# My "gluten-free experience



## dither (Jun 5, 2015)

I'm posting this after something Gofa said.

After many years of suffering gut-pains without any kind of problem/issue/condition ever being diagnosed and at the age of about 40, i finally got sent for one of those tests where they stick a tube down your throat to see what's going on.
Well, to cut a long one short, i was informed that i was a coeliac, intolerant to gluten given advice from a dietitian, and the bottom line was, avoid all food-stuffs that contained wheat/gluten. I was even told not to use butter from the tub that my family used for fear of "cross-contamination", and it worked. No more gut-pains.
I lived totally gluten-free for, i don't know, six/seven years maybe. Occasionally i'd eat something only to realise afterwards that it contained wheat/gluten and really shouldn't have, but had suffered no ill effects but that was how it is with coeliacs. It varies from coeliac to coeliac. For instance, some cannot tolerate porridge oats at all, whilst others could live on the stuff if they so wished.
Well, after years of going with out, and i might still have been living g/f now, i read an article in my daily newspaper. It was a revelation. It seems, according to how the article read, that some people are just not able to tolerate what most people would call regular wheat based bread. Bread-flour is much stronger than other wheat-flours apparently, and that was it.
After years of going without i went just a little bit wild. Cakes,pastries, you name it. If it contained wheat, i sought it out and ate it. All except the bread and i was/am okay.
I could bear a grudge i suppose but those gut pains, for so many years,had been hell and i am so grateful for having left those behind. I guess what i'm saying is, be sure eh?
That dietitian, to her credit, had said that sometimes you just have to try it and see, and maybe if i'd tried going without just the bread the g/f diet wouldn't have happened. Maybe?

Life eh?


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## midnightpoet (Jun 5, 2015)

My wife has a gluten problem, we bought a bread-maker and I've been using gluten free flour - works great, best with rice flour.  I would imagine you can get it in Britain.


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## dither (Jun 5, 2015)

midnightpoet,
i made my own bread.
A variety of g/f plain flours can be bought over  here in one and a half kilo bags.


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## popsprocket (Jun 12, 2015)

Ah yeah, this is one of those things where the wrong information isn't supplied and the useful bits of info get brushed over. 

Bread flour has a high gluten content compared to regular flour because it produces a nicer, springier loaf in the end.

Happy to hear that you have at least enough tolerance for gluten that you can eat most things comfortably!


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## dither (Jun 12, 2015)

I can and do now popsprocket.

So many goodies i went without in the beginning.


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## InnerFlame00 (Jun 12, 2015)

That's interesting, it's why I always like to experiment on my own despite what doctors may say because they never know the whole truth. For example, my husband would always get itchy and feel nauseated after eating potatoes or spaghetti, but when he was younger it was kind of blown off because who ever heard of being allergic to potatoes or tomatoes? He got allergy tested last year and turns out he's allergic to anything in the nightshade family (including potatoes, tomatoes, any kind of pepper) which is a rare allergy but it exists. Sad really, since all are so yummy! But we find sweet potato french fries just as tasty, and it turns out that since most of the compound he is allergic to is in the skin of the tomato so if we make our own red sauce without the skins he can eat it without problems.

Glad you were able to find out you could eat some tasty things again


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## Blade (Jun 12, 2015)

dither said:


> That dietitian, to her credit, had said that sometimes you just have to try it and see, and maybe if i'd tried going without just the bread the g/f diet wouldn't have happened. Maybe?



I think that going entirely gluten free right off the top is kind of like saturation bombing, you get the target but you get considerable collateral damage as well. There are very few people who have to avoid gluten entirely and even then there are various varieties of the item some of which you may be more sensitive to than others.:confusion:

In any case for highly risen, soft and fluffy bread you need a lot of Wheat gluten which would likely be the effective culprit for most people. Other sources like Rye or Spelt or even diluted Wheat may not be offensive. It is a good idea to self test IMHO as one size does not fit all. (or anyone for that matter):-k


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## dither (Jun 13, 2015)

Blade,
Even now,
i'd be hard pressed to agree with you. Those gut pains were something else.
I might never have tried eating normal again, if it hadn't been for the fact that occasionally i accidentally ate something which i thought i shouldn't have without any adverse after effects.

But hey!

All's well that ends well eh?


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## Crowley K. Jarvis (Jun 13, 2015)

The thing is, there are so many ways to be allergic to or unable to digest gluten. 

Sometimes it really is an allergy.

Other times it's a bacteria/chemical thingy in the stomach. 

Or another bacteria and whatnot in the intestines.

OR from damage to the hairs or lining of the intestines. 

Finding the exact cause is a pain, and people have different sensitivity levels. Some people can't have a single bit. Others are more tolerant, but large amounts give them trouble.


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## popsprocket (Jun 13, 2015)

Blade said:


> In any case for highly risen, soft and fluffy bread you need a lot of Wheat gluten which would likely be the effective culprit for most people. Other sources like Rye or Spelt or even diluted Wheat may not be offensive. It is a good idea to self test IMHO as one size does not fit all. (or anyone for that matter):-k



This is a good point that deals with the rise of all these sudden gluten allergies that people seem to have. Until pretty recently bread wasn't soft or fluffy like we get it today. It was quite dense in most cases.

If there's anyone out there who suffers a mild intolerance to gluten it's worth starting by cutting out fluffy white bread and picking a denser wholemeal bread to eat on the regular.


