How To Go Gluten Free!

One Woman’s Gluten Free Journey

Julie Rabinovitz was once told by a doctor that he refused to test her for Celiac because it was such a “rare” disease and it was “impossible” that her mother had been diagnosed.  Believe it or not, this was within the last ten years.

Julie was eventually diagnosed as having Celiac (by another doctor) although she admits to putting off the diagnosis.  I think many of us can relate to the “I don’t want to know because if I know then I will need to change how I am living” mentality.  But when that gets weighed against the risk of digestive cancers, not to mention continuing to live with the day-to-day symptoms, it is better to know and change then to not know and suffer.

Julie’s symptoms were not the usual digestive issues.  Her mother had pretty classic symptoms including serious weight loss and it took about a year for her to get diagnosed.  Julie’s symptoms were more around depression, fatigue, and a daily headache.  She just figured that was what she would be living with, “each day I’ll have a headache;” when she went gluten-free her daily headaches went away.

I met Julie because she recently started offering gluten-free baked goods for sale in the Ann Arbor area.  It is such a treat to have a fresh-made cookie that I didn’t need to bake myself!  She is currently working out of her home kitchen (it’s certified) and hoping that she will be able to have an actual bakery location in the future.  Imagine how nice that will be to go someplace and be able to select any number of goodies from the shelves.  For the gluten-free, that is a fantasy 99.99% of the time. 

In the meantime you can try Julie’s lovely peanut butter cookies or summer fruit tarts by finding her at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market in Kerrytown on Wednesdays from 7 AM to 3 PM.  On Thursdays during warm months she is at the Zingerman’s Roadhouse Farmer’s Market (near Jackson and Maple/Miller) from 3 – 7 PM. 

I wanted to share Julie’s story for two reasons:

1. I want everyone to know that we have this wonderful resource now so you can take advantage of getting some home-made goodies without the work (and she does have a lovely assortment of treats including a variety of cookies, fruit tarts, and scones).
2. I want you to hear other examples of people who have been diagnosed with Celiac or gluten-free so if you are hearing about a friend suffering from daily headaches, fatigue, or depression, they may want to get themselves checked.  It could make a world of difference in their lives.

Not only are Julie’s “Tasty Bakery” treats gluten-free, they are also organic.   I really enjoy the peanut butter cookies and the lemon cookies.  Which ones are your favorite?

Technorati Tags: celiac diagnosis, gluten free symptoms

Digestive Discomfort After Going Gluten Free

Initially my body felt better when I went gluten-free, and I wasn’t even 100% gluten free initially.  But going gluten-free doesn’t mean the end of digestive discomfort, sometimes it means that it is beginning a new phase in understanding our bodies and helping to repair the damage that has been done by all that gluten.

If someone is gluten-free or has Celiac and they are exposed to gluten, they will likely experience some discomfort, sometimes pretty severe discomfort.  That isn’t what I am talking about in this post.  Certainly if a person has gone gluten-free and they have discomfort, the first thing they should look for is if gluten slipped into their diet somehow.  After a thorough investigation, there remain several possibilities.  I will focus on three today:

Sugar.  Most people who have been diagnosed with a gluten-intolerance and all people who have Celiac have damage in their intestines.  Sugar seems to really cause problems with an already-sensitive digestive system.  I have noticed for myself that I can no longer tolerate eating sweets by themselves.  If they are part of a meal or have some more substantial food incorporated into them I am usually okay.

This varies from person to person with some people finding they are fine with honey and agave but not with regular sugar or corn syrup in any form.  Other people find that honey affects them as well.  I am not going to get into the science behind how sugar is produced and how it interacts in our bodies.  Just consider that if you are still having digestive discomfort that it may be related to sugar consumption.  Experiment, keep a food journal, and see if you see a link.

Besides, our bodies do not need the level of sugar consumption that is encouraged in these modern days.  You will likely be healthier overall if you reduce your sugar consumption, whether you are having digestive problems or not.

Artificial Sweeteners.  Even before I went gluten-free I noticed that if I had a diet pop (soda for you outside the midwest) I would get stomach cramping within an hour or two.  I didn’t drink diet pop very often and after I noticed the link I stopped drinking it completely. 

I am not comfortable with all the processing and chemical modification that takes place to create artificial sweeteners, it just doesn’t seem like a good idea for our bodies.  That being said, each person needs to make their own choice and I certainly have enough of my own quirks that I am not going to judge you for drinking aspartame or splenda.  Just consider that if you are having digestive problems and you are consuming artificial sweeteners they may be a cause.

Another Food Intolerance.  Some folks have challenges with lactose, corn, soy, or eggs, to name a few.  There is always the possibility that your body is reacting to another ingredient.  See your medical professional to determine if this might be the case.

There are many other causes of digestive discomfort including food poisoning, gallbladder issues, and viruses.  Always listen to your body, look for patterns, and seek medical attention, especially if the symptoms are severe or last for an extended period of time.  When you aren’t feeling well it is difficult to be at your best.  Take care of yourself so you can participate in life the way you would like to!

Technorati Tags: digestive discomfort, other causes of stomach pain

A Gluten-Free Halloween

I was diagnosed as gluten-free as an adult so I never had the issue of avoiding so many yummy treats when I was a child.  I know many of you out there are not gluten-free but you want to make life easier on those who are gluten-free.  Maybe you already purchased your candy to pass out and you may be curious if it is gluten-free. 

