself for discomfort, particularly when it came to preparing for the procedure which includes a liquid diet for 24 to 48 hours and taking laxatives in order to literally clear the way for photos to be taken of your interior) What I discovered as I went through the preparations was that I actually felt improved rather than grossed out or horrified. The experience of taking laxitives was actually gentler than what had become my usual bathroom experience at the time- an experience coined by my younger brother as an LQBE (low quality bathroom experience).
Suffice it to say that experience was a foreshadowing of the liberation I would feel as I began to flourish gluten free.
A week or so later, when my results came back, the gastroenterologist suggested I follow a gluten free diet for the rest of my life. He suggested that I would find the information I needed a plenty online and I would not need any medication beyond food. Now I had an answer! An explanation for the consternation, constipation and over all root of all that I perceived as wrong in my life. Until I began to transform, and literally flourish gluten free I couldn't understand why at 28 years old I felt much older, had as many perscriptions and doctors visits than my friends more than twice my age and now I knew. I wasn't crazy, I wasn't making this up, I could heal and feel sexy and perhaps even lose some of that pesky weight!
But first I had to figure out this gluten free thing...
The doctors I saw couldn't find anything wrong with me. Other than the fact that I was overweight I seemed healthy to them and more than once it was suggested to me that I should just try to eat less and maybe some of my problems would go away with the weight loss? Well, I did and the weight did not budge and I was starting to feel unatractive; not necesarily because of the weight but because I couldn't control my body and I was always sick, run down, in pain and embarassed to have enter the bathroom after me because the smell was worsening almost every day.
Finally, when I could not stop complainin about the gastrointestinal problems I was referred to a gastroenterologist. He said "I think you have IBS but I'm going to do a few blood tests to rule out a few possible but unlikely alternatives". And low and behold a week or so later, he called me in to say that I had tested positive for the antibodies commonly found in people with celiac sprue. He suggested I undergo a colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis.
Now allow me to pause and thank this man for getting to this moment. I now know many people now who were shuffled around by doctors who did not take this crucial step- who did not think that giving a colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis was important- who may have read about celiac sprue in two lines of medical school and would not consider it an option for an overweight 28 year old but he did. SO THANK YOU! We are now only beginning to understand how common this disease really is in this country and how poorly diagnosed it has been (in part because it has not been a focus in many medical school's cirriculums). I can only express gratitude for not suffering longer than I did because of this doctor's willingness to consider something so "rare".
Now back to my story; everyone I talked to who had experienced a colonoscopy (mostly men like my dad and the taxi driver who took me to the hospital at 5:30 am) relayed that I should prepare myself for discomfort, particularly when it came to preparing for the procedure which includes a liquid diet for 24 to 48 hours and taking laxatives in order to literally clear the way for photos to be taken of your interior) What I discovered as I went through the preparations was that I actually felt improved rather than grossed out or horrified. The experience of taking laxitives was actually gentler than what had become my usual bathroom experience at the time- an experience coined by my younger brother as an LQBE (low quality bathroom experience).
Suffice it to say that experience was a foreshadowing of the liberation I would feel as I began to flourish gluten free.
A week or so later, when my results came back, the gastroenterologist suggested I follow a gluten free diet for the rest of my life. He suggested that I would find the information I needed a plenty online and I would not need any medication beyond food. Now I had an answer! An explanation for the consternation, constipation and over all root of all that I perceived as wrong in my life. Until I began to transform, and literally flourish gluten free I couldn't understand why at 28 years old I felt much older, had as many perscriptions and doctors visits than my friends more than twice my age and now I knew. I wasn't crazy, I wasn't making this up, I could heal and feel sexy and perhaps even lose some of that pesky weight!
But first I had to figure out this gluten free thing...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
the technical stuff
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and often oats. It is most common in bread, pasta, cookies and cereals. (We'll be providing a more detailed list). Oats are essentially gluten-free by nature, but are often cross-contaminated with gluten. It is probably wiser to stay away from oats to be on the safe side. However, I have seen signs of some gluten-free oats appearing on the market.
Most important: check your food labels.
Celiac disease is the inability to digest the protein gluten properly. The immune system incorrectly targets gluten as an invader, and therefore attacks it. Because of this, the villi of the small intestine are often damaged and the proper nutrients are unable to be absorbed into the body. This can result in malnutrition along with other negative effects on the body.
