Elana's Pantry Forums » support

1. 

   tcorbett
   Member

   Hi, First, I love this site! It's great. I have celiac disease, I was diagnosed in 2003 - had the runs for over a year before and still have them. In feb this year I went to a DO - he ran food allergy tests - I was shocked at the results, all my favorite foods for the most part! Here is my list: avocado, green beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, yellow wax beans, beet, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, EGG, eggplant, garlic, lettuce, onion (I have added this and done well), oat, green pepper, pineapple, white potato, radish, rape seed/canola, spinach, tomato, brewers yeast (indicates candida). Before all this - I ate lots of mexican or italian foods - I love spicy. I know it's not the end of the world, but somedays I feel like I just want to eat whatever I want that is GF! I do have a good side to all this, I lost weight that I struggled for years to lose! If anyone has any suggestions that would be great. I do eat a lot of rice. For the past month I have been trying the Low Oxalate Diet that my DO suggested. It's helping a little, but very limited too. Thanks just for "listening". Theresa

   Posted 4 months ago #
2. 

   selkie
   Member

   It's interesting- a lot of these veggies seem in the same 'family'- like the cruciferous ones...cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, for example. Did your DO say the levels of response you had to the different foods..ie, that you are very allergic or slightly? Did he want you off these foods forever, or just for a period of time like 6 months to a year then add em back in gradually to see if you react?

   This sounds tough, lots of things to avoid. Did he think a lot of these food reactions are secondary to having Celiac? (ie that your GI tract has damage from the Celiac, so .. because of that you're reacting to tons of other foods). In that case.. it might be possible that once you heal, you can add in more foods- did he say that? It's common for instance for Celiacs to be lactose or casein intolerant ...then after six months or a year (or more) gluten free, they can tolerate some dairy, or are just fine with dairy. Anyway it's a thougth for the future...!!! Good luck.

   Posted 4 months ago #
3. 

   Elissa
   Member

   Can you have red peppers? If so, try boiling rice til it's just chewy, then draining and frying it in olive oil, chilli, mushrooms, peas, finely diced zucchini (courgettes I think you call them?).. goodness I usually add garlic broccoli and onion..
   try experimenting to make a fried rice (dice very small)that is tasty, mushrooms and chilli should do it, you could add some herbs to the mix.. then cut a red pepper (I think that's right, we call them capsicums here) in half, scrape out the seeds and stuff with the rice. Bake or grill for ten minutes or so and it makes a nice entree. Doing the same with quinoa is nice too, nice texture and flavour.
   I think I have some recipes lying around that would suit your dietary needs, I'll have a look. I have several weird allergies too.. tomatoes are the worst for me, no more pizza (I'm kidding myself.. that died long ago), spaghetti, lasagne, mexican, moroccan and indian are mostly out of the question now too.. one seemingly innocent food..
   anyway, I'm allergic to sugar (including fruit sugar), dairy, yeast, soy, peanuts, gluten, wheat, (oats I have to double check but I don't get happy reactions to it), peas, mushrooms, chickpeas, tobacco, MSG, flavour enhancers (#621,635,627etc), corn.. there's more but I even forget so I'll leave it at that.. point is you're not alone in your frustration - and eating can seem rather monotonous with such restricitons. I'll try to find those recipes, there were some great ones!
   Elissa

   Posted 4 months ago #
4. 

   Free-eatnlovn-it
   Member

   Hi Theresa! There is hope! Just as you have found on this site, I have been amazed by the wealth of support, advice and assistance online. Also, I am not sure if you have a store near you like New Seasons (http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/) but I was able to take my list of things to avoid to their on-staff Dietitians and for FREE they helped me piece together meal ideas! They recommended everything from basic ingredients (flours, pastas, oils) to complete menus and recipes! Be careful if you are allergic to some legumes (beans) that you also watch out for soy, nut and pea products as they are in the same family.

   Actually between the things my brother and I have to avoid, it covers just about all that you are restricted from. Out of curiosity, do you find that simple processed foods are sometimes the easiest on your GI? Until I visited my Naturopath & Acupuncturist (http://drsamantha.com/) I was in the same boat as you...constant runs and unable to stay "nourished" (definitely lacking in Vitamins/Minerals). I am not sure if you are open to trying alternative medicine, but it has been a huge blessing for me.

   Oh, by chance, have you had your pancreas tested? When my doc found my GI system was ravaged, she immediately tested my pancreas and found that it was not producing ANY enzymes...further adding to the complication of digesting anything I ate. Actually, she said that my system was basically passing everything through without absorbing any of the nutrients…as if I were only eating junk; in turn putting my body into "starvation mode" and packing on the pounds. THEN she introduced me to the wonderful world of "digestive enzymes" and I don't know now how long I have been coping without a functioning pancreas. Now my vitamin and mineral absorption is up and my immune system is doing better than it has in years.