Before I get into the details, I want to make an important distinction between those with Celiac (an autoimmune disease) and those who are “gluten-intolerant”:

• People with Celiac need to be 100% gluten-free.  Their bodies cannot tolerate even the smallest amount of gluten.  Some of them become physically ill after a very small contamination, others may not have the same physical experience but research has shown that gluten remains in our systems for two weeks and for people with Celiac that is generating issues that put them at a higher risk for certain digestive cancers and perhaps other illnesses as well. 
• People who are gluten-intolerant fall along a scale of how much gluten their bodies can handle.  I tend to live my life closer to the level of a person with Celiac because I can tell the difference however I know that I do not have some of the same cross-contamination issues that people with Celiac have.  For instance, I can eat a gluten-free pasta option in a restaurant that serves regular pizzas and not have it affect me; this wouldn’t work for someone with Celiac.

In the world of candy, there are a lot of gluten-free options.  And of course, outside the world of candy, there are tons of possibilities:

• my mom used to pass out balloons (have a safer option for small children)
• little toys
• miniature figures (like tiny ninjas)
• pennies and nickels
• miniature gliders to assemble

There is a group called ROCK (Raising Our Celiac Kids) who put together a very extensive list for 2009 of gluten-free candies.  If you read through the list you may be surprised at some of what is NOT gluten free (Milky Ways) and what is (Milky Way Midnight).  Thanks to www.HarrisWholeHealth.com for helping to get the list out to more people.  You can find the list at:

http://www.harriswholehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Gluten-Free-Candy-List-October-2009.doc

In addition, there are some creative ways parents can help their gluten-free kids to still have a fun Halloween experience.  Many of the kids Trick-or-Treat and then their parents help them sort through the candy after and separate out what is safe and what is not.  (Of course, parents should do this anyway to make sure there are no hidden dangers.)  After the candy is sorted these are some clever solutions I heard about:

• The parents “buy back” the gluten-containing candy and the child gets cold hard cash
• The parents swap out the gluten-containing candy for non-gluten-containing favorites of the child.
• The container of gluten-containing candy is left on the kitchen table overnight and in the morning it has been replaced by the gluten-fairy with a very nice toy in trade (this is my favorite option because it is fun, a surprise AND it reduces the amount of sugar the kids are consuming.

Together we can help all kids (young and old) to have a safe Halloween.

Technorati Tags: gluten-free candy, gluten-free Halloween

Where gluten hides on food labels

Thanks to the labeling laws getting more and more clear there are fewer places where gluten can hide in the list of ingredients.  For example, food starch is a common ambiguous term that may or may not mean wheat.  In addition, sometimes a company will use a strain of wheat that isn’t as common or that makes it sound fancy and may cause you to question if it is wheat or not (such as “Einkorn” or “Semolina” or “Triticale”).  Of course you also want to avoid any barley, rye, or oat products.

Watch out for Aisan dishes as they often contain a lot of ingredients and the soy sauce may be hidden in the middle of the list.  I have found that in general Thai and Indian food are less likely than Chinese to have wheat in them.  You still want to read the labels or check with the kitchen every time.

The longer the list of ingredients, the more processing that probably happened to produce that “food” product and the less healthy it probably is for you.  That is a good general rule around label-reading. 

For people with gluten-intolerance they can be a little more lax on label reading, if they choose to and are willing to accept the consequences.  For those with Celiac, they really need to be clear about the safety of a food before they purchase it.  For example:

¨     Vitamin E is sometimes processed with wheat germ oil.  This is a concern not only for Vitamin E supplements but also shortenings which may contain Vitamin E.

¨     Shortening: See the Vitamin E explanation above.

¨     Spices: Straight spices are pretty much always gluten-free because it is just the spice as the only ingredient.  For spice blends you may run into gluten as an additive. 

¨     Pudding: May contain barley malt for flavoring and/or wheat starch.

¨     Cereal: May contain any number of wheat grains and/or non-gluten-free oats; may contain malt flavoring.

¨     Rice Syrup: May contain barley enzymes.

¨     Brewer’s Yeast: often processed with wort, a fermented barley.

¨     MSG: May contain wheat, especially if produced outside the United States.

¨     HVP/TVP Hydrogenated Vegetable Protein or Textured Vegetable Protein*

¨     Natural Flavor*

¨     Stabilizers*

¨     Fillers*

¨     Vegetable Gums*

¨     Monoglycerides*

¨     Diglycerides*

¨     Modified Food Starch*

* By “ingredient” alone you cannot tell what the raw materials are so you cannot determine if gluten is or is not an ingredient.  Contact the company, especially if you are highly sensitive or have Celiac.

Cross contamination is also a concern since the same equipment may be used to process both gluten and non-gluten products.  If you contact the company they will be able to tell you if a product is produced in a dedicated gluten-free facility or what kind of cleaning the equipment goes through.

It is important to stay on top of labels and any concerns you may have.  Food manufacturers can change their ingredients with every batch if they choose to so you always need to read labels.  Manufacturers are recognizing the purchasing power of those with gluten-intolerance and Celiac Disease and they are getting much better about voluntary labeling.

Technorati Tags: food labels, gluten, gluten free