If you know me in real life or you’ve been reading for a while, there’s no doubt that you’ve heard me complain about my stomach aches. (Seriously, “stomach aches” is one of the categories that I have on my blog!) My stomach has been bothering me in some capacity pretty much since I was a teenager. I’ve sort of mentioned it to various doctors, but none of them really seemed to pay attention and it was never bad enough for me to really get them to do so.
Things that I know bother me:
• Splenda
• Aspartame
• Truvia (other brands of stevia including Stevia in the Raw and NuNaturals are ok)
• Carbonation
• Malitol/Sorbitol
Gluten?
After hearing about gluten intolerance for a while now, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe this is my problem. I’m pretty sure that I don’t have celiac disease, but I wonder if I do have some sort of sensitivity to gluten. A little Google research showed me that not only are my stomach aches a symptom, but I have some others.
• Depression
• Exhaustion
• Irritability and mood swings
• Irregular menstrual cycle
• Decline in dental health
I’m not stupid, I know that having these symptoms could be from anything, but I figured why not try to cut out gluten for a couple of weeks and see if it makes any difference in the way I feel.
I’ve never felt more lost in the grocery store as I did last night on my first gluten-free shopping trip. I imagine this is what someone who decides to suddenly eat healthy after a lifetime of McDonalds and frozen pizzas feels like – clueless. Is this product okay? Is this one? I mostly stuck to things that said gluten free on them if I wasn’t sure.
I picked up a few things – some Kind bars, hummus, brown rice pasta, gluten-free waffles – but honestly, I don’t intend to substitute everything that I was eating before that had wheat in it with a gluten-free version. I have plenty of recipes saved that I can still make and I’m just going to have to figure the snacks out. Nuts, fruits, veggies, hummus, yogurt – those are all fine, so I think I’ll be okay.
Aside from the waffles and the pasta, I’ve actually had the rest of the products before. I just didn’t really know that they were gluten free. And yes, I actually do like the shirataki noodles. I know most people don’t.
Last night, I made Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic and Onion Soup. Only I cheated and used canned tomatoes because the ones that Kroger had were looking rough. Remind me why I ever shop at Kroger. And while you’re at it, remind me if it’s possible to ever take a pretty picture of soup.
Tonight, I used the brown rice pasta in this Vegetable Pasta with Miso Tahini recipe. The brown rice pasta tasted pretty similar to regular. It was a little stickier, but other than that, I didn’t notice a huge difference. I used just a little bit of pasta and bulked up the rest with the shirataki noodles.
Those mushrooms look pretty meaty.
I feel fine today – no stomach aches yet. In a way, I hope this works. Usually the stomach pains are more annoying than anything, but sometimes, it really, really hurts. I’d love to not feel that way anymore. But on the other hand, eating a gluten-free diet seems like a total pain in the ass! So, I guess we’ll see what happens. I’m not sure how long I should try it. 2 weeks maybe?
I’m not going to lie, if it helps me lose weight too, I’m not going to be sad about that, though weight loss isn’t my primary reason for eating this way. And also, I have no idea if I can even do this for two weeks.
Actually… now that you mention it my sister was having some weight/thyroid related problems and her stomach was hurting. The meds the Dr gave her weren’t doing anything so she did some research and figured out she could be sensitive to gluten. since cutting it out (or cutting wayyyyy back) she’s felt a lot better.
Also, Kroger sucks.
I’ve had stomach issues most of my life, dental challenges and thyroid issues for the past decade. I’ve wondered about gluten myself. I’m interested to hear how this goes for you.
OH my, oh my. I was MIA from blogging for a while because I was having horrendous health problems. They started about a 10 months ago and gradually got worse. This is my first long and detailed post about it.
http://www.katrina-runs.com/gluten-free-bahahahahaha
And now I’m about 9 weeks into a GF diet and my life is so much better. After the major bathroom issues, I noticed a lot of other things that went away. Headache. That crazy brain fog feeling. The dental issues are being taken care of in the next couple of weeks. The bloating was unbelievable and now I’m very sensitive to airborne gluten like a fast food place that makes their own biscuits. I can’t pass out Play Doh to my students unless I can go scrub my hands immediately. I can quickly tell if I’ve come in contact with it. Also, this could possibly be one of the main reasons for my infertility. My first cycle after going GF was so different. I honestly wouldn’t believe the difference if I wasn’t living it.
As far as shopping for GF, it’s tricky. Beware of Soy sauce which is in a lot of other sauces, not just Asian. Most products have an allergen statement. Publix has a LOT of GF products. Some stores have them interspersed with regular products. Other stores have a special dietary needs aisle. Honestly, the pasta and baking mixes are the only things I have bought GF. I don’t miss most of those things because I still vividly remember my troubles before cutting it out. The Bobs Red Mill line of baking goods are really good. Beware of canned vegetables. Check the allergen statements.
Going GF has dominated most of my blogging because I’m so new to this but finding out I have Celiac rocked my world worse than finding out I was diabetic. If I’m accidentally gluttened, I could potentially have to call in sick to work because I can’t leave the bathroom.
I’ve lost 18 lbs and I needed to lose them and a few more. I’ve been slowly gaining weight over the past year for no apparent reason. I lost about half of that during the really bad sickness week before I finally went to the doctor.
