![]() These days, you will often see “gluten-free” written on restaurant menus but even so, I have had salads brought to me with regular croutons or bread on the side.ĩ. ![]() I gradually learned not to mention “gluten-free” to the waiter but instead ask about specific ingredients in the foods. They tended to equate celiac disease with a life-threatening peanut allergy-or they assumed that I was a health nut who thought the gluten-free diet was healthy but not actually necessary. Often, when I told a waitress in a restaurant that I had celiac disease and needed gluten-free food, she would immediately notify the manager, who would show up at my table to discuss my order. The world does not understand celiac disease. This was obvious from the start. That does not mean that I do not have celiac disease, but it is reassuring that my diet is not harming me.Ĩ. I eventually underwent another endoscopy to find out that my villi had normalized, the mucosa had healed, and I had no evidence of celiac disease on biopsy. How will I know whether my diet is truly gluten-free? I asked my gastroenterologist he was surprised and responded that people usually wanted to know how much gluten they could get away with eating. I have never had clinical symptoms from unknown trace exposures, but I am aware that they could be harming me.ħ. I am as careful as I can be about what I eat. So I still use the family toaster and bake things (for other people) with wheat flour. When I began to investigate the gluten-free diet, I kept seeing this pithy warning: “A molecule is as bad as a mouthful.” It terrified me at first, but I realized that I would never be able to eat out or travel if I worried incessantly. Although I have had very few accidental ingestions, I do not wish to be rushed to the hospital when they occur.Ħ. After another experience with a major inadvertent gluten-ingestion episode, I also now carry promethazine (Phenergan®) when I eat outside of the home. I should have known by the excellent taste, but I surely knew when an ambulance was called to take me to the hospital for severe vomiting, diarrhea, and an inability to walk or even stand up. After being gluten-free for a period of time, you will not tolerate gluten eating any significant quantity will make you very sick. I was not prepared for this and had a learning experience when a restaurant worker mixed up the special-diet pizzas, giving me what I thought was a gluten-free pizza. ![]() Although gluten-free foods have improved, I have found that a sandwich is best eaten in a lettuce wrap.ĥ. After sampling gluten-free breads, pizza crusts, and pasta, I found that, in most cases, the taste was not worth it. When I first went gluten-free, my inclination was to follow my usual diet but substitute gluten-free products for the foods I used to eat. Focus your diet on foods that are naturally gluten-free, not gluten-free substitutes. This took me a while to learn. If you are not overly sensitive, you may be able to get away with eating these foods, but they are not for the gluten-intolerant.Ĥ. The reason? They cannot prepare the foods in a completely gluten-free environment, so it is possible that a few wheat molecules can contaminate the so-called gluten-free food during preparation. Famous pizza chains have even started to offer gluten-free pizza, albeit with heavy disclaimers that their gluten-free products are not appropriate for people with celiac disease. “Gluten-free” is not always gluten-free. The popularity of the gluten-free diet for those without celiac disease has prompted a wave of new gluten-free offerings. Most gluten-free substitutes are also made with rice flour, thereby exposing me to an excess of arsenic in my diet. ![]() Gluten-free substitutes are less nutritious and more fattening than equivalent wheat-based foods. There is nothing “healthy” about gluten-free food substitutes. Gluten-free substitutes are about twice as expensive as standard foods. They are more costly to produce and are not sold in high enough quantities for low prices.Ģ. Here are 10 things I wish my doctor had told me when I was first diagnosed with celiac disease.”ġ. As a healthcare professional, I investigated the implications of a gluten-free diet to understand it better. However, after confirming the diagnosis, he told me very little other than to follow a gluten-free diet. A low iron level on routine blood work prompted my gastroenterologist to astutely deduce that I might have celiac disease. “I was diagnosed with celiac disease as an adult, a few years after having my second child.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |