Gluten-free diet

[LokiX]

I'm new to this site. Was diagnosed with IBS some 30+ years ago & have had an "off/on" relationship with the condition ever since! Really bad attack July 2016 prompted me to join the Coeliac Society & put myself on a gluten-free diet (which my GP is aware of). It helps. I'm also found that "Yeo Valley" natural yogurt is the one that can help reduce my bloating and settle my gut. Other yogurts don't seem to have the same effect. Lots of ready-prepared gluten-free food unfortunately contains lots of sugar and palm-oil (not particularly healthy), so I read labels avidly!

[Jane2510]

Hi

You do right reading the labels - I find that some gluten free food triggers me - due to other ingredients!! Even lactose in antihistamine tablets or a change to some folic acid tablets have set off horrendous stomach cramps!!

Good luck!

[LokiX in reply to Jane2510]

Hi Jane

Thanks for reply. Wow, I wish I'd found this site before. To suddenly discover there are other people who really understand that even the seemingly smallest side effects of IBS can be so troublesome, is SO comforting! What I find frustrating is the never really knowing if a food stuff I've eaten before with no "side effects" is likely to "pounce" , as has happened in the past. I have noticed, though, that my general state of mental/emotional health can play a part in this. Like you, I find some GF foods can affect me, particularly the bread products. I'm still experimenting (sorry tum!).

[Jane2510 in reply to LokiX]

Oh yes tell me about the seemingly okay food one day but not another day!! It's like Russian roulette!! That's why I was interested to read about fodmap and making sure you don't eat too many in a day!! If already overloaded with fodmap high food adding something you've eaten before okay can cause issues - or that's how I've read it!! X

[LokiX in reply to Jane2510]

I'd never heard of fodmap before accessing this site. I've had a look on that website & downloaded the low fodmap chart. I must admit my heart sank when I saw so many of the foods I like on the high side of the chart but as the last couple of days have not been exactly "joyous" IBS-wise, I'm up for giving it a go. Thanks for your advice- seems more sensible to take care than cut out completely. Mushrooms - until a couple of years ago, they were a firm favourite, then I started to get a very bad reaction whenever I ate them, so was very interested to see they figure on the high side of chart! Also quite a relief to read of your Russian roulette as I'd truly begun to wonder if it was me being, well - me! Thanks Jane!

[Jane2510 in reply to LokiX]

Oh gosh - mushrooms for me were daily to inject some flavour!! How funny!! Well maybe not!! I tried tinned ones the other day in homemade Shepard pie and no reaction!! I've made myself menus with the foods i know I'm okay on - because even some of the " lowfod map" foods trigger me!!

I've been dairy free for 5 years and after reading about lactose free cheese being hards cheeses I had some Parmesan the other night!! Big mistake!! So it's still some trial and error!! X

[LokiX in reply to Jane2510]

Hi Jane

I sometimes get a feeling that it's always likely to be trial and error! I tried lactose free for about a month as I needed to be sure milk etc wasn't partly to blame for some of the symptoms, but it didn't seem to make a difference, so back to lactose - however, I have noticed recently that if I have too much milk- perhaps on GF cereal, yogurt &/ or a small amount of cheese during the same day + in my coffee, then there's a good chance of cramps. I'm cutting back for a while & if that doesn't work, then I guess it's back to lactose-free. Like you, I mostly tend to cook from scratch as that way you know exactly what you're eating. As you say, though, doesn't always mean no symptoms!

[Jane2510 in reply to LokiX]

I use almond milk / hazelnut in gf cereal is nice!! I also use dairy free cheese Violife is okay to stir in cooking to add flavour! Unlike the recipes I see with herbs and spices ( other than onion and garlic which crease me up) I find most are triggers so crave something with flavours!! It's awful I love food - have a husband with a cast iron stomach who can eat everything going and usually have chicken as the safe option if we eat out!! Which I don't always feel comfortable doing!! But it is what it is!! Ha ha x

[Hidden in reply to Jane2510]

Hi Jane, how do you get on with dairy free then. I am about to give up dairy and will of course be carrying out some research on the internet. Cheese, yogurts and an alternative to butter are the things I am not sure about.