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## dither (Jun 13, 2015)

popsprocket said:


> This is a good point that deals with the rise of all these sudden gluten allergies that people seem to have. Until pretty recently bread wasn't soft or fluffy like we get it today. It was quite dense in most cases.
> 
> If there's anyone out there who suffers a mild intolerance to gluten it's worth starting by cutting out fluffy white bread and picking a denser wholemeal bread to eat on the regular.



I really hadn't/haven't thought about that.
I haven't eaten bread since i discovered that that was the problem and y'know what?
I can't bear to eat bread now. There is g/f bread available that you don't have to toast and I find the texture quite disgusting. In those days of going without the only gluten free bread that was available had to be toated, don't know why. Fresh from the pack it tasted awful, but when toasted it seemed like any other toasted bread.
Well, anyway, i don't know how long it's been since i ate bread.


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## popsprocket (Jun 13, 2015)

Yeah I know how that feels. I cut back on bread to the point where I was eating almost none and now it doesn't really interest me. Fruit toast with a bit of butter is about the only bread that can get my attention now. It's a bit sad really because I love making bread but now even a handmade loaf fresh from the oven doesn't make me want to eat it.


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## dither (Jun 13, 2015)

By the way, one for the ladies;

When i first went on the g/f diet i was having regular weigh-ins with my doctor. Apparently you can lose too much weight too quickly. I dropped about a stone i think in the first couple of weeks, but it stabilised and i got it back eventually.


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## PiP (Jun 14, 2015)

morning, Dither . by process of elimination I've also discovered I'm gluten intolerant but to what degree I'm not sure. Bloating and stomach cramps are my symptoms. Bread seems to be the main culprit. I can eat wraps but not bread. I'm also experimenting with pasta to see if that is a trigger. At least cutting out bread will assist with my diet!


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## dither (Jun 14, 2015)

PiP,
having suffered the awful gut-pains that i had i don't dare to advise, but i'd go along with cutting out the bread for sure.
Maybe, as some have suggested in here, there are various types of bread that you are able to eat.
I am able eat doughnuts/fruit-buns/hot cross buns etc. and they seem quite doughy.


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## PiP (Jun 14, 2015)

I'm still very much in the experimental stage. I'm going to keep a food diary and see what foods affect me. did you do this, Dither?


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## dither (Jun 14, 2015)

PiP,
When i was first diagnosed a coeliac i was told that i should cut out gluten altogether. I was studying the ingredients on all and every type of processed food. It was only that chance read in my newspaper and the fact that occasionally i'd seemingly got away with eating something that i shouldn't have that i eventually dared to experiment. I owe it all to a national newspaper.

Funnily enough, the one thing i cannot eat is a big branded ( can't remember which one ) cheese and onion crisps and it actually states on the back of the packet, "okay for gluten-free".

Sometimes i find myself feeling bit stuffy and/or bloated and i am given to bouts of extreme flatulence :redface: but i don't take any notice of it. I can get along with that.


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## Sonata (Jun 14, 2015)

PiP said:


> I'm still very much in the experimental stage. I'm going to keep a food diary and see what foods affect me. did you do this, Dither?



Out of necessity I kept two [free] online diaries for my angel epileptic dog - each identical but I kept two in case one went toes up.  It helped me to know if there was an allergen - not in her food as she was raw fed - but if there was an external influence which might have triggered a seizure.  It never did but was always useful for reference, also so I could check her seizure activity.

I still keep them even though I have lost her, but this time to try and find a connection/reason for the major angieoedema attack I had at the end of May, and now the skin itchies which have suddenly appeared in some places on my ancient bod.  And also now to keep a check on my new baby.

It is easier to type  things for me, also I get email messages reminding me to write, so even a few words really do help.


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## TKent (Jun 14, 2015)

I went Gluten-free and refined sugar/fake sugar free a couple of years ago and it stabilized my blood sugar. I was hypoglycemic with dips in my blood sugar that would leave me shaky & queasy.  Best thing I have ever done for my health by far. I don't crave sweets or carbs anymore. Yay!!


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## dither (Jun 14, 2015)

Also,
by cutting out processed foods you're cutting out so much other rubbish.
Preservatives/salt/sugar etc.


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## popsprocket (Jun 15, 2015)

TKent said:


> I went Gluten-free and refined sugar/fake sugar free a couple of years ago and it stabilized my blood sugar. I was hypoglycemic with dips in my blood sugar that would leave me shaky & queasy.  Best thing I have ever done for my health by far. I don't crave sweets or carbs anymore. Yay!!



*stuffs brownie into his face*


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## Blade (Jun 15, 2015)

PiP said:


> Bread seems to be the main culprit. I can eat wraps but not bread. I'm also experimenting with pasta to see if that is a trigger. At least cutting out bread will assist with my diet!



The fact is that you need *a** lot *of gluten to provide the lightness and rise of white bread. Anything else is tame in comparison.



dither said:


> Also,
> by cutting out processed foods you're cutting out so much other rubbish.
> Preservatives/salt/sugar etc.



I think reading labels will teach you to avoid food that has labels.ale:


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## TKent (Jun 15, 2015)

We had gluten-free / sugar free brownies at last book club. Don't even ask what was in them or how they tasted...



popsprocket said:


> *stuffs brownie into his face*


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## popsprocket (Jun 15, 2015)

TKent said:


> We had gluten-free / sugar free brownies at last book club. Don't even ask what was in them or how they tasted...



"We had ingredient-free brownies at last book club."
-TKent


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