Your symptoms sound like you could be gluten intolerant. You will know soon. So much research coming out about GMO wheat causing so many health issues. Gluten intolerance and Celiac are exploding everywhere. My doctor said over the past year, he has been recommending a GF diet for any of his patients presenting IBS symptoms and the success rate is astounding.
While I don’t want you to have to deal with the hassle, on the other hand, some of those symptoms are worth it, IMO. I hope you find the answers.
That’s very interesting that your reaction to gluten came on so strong like that. Also, interesting that your doctor recommends this type of diet to anyone having IBS symptoms.
I looked for wheat-free tamari at Kroger but they didn’t have it, or I didn’t see it if they did. I think I’m going to go a better store and get some staples. Like you’ve been posting about, however, I really want to try to focus on whole foods that happen to be gluten free, and not just packaged ones.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and pre-diabetic after gaining nearly 50 pounds of the 90 pounds I previously lost. I was put on meds and a doctor supervised diet, no grains/sugars. I lost the weight plus a few more pounds. I started to eat the standard american diet and started gaining weight. I was feeling awful, too. The lethargy, general aches and endless cravings were back. I experimented a few times and discovered how much better I felt with skipping grains, processed foods. I try to live this way. I stay away from gluten free packaged foods. There’s usually added sugar in it.
Have you heard of the book “Wheat Belly”?
Yeah, I just sort of bought the packaged foods as an introduction, I guess, but yeah, good point to look at the sugar content. I will do that from now and and also check out that book.
Very interesting. I hope that going GF helps! I’ve wondered whether to cut back on gluten during training as I’ve had so many tummy issues myself. Dairy is enough for me, though – and I definitely feel clueless shopping sometimes. Dairy is in so much and it’s not always easy to find a direct substitute.
Oh, so interesting. Maybe you are right! This will be a good little trial for you and I love the foods you made so far! those mushrooms DO look meaty
Yum. And I like shirataki noodles too.
I hope this works for you. I’ve been beginning to suspect that I also have some sort of sensitivity to either gluten, wheat, or yeast. Sadly, beer is the worst for giving me tummy troubles. I’ve cut my consumption quite a bit and now any time I have one it’s striking how gross I feel immediately. Do you know of any gluten free breads that don’t suck?
I was looking at the breads in Kroger and they all scared me! I found a Huffington Post article that ranked Udi’s brand high.
I don’t know much about going gluten free but I know stomach aches suck and I hope this helps you feel better!
I think it’s a really good idea to eliminate gluten for a couple of weeks and see how you feel. I did the Crazy Sexy Diet a while back (no gluten, animal products, sugar, processed foods, dairy, etc) and I felt incredible. I’m not sure gluten is a big issue for me, but I think just eliminating a bunch of empty calorie carbs had a noticeable impact. Curious to hear how you feel at the end of the trial!
I hope this is it – I know it makes a HUGE difference when people figure out that they are intolerant of a food and can finally stop eating it. Keep us posted!!
I’m sorry you’ve been having tummy troubles (we try to make them sound cute in this house since they are truly horrible!). You know if you need anything, just let me know! I’m happy to help you any way I can including meeting up with you at the Natural Foods Warehouse, which I highly recommend for gluten free foods or natural packaged foods since they are so much cheaper there. Be careful with soy sauce too if you think it’s gluten that’s causing you problems as it does contain wheat unless labeled that it doesn’t. I will tell you that going off of gluten, soy and dairy have made huge changes in how great I feel. I got an accidental contamination with gluten this weekend and it has seriously been painful! Soy not only gives me horrifying stomach troubles (I will spare you the details), but it also gives me hives and extreme irritability along with divineness. Yeah, not pretty at all. Seriously, Lee, if you need any help with the stores, I’m happy to help you!
Thanks! Oddly enough, I went there today on my lunch break! It’s about 20 minutes from my office, but i had purchased a Groupon a month or so ago and wanted to make sure I used it before it expired. One of things that I purchased was gluten-free tamari to use like soy sauce!
I took me a few years to realize that my body hates soy. I feel a million times better without it, but it’s in everything!
always worth a try to see if something works. and gluten does seem to aggravate a lot of folks.
totally unlike my step-mom’s overblown decision, based on a similarly vague list, to decide to get rid of all preservatives and, well, pretty much everything aside from a list of about a dozen ingredients..
I eliminated gluten for three months once, under the recommendation of a nutritionist. I had SUCH high hopes that it would help solve the issues that I was having, and I was 100% dedicated. I read labels on EVERYTHING. I even had to forgo a slice of cake on my 30th birthday because it wasn’t GF. I didn’t drink BEER for 3 months. IT SUCKED, but I kept thinking that if it made me feel better, it was worth it.
It didn’t. I was bitchy and more tired all the time. And when I started eating it again, I felt fine. Sometimes people can trick themselves into feeling better, too.
While I hope that gluten ISN’T your issue (because it’s certainly easier to be able to eat it) I do hope you find out what’s bothering you soon! I know those tummy issues are no fun. Have you tried cutting out dairy?
Yeah, I’ve thought about dairy too before. I probably should have tried that first – might have been easier! It might not be gluten though because my stomach has been bothering me today (probably from the Kombucha.)
I hope that you figure out your stomach issues soon! I’m not sure whether I want to wish gluten is your problem but I hope you solve it soon.