Gluten Free Diet

[IceAlisa]

Yes, I am not super-sensitive either. I can eat fruit that was sitting next to the kiwi and be OK, just not the actual kiwi. Interesting!

Sorry about the cousins and you having to be around them.

[Marilou]

Then you are sensitive to gluten, as simple as that. Those who are not don't have a reason to avoid it.

For instance, I don't have an officially diagnosed allergy to kiwi fruit but every time I eat it, my throat gets sore. So I don't eat it. It's really simple, if it makes you sick, don't eat it. If it doesn't, no reason to avoid it. A lot of people jump of the gluten-free bandwagon because it's a fad and gluten is the dietary of the year.

However, there are those in the medical field that don't acknowledge sensitivities as they can't be diagnosed the traditional way. There are many people that suffer from nagging issues that could be related to some food they eat, however because they don't show up on an allergy test, it can be very difficult to determine the problem. My point was that I don't have a life threatening reaction when I eat wheat. However, I do have some digestive issues, that required a little persistance on my part to determine what they were caused by. Many people have health issues, some minor, some more serious that might be a result of something they eat and had never considered that wheat/gluten could be the culprit.

ETA - And there are many people, such as myself, who learned of their gluten sensitivities long before the current fad, so maybe there is something to it.

[Anita18]

Yes, I am not super-sensitive either. I can eat fruit that was sitting next to the kiwi and be OK, just not the actual kiwi. Interesting!

Sorry about the cousins and you having to be around them.

At least that was only a week. I'm sometimes left with a present in the toilet if I get up too early, ie, when my fiance wakes up and has had his daily smoothie.

My friend is allergic to mango. She found out while studying abroad in Nepal. (Strangely, she never had it when she was living in the States...and it's quite easy to get in California too.) Unfortunately, it was quite a reaction and her face swelled up like a basketball. Luckily she knows to request non-mango-containing fruit salads or juices now.

[IceAlisa]

Hers sounds like a serious allergy. I hope she carries Benadryl and Epi-Pens.

[MacMadame]

Now, my favorite pastas are defintiely corn and buckwheat - can't stand the rice pasta - becomes way too mushy.

I love pasta made out of quinoa! I like it better than regular pasta and I have no reason not to eat the regular.

[jl22aries]

I'll definitely try this!

Really, my diet is already quite gluten free -it's just a good fibre filled bread for quick breakfasts and my occasional pasta meal that need to make the GF switch. So quinoa pasta, here I come.

[Allskate]

My Dr couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I went gluten free on the advice of a naturopath and the symptoms went away, and the bonus, I lost weight!

Maybe the weight loss was related to the gluten's affect on your thyroid? I'm gluten sensitive, too, not celiac or allergic. The gluten causes a range of inflammation. For me, one result of cutting out the gluten was that my thyroid levels normalized. (When I was trying to figure out what was causing my hives, I had my thyroid levels checked and they were borderline).

It is great that more grocery stores carry gluten free products - I have found frozen waffles and pizza that are great, and I have also found a good rice raisin-bread. Other than that, I don't eat a lot of bread and usually use rice cakes or rice/other gluten-free crackers instead.

My favorite GF crackers are the Blue Diamon Nut Thins. (The pecan ones are my faves.) I like the Vans waffles, but haven't really found a GF pizza I like. Which one do you like? And what brand is the raisin bread?

[galaxygirl]

Amy's pizza isn't half bad. The Glutino pizza crust has the consistency of paste.

[mkats]

My friend is allergic to mango. She found out while studying abroad in Nepal. (Strangely, she never had it when she was living in the States...and it's quite easy to get in California too.) Unfortunately, it was quite a reaction and her face swelled up like a basketball. Luckily she knows to request non-mango-containing fruit salads or juices now.

