Is anyone following gluten contamination elimination diet? I am looking for partners, catering recommendations or any helpful comments.

[Yossarian]

Trying to remove trace gluten from my diet:

In a study published online last week in the journal BMC Gastroenterology, researchers from the Center for Celiac Research (formerly part of the University of Maryland, now part of Massachusetts General Hospital) described using a diet comprised of whole foods and practically no grains to help people who didn't improve on a "standard" gluten-free diet (i.e., one containing processed "gluten-free" foods and a hearty sampling of baked goods made with gluten-free grains).

For three to six months, the study subjects ate only fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, poultry and fish, eggs, unflavored dairy products and rice. They were allowed to have oil, vinegar, honey and salt, and could drink 100% fruit and/or vegetable juice, Gatorade, milk or water.

celiacdisease.about.com/b/2...

[1stgls]

A cautionary tale here--my mum was diagnosed with coeliac disease,( and controlled it well ) for 3 years her symptoms got worse and they told her to to follow the sort of diet you are talking about --- she died of bowel cancer as they continued to blame the coeliac disease ( cross contamination and a lot of "I do not know why you have diarrhoea and weight loss, if you are following the diet properly" etc) for her symptoms instead of investgating. Please make sure you are investigated thoroughly.

[Penel in reply to 1stgls]

Really sorry to hear about your mum. What dreadful lack of treatment.

[1stgls in reply to Penel]

thank you -- I was just trying to indicate that the medical peeps do not always get it correct and for asking a few extra questions or being a bit pushy could prevent a lot of medical messes

[Fisher123 in reply to 1stgls]

So sad. My dad also died of bowel cancer, he never had a proper diagnosis, or it was possibly too far gone. I would urge anyone to push for diagnosis or at least further investigation if unhappy. My 11 yr old son and myself are both now diagnosed and thankfully healthy.

[1stgls in reply to Fisher123]

I think I was trying to say is if you are doing well on GF diet and then it starts to seem as if it is not working it may NOT be that you are becoming glutened in some other way, there may be another reason for your symptoms. I have found that some people totally believe everything they read and will possibly follow this diet and when it does not work ( after the "experts" have told them to persevere for MONTHS) it is too late. just keep in mind that you have a complex body and it does get ill in other ways similar to coeliac.

[Penel]

If you are eliminating gluten it would be a good idea to make sure the rest of the diet is healthy. Drinking fruit juice or Gatorade is a very bad idea, as they are basically liquid sugar.

Have a look at the low carb/high fat diet.

dietdoctor.com/lchf

[RusticRita]

I've been doing a lot of research recently for a future post here with regards to the possible dangers of mycotoxins and/or GMOs in grains. I wonder if the diet research you mentioned was successful because it eliminates most grains, but especially grains that can contain higher levels of mycotoxins or their own form of gluten proteins?

It might also explain why so many coeliacs/gluten intolerants report they thrive better on Paleo type diets.

I had bad reactions to the corn/maize/oat containing Freefrom foods early on. I now follow a diet with veg/fruit/fish/meat and lowered carbs mainly coming from potato, rice, millet and buckwheat. I rarely have bad symptoms now unless I get inadvertently glutened by cross-contamination.

There are a few possible explanations. The first is having sensitivity to gluten-type proteins generally, not limited to gluten itself. Then there's the possibility of other factors like mycotoxins and GMOs in grains causing health problems.

There are studies that suggest GMO grains may be raising the levels of mycotoxins (particularly fumonisins) in soya, corn and wheat due to the levels of RoundUp Herbicide they are sprayed with: monitor.net/monitor/0401a/c...

While Genetically Modified crops (other than trial crops) aren't allowed in Europe per se and European food has to carry labels, US imports of cereals (largely maize/corn, soya and wheat) are generally not labelled and the majority of UK supermarkets (with the exception of Waitrose) recently lifted their ban on GMO animal feed. gmfreeze.org/

If you need any recommendations for brand name alternatives using rice or buckwheat let me know.

[Lynilou in reply to RusticRita]

Thanks for this, I tried twice to introduce the gf oats into my diet thinking I was being healthy! Both times I had bad reaction, second time I put it down to the oats. No more oats for me.

[Hidden]

I avoid prepared foods unless they are made in gf facilities. I find M&S very helpful as all their labels tell you whether there is any risk of cross contamination in the manufacturing process, and a lot of their foods are gf - handy when you want a treat or a ready meal to take to someone elses house. I also don't use corn, soya and buckwheat, though can tolerate small amounts- my basic flour mix is urid lentils, tapioca and rice. I don't use dairy either, but still manage a varied and entertaining diet.

[nickyr]

Although my symptoms improved after a while on a strict gluten free diet my bloods and biopsies didn't so for 3 years I have been experimenting with approaches to elimate any possibilty of cross contamination and also researching the theory of cross reactive foods. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is designed to help Coeliacs (and others with IBD etc) for whom a GFD is not enough for full healing. It's quite restrictive but nutritionally balanced and I think worth a try, they suggest a year for full healing. I tried this and have to say it didn't improve my situation but I think I have other issues (possibly RCD, ? cross reactivity ? parasite involvement). For cross reactivity theory check out Chris Kresser's website - google him on cross reactivity, or Paleo Mom. Paleo diet is also worth considering as eliminates all grains, dairy and legumes which may be difficult for people with severe intestinal damage. As others have said just be careful to make sure you eat a wide range of veg, fruits, nuts, seeds and other lean proteins (eg eggs, fish, lean meats, a little good dairy) and avoid sugar, artificial rubbish, processed foods etc - I try and make every meal make a positive contribution to getting better and despite lots of ongoing damage to my villi/poor absorption of nutrients I feel fantastic!