Feeling better after ditching dairy products and glutafin fresh bread.

[suemoly]

Fed up with feelin bloated, constipated and full of gas. So i decided to go dairy free - what a difference. No longer have swollen stomach and wind. Been coeliac for a number of years but still my diet wasn't right? So i went all out healthy and dairy free aswell as gluten and wheat free. I drink pomegreat juice and use flax seed flakes on my cereals,yoghurts/ fruit and only using alpro almond milk. I only use lactose free milk in my tea now. I have felt a great deal better and no problems with constipation at all.I also changed my GF bread from glutafin white fresh bread to genius brown and white unsliced. I am hoping to lose a little weight too as i have gained around two stones over the last couple of years. I also eat tinned mackerel on toast as a healthy snack which i think is delicious.

[Hidden]

Hi Suemoly, my gastro told me that lots of coeliac felt better avoiding codex wheat and they said fortunately most coeliac stop eating it in the first year!

I also switched to lacto free milk and again told my gastro this and they said that lots of coeliac felt better avoiding dairy and had I heard of the FODMAP diet?

I've been diagnosed for 17 years now and what I have noticed from reading other forums is that the longer a coeliac is on their diet the less tolerant they become to codex wheat and allowed levels of malt. And I think that there is far more to being a coeliac than collapsed villi.

So good for you and I'm glad that you're feeling better. And I'll bet that you will feel like taking more exercise and getting even fitter now, so nice one.

[suemoly in reply to Hidden]

Hi Jerry! Yes I have been walking the dog for longer than normal so yes I am getting more exercise that way. But not being bloated and no stomach cramps and constipation are the biggest benefits, so yes I do feel more energetic rather sluggish all the time. I need to lower my cholesteral and lose a bit of weight then you never know I could be running a marathon next? (well maybe not go that far!) lol

I have heard of FODMAP but found it quite difficult to get my head around it, I was looking it up for my 80 year old mum she has diverticulitus and finds her diet really hard to follow, she as had to give up many foods she enjoys even certain fruits & veg or she ends up on the toilet all day or ending up in hospital which as happened many times.

Well thats another story!!

But thanks for your comments.

[maidforit]

Hello there to both of you. I tried Glutafin bread when I received free samples and instantly noticed that it affected me. I'm not sure how Codex Wheat Starch can be healthy especially considering that it goes through some sort of bleaching process (please correct me if I am wrong on this). It doesn't sound very natural and healthy.

What's pomegrate juice and what does it do to help?

Jerry, I'm really interested to hear more about your comment: 'And I think that there is far more to being a coeliac than collapsed villi'. please could you elaborate?

Many Thanks.

[suemoly in reply to maidforit]

Hi Thanks for your comments. You was asking about pomegreat juice. Apparrently it has many benefits which include lowering your cholesteral breaking down fat, so helping you to lose weight and getting rid of toxins in your body etc... But check out the website for yourself pomegreat plus juice its on offer in tesco at the minute.

Also try out the genius bread it lovely and light and is gluten,wheat and dairy free. I prefer the unsliced loaves,which am hoping to get on prescription. I pay for a yearly pre-paid prescription on a monthly basis it works out much cheaper.

[Penel in reply to suemoly]

Pomegranate juice is very high in sugar, so perhaps should only be drunk occassionally?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomeg...

[suemoly in reply to Penel]

Thanks for the info on sugar in pomegrante juice.You can't win with what ever you do it seems

[Hidden in reply to maidforit]

Hya, when a coeliac only has traces of gluten they do not suffer from completely collapsed villi as traces only affect a small part of their upper gut tract and depending on how sensitive we are depends whether this bothers us. But gluten can cross the blood brain barrier so how do we know for sure the effect that these traces are having on us and other parts of our bodies?

So my comment is based on gluten being a powerful toxin to coeliac and traces can still have an insidious effect on us. As flattened villi is the result of a coeliac ingesting a large amount of gluten over time so its the extreme result. Look at a self diagnosed coeliac having to endure a gluten challenge and why is this? to flatten the villi.

This is my opinion based on my experiences and being an idealist I think that gf should mean zero gluten.

[Hidden]

Interesting comments

[LizzieJ]

I am not diagnosed coeliac (sister had all tests & negative, but we are both gluten intolerant) but I also reacted badly to codex wheat given to me by a coeliac colleague. I thought I had a wheat intolerance, but reacted also to rye, so now avoid all gluten. I also have different reactions to dairy - constipation, long term, & sneezing short term (within 20 minutes of eating). I have been gluten & dairy free for many years now, but recently have introduced a small amount of low fat cheddar & bio yogurt, with no ill effect.

I have had sneezing after soya milk & yogurt, but none after bio yogurt or almond milk, so am planning to eliminate soya "dairy" substitutes too.

[maidforit]

Thanks to both of Sue and Jerry for explaining more.

Sue- I will def. give the pomengranate a go - but not too often - Thanks Penel.

Jerry - I would definately agree that it affects more than just the villi. The affect it had on me mentally when I finally got ill were horrendous and I wonder if it had any affect on my mood and mental health earlier in life too? It's something I would love to find out more about and see if there is a link. I've read that it can be linked to depression and psycosis and more.

[suemoly in reply to maidforit]

Hi I suffer from depression too! which I have done for over 20 years, I take medication for it which keeps it under control. After learning about coeliac and depression I believe that they are both linked. My health changed greatly once I went gluten free, the only problem is the weight gain. But i'm trying to sort that, by changes in my diet yet again! I have lost a little these last few weeks by changing my bread, milk and eating as healthy as I can all of the time. But age and menopause don't seem to be helping. Well! that's my excuse anyway.

[nixsta]

wow i have learned alot from this blog thank you and with FODMAP - can i question, with not eating wheat and gluten shouldn't i had lost weight? ive noticed ppl go to be gf to loose if thats the cse where am i goin wrong cos im putting on lol (im not doing it to loose i am a gf suffer) i do eat glutin bread but from reading the comments i may give it a shift how would you monitor jluvela? sorry abt the spelling lol xxx

[maidforit]

Hey Nixsta,

I was advised by my dietician that I would put weight on more easily once my body started to heal because I would be taking in more of the nutrients from the food that I eat.

I have read that a lot of the GF alternatives are high in sugar because of all the replacement ingredients that are in them. If you are eating a lot of these things then that may also be contributing.

I hope that this helps a little?

[maddy1968]

i was told this too...that i was so thin before being diagnosed with coeliacs as i wasnt getting the nutrients from my food whereas after i changed my diet i was able to absorb nutrients and therefore gained weight.