I had a minor version of this reaction as well for most of my childhood, which sucked because I love mangoes. For the most part I could get away with a couple of pieces before I would develop hives in the next few hours or so, wherever the mango juice had touched the skin around my lips and mouth. The worst was the time I got some on my hand, forgot, and rubbed my eye But eventually I decided that mangoes were just too tasty and decided to start pushing the limits and now I can usually do a whole mango per 24 hours with no effect

[Anita18]

I had a minor version of this reaction as well for most of my childhood, which sucked because I love mangoes. For the most part I could get away with a couple of pieces before I would develop hives in the next few hours or so, wherever the mango juice had touched the skin around my lips and mouth. The worst was the time I got some on my hand, forgot, and rubbed my eye But eventually I decided that mangoes were just too tasty and decided to start pushing the limits and now I can usually do a whole mango per 24 hours with no effect

Well there is the whole thing about getting your immune system used to the allergen...

[IceAlisa]

Yes, there is. I've heard of making sublingual drops of the allergen but haven't researched the efficacy. I love all things mango so much I think I'd try anything to be able to eat them.

[Allskate]

Well there is the whole thing about getting your immune system used to the allergen...

They did this with my niece. It worked. The poor kid was allergic to so many things -- dairy, soy, egg, etc. that it was hard finding palatable things for her to eat. So, they gave her small amounts of dairy, starting under safe hospital conditions, and then gradually built up her tolerance by increasing the amounts of dairy. At first she did not react very well, but now she can eat dairy without getting sick at all. She was such a happy kid when she discovered cheese and yogurt!

[IceAlisa]

Allskate, do you live in the US? Where was this treatment done?

[Allskate]

Allskate, do you live in the US? Where was this treatment done?

I live in the U.S., but my niece does not. However, I've heard of similar treatments for dairy allergy being performed in the U.S.. I don't know if it works as well for other foods, like mango, and for adults. It's also probably not seen as being so medically important in other circumstances. My niece really wasn't getting enough nourishment from her diet and it made her more susceptible to a range of illnesses. She had ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.

[IceAlisa]

Thanks, Allskate. I am glad your niece is OK. Her situation sounded dangerous!

I have found out that sublingual drops for allergy are not FDA approved. I don't see big hospitals doing this treatment. I did find and UCSF study that reviewed a few studies saying this therapy should be treated with cautious optimism. So much better and easier than allergy shots (the efficacy of these is dubious, IIRC).

[Marilou]

Maybe the weight loss was related to the gluten's affect on your thyroid? I'm gluten sensitive, too, not celiac or allergic. The gluten causes a range of inflammation. For me, one result of cutting out the gluten was that my thyroid levels normalized. (When I was trying to figure out what was causing my hives, I had my thyroid levels checked and they were borderline).



My favorite GF crackers are the Blue Diamon Nut Thins. (The pecan ones are my faves.) I like the Vans waffles, but haven't really found a GF pizza I like. Which one do you like? And what brand is the raisin bread?

I can't remember the brand name for the pizza, I will look the next time I'm in the store. The raisin bread is Glutino. I also enjoy the Vans waffles.

[Zemgirl]

Well there is the whole thing about getting your immune system used to the allergen...

There is a theory that peanut allergies are fairly rare in Israel because babies and toddlers are given Bamba (a peanut butter snack beloved by most Israelis), thus desensitizing them to peanuts. So maybe you have to start young?

I will skip getting my system used to sunflower seeds. The effect of one is more than enough for me.

[Marilou]

I love pasta made out of quinoa! I like it better than regular pasta and I have no reason not to eat the regular.

That's interesting, because I just ordered some quinoa pasta from an on-line specialty store. Looking forward to trying it For me, the hardest thing about going gluten-free was giving up pasta. I love pasta! It has also been the hardest thing to find a good replacement for. Most stores carry rice pasta, but I just don't enjoy it. It has relativerly recently that I found some substitutes I enjoy.

[Marilou]

There is a theory that peanut allergies are fairly rare in Israel because babies and toddlers are given Bamba (a peanut butter snack beloved by most Israelis), thus desensitizing them to peanuts. So maybe you have to start young?

I will skip getting my system used to sunflower seeds. The effect of one is more than enough for me.

In Thailand as well, as peanuts are a staple of the diet.

[jl22aries]

But don't some allergies come from being exposed to certain foods at too young an age, when the system can't quite handle it, and so attacks the mystery foreign substance?