A wheat allergy is similar in that the immune system views certain proteins as harmful. However, the body is reacting to a different protein other than gluten. To clarify: wheat is composed of proteins which include albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten. If your body is actually reacting to the gluten protein specifically... then chances are you have Celiac. In general, people with wheat allergies tend to eat gluten-free since there is such a fine line between the two.
Make sense? Didn't to me in the beginning. But not to worry...
This may all sound complicated - and it even took me quite awhile to absorb it and figure it all out - so don't feel like you're alone. We're here to try to help you through the process and hopefully make it easier. Just give yourself time. The good news is that there is more awareness out there than even a few years ago. Gluten-free food is being offered at markets more than ever... and the range is growing. There are now gluten-free bakeries, gluten-free restaurants, gluten-free menus at major chain restaurants (even some diners!)... but we'll be getting into more of that in the near future.
So, start small. Once you or someone in your family is diagnosed... check out your nearest Whole Foods or natural food market. If you don't have one, many supermarkets are now starting to offer gluten-free food. Get some gluten-free bread, bagels (I find Glutino bagels are yummy toasted), pick up some Tinkyada pasta - links are to the right if needed. Feel free to eat your meat, fish, potatoes, rice, fruit and veggies. In fact I encourage it. Familiarize yourself with your local markets and what is offered. Eventually, you'll learn different substitutions and easily find the foods you CAN eat... perhaps find something new that you've never tried before, and potentially fall more in love with food and cooking!
Just remember you can always eat this:
Most important: check your food labels.
Celiac disease is the inability to digest the protein gluten properly. The immune system incorrectly targets gluten as an invader, and therefore attacks it. Because of this, the villi of the small intestine are often damaged and the proper nutrients are unable to be absorbed into the body. This can result in malnutrition along with other negative effects on the body.
A wheat allergy is similar in that the immune system views certain proteins as harmful. However, the body is reacting to a different protein other than gluten. To clarify: wheat is composed of proteins which include albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten. If your body is actually reacting to the gluten protein specifically... then chances are you have Celiac. In general, people with wheat allergies tend to eat gluten-free since there is such a fine line between the two.
Make sense? Didn't to me in the beginning. But not to worry...
This may all sound complicated - and it even took me quite awhile to absorb it and figure it all out - so don't feel like you're alone. We're here to try to help you through the process and hopefully make it easier. Just give yourself time. The good news is that there is more awareness out there than even a few years ago. Gluten-free food is being offered at markets more than ever... and the range is growing. There are now gluten-free bakeries, gluten-free restaurants, gluten-free menus at major chain restaurants (even some diners!)... but we'll be getting into more of that in the near future.
So, start small. Once you or someone in your family is diagnosed... check out your nearest Whole Foods or natural food market. If you don't have one, many supermarkets are now starting to offer gluten-free food. Get some gluten-free bread, bagels (I find Glutino bagels are yummy toasted), pick up some Tinkyada pasta - links are to the right if needed. Feel free to eat your meat, fish, potatoes, rice, fruit and veggies. In fact I encourage it. Familiarize yourself with your local markets and what is offered. Eventually, you'll learn different substitutions and easily find the foods you CAN eat... perhaps find something new that you've never tried before, and potentially fall more in love with food and cooking!
Just remember you can always eat this:
Or this flourless chocolate cake (from my wedding):
Sunday, February 3, 2008
loving it
Ok, well you might not love it in the beginning... you might even feel frustrated upon hearing that you're not able to eat certain ingredients in foods again, but trust us, once you begin to eat gluten-free and start to feel full of energy and life (and of course no longer sick!), you'll never want to go back to eating gluten again. A whole new world of food will open up to you.
Whether you are here because you yourself have been diagnosed with Celiac or food allergies, or you have a loved one or friend who has been diagnosed, we will try to help. From what you can eat, how to order at restaurants, what to do if you're going to a party, how to eat gluten-free while traveling, what to buy when going to a market, recipes, and much, much more.
This blog is of course a work in progress and information will be added along the way... but we hope that this will be a source of encouragement, guidance and assurance that there are many of us out there who are flourishing gluten-free.
Whether you are here because you yourself have been diagnosed with Celiac or food allergies, or you have a loved one or friend who has been diagnosed, we will try to help. From what you can eat, how to order at restaurants, what to do if you're going to a party, how to eat gluten-free while traveling, what to buy when going to a market, recipes, and much, much more.
This blog is of course a work in progress and information will be added along the way... but we hope that this will be a source of encouragement, guidance and assurance that there are many of us out there who are flourishing gluten-free.
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