   Just as Elissa said...you are not alone and there is HOPE! I have been eating "FREE" for three years now and I am more energetic, my tummy has calmed down, the excess weight has melted off, and I am able to eat out with my friends & family! An invaluable tip that another “free-eater” shared with me is that she carries a card with her that asks the chef kindly for a recommendation for food options based on her dietary restrictions (making sure to state that these restrictions are allergies & not just dislikes). I have now used this trick not only in fancy restaurants, casual pubs, and bakeries, but also while traveling in Amsterdam, London and Paris! I thought for sure I was condemned to only eating rice cakes on our entire trip…but not so! To my delight I had OPTIONS, and a few of the chefs seemed to enjoy the added challenge!

   I will scour my recipes and let you know what I find that may work for you.
   Cheers! Christine :)

   Posted 3 months ago #
5. 

   strume
   Member

   Hi Theresa, I'm with you sister. Elana's Pantry has given me hope. I've had a really tough year and am finally regaining my health. In 2008, I ran a marathon (at 40) and was on top of the world. This year, I was so weak I could not walk to my mailbox. At my worst, I weighed 109 lbs--I am 5'8"--and was so malnourished, I stopped menstruating and started losing my hair. Nobody could figure out what was wrong. Food ran through me, practically undigested. I have had extensive blood work, endocrinology, MRIs of the brain, colonoscopy, etc. IThe good news is, I am not a celiac (yeah!). However, I am allergic to gluten, casein, corn, soy, peanut, and egg yolk. Those are the antibody mediated allergies that I've had blood testing done for. Even restricting my diet to exclude these allergens did not fully alleviate the problems I was experiencing--itching, rash, hives, brain fog, bleeding gums, vomiting, bloat, and diarrhea. I finally stumbled on the problem through careful internet research, food diaries, etc. I am histamine intolerant. I think this could pertain to you. Histamine intolerance is usually due to a lack of or reduction in the amount of diamine oxidase in the intestines. Diamine oxidase(DAO) is a digestive enzyme that breaks down histamine or it's precursor, histidine. Many foods are loaded with histamine. Histamine is the common "ingredient" in all of the foods you've listed as having trouble with. Check out this website; I found it helpful. http://www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com/pages/lowhistamine.htm Try cutting out histamine-rich and histamine-liberating foods from your diet for ten days and see if it helps. High histamine foods to avoid (including those that promote histamine liberation) are champagne, fish, tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, strawberries, bananas, processed meats such as sausage, deli ham, pepperoni, and salami, vacuum packed meats, spices (such as cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, cinammon, clove, nutmeg), vinegar, anything fermented or pickled--this includes sauerkraut, beer, tofu and aged cheeses, especially parmesan and the blues; red wine (although there is more histamine in either spinach or eggplant than a glass of red wine, except Chianti), onions, and garlic (the sulfur in them can cause other problems). Cut down on rice--there's a protein in it similar to gluten that bothers some people, including me. Sulfites, preservatives such as benzoates, BHA, etc, and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame in particular, can be problematic for people with histamine intolerance. For the moment, avoid fruit as well, especially citrus fruits. Stay away from all nightshades, including potatoes. Don't eat leftovers, as the histamine will continue to build--what you might have tolerated fresh will become a problem when it's left over. Cut out all pre-packaged food. I can eat egg whites, fresh chicken, fresh beef or bison, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, green peas, broccoli, olive oil, salt, and agave nectar. Take 1-2g (time released) Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6, and SAMe 400mg 3X daily. With blogs like Elana's Pantry, you can come up with some surprisingly creative ideas for food to keep from getting bored. Try using fun plates and bowls and chopsticks! Most importantly, focus on what you can eat, not what you can't. The good news is, my hair is growing back, menstruation returned (that's good, right?), I'm lean but strong, and my skin looks the best it has ever looked. Christine, thanks for travel tip--I'm going to Germany in two weeks and am kind of sweating it. Hang in there! Liz

   Posted 3 months ago #
6. 

   Babalubakidz
   Member

   My son is gf/cf and he is not missing anything from before because you can literally make anything you need to..
   I even made him ghnocci's which were gf/cf and turkey with stuffing, gravy, abd so forth..
   if theirs a will, theirs a way..thanks to the internet and all the resources online and off!
   :)
   san

   Posted 2 months ago #

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