Also, in your post you mentioned tinned mushrooms. I rarely eat mushrooms but thinking of fresh or tinned fruit. I ate tinned fruit before I had another Colonoscopy last year and I could eat as much tinned fruit as I liked without any affect on me whatsoever. I also followed a low fibre diet but I didn't enjoy that as firstly I do not enjoy packaged white bread, it's awful and tinned vegetables.

Amazing what your diet does to you. I had no problems at all with anything I ate until I had a bout of Salmonella back in 1996 and was then diagnosed with IBS after that attack!

[Hidden in reply to Jane2510]

Oh my goodness, I didn't realise they used lactose in antihistamine tablets!! I am soon to go dairy free for my IBS so it's useful knowing this. Why oh why do manufacturers not highlight on some of the packs what ingredients are used i.e. there are a lot of people that are lactose intolerant so I think that ought to be highlighted on the packs.

Thank you for this.

[Jane2510 in reply to Hidden]

I found out accidentally about antihistamines as was super ill after taking some - it's easy to forget to read medicine too!!

Dairy free is quite difficult at times as whey powder gets in so many things - but Asda do a nice dairy free choc orange bar for the days only choc will do!! Shared some with my team the other day not telling them what it was and they said they didn't notice difference!' White choc however is another matter!!

I've tried soya products but seem very hit and miss so avoid it now but Swedish glacé make a nice soya ice cream if you can tolerate it. Again people can't really tell the difference.

I use pure sunflower spread or at a push vitalite .

I found rapeseed oil also made me ill and just use olive oil or sunflower if I need to use it.

Another thing to remember is fizzy drinks - couple Christmas ago I decided to go alcohol free and drank lots of full fat lemonade ( avoiding sweeteners in diet drinks) and almost called ambulance I was I horrific pain!' Once I saw doc was told it was my osphugus gone into spasm from acid from my stomach and all the Carbon dioxide- which is in effect acid!!

Good luck and let me know how you get on!!

[Jane2510 in reply to Jane2510]

Sorry forgot to mention sweeteners - most have lactose in them !!

[powerofprobio]

Me too! Pretty much my whole life I had intestinal issues (both diarrhea and constipation), but last 13 years was the worst! Boy did I suffer! Nothing really helped. Doctor put me on every diet known to man - bland, gluten-free, no caffeine, no cruciferous veggies, no high fat foods, and on and on. Turns out I really needed a high quality probiotic and magnesium supplement. I found some that worked, and now my daughter and brother-in-law take them. He's suffered with IBS since he was a teenager (I never knew!!) and 3 weeks in to taking these two products he said he wished he'd known about them years ago!!! Let me know if you'd like the name of them!! Good luck!!

[AMC49 in reply to powerofprobio]

What brand of probiotic and magnesium are you taking? I have tried numerous brands and they have not helped. At this time, I'm taking a prebiotic but have only been on it for a few days so I don't know if it will help. I also take Imodium every 3 to 4 days just to keep the diarrhea at bay. It has helped but I would like to be able to ingest natural products instead of over the counter medication. Thanks for your help.

[powerofprobio in reply to AMC49]

Oh my gosh! That was me a year ago, and for years before that! Please please please email me. I will give you all the info you need to change this for you! You probably have an overgrowth of candida fungus, which, for some reason, was never brought up by my doctor!!! Here's my email: [e-mail]

Hope to hear from you soon!

[powerofprobio in reply to AMC49]

Hi! Here's the link to the Probiotic and Magnesium supplement...these two have really helped! ProBio5 and BioCleanse (very effective, gentle, I take one a day) shopmyplexus.com/bethcurley It's not a unicorn pill....please give it time to work, and drink half your body weight in ounces of water everyday! It's really important!. I waited and found relief after about 3 weeks. But even if it had taken four - six weeks it was still better than the lifetime of gas/bloating/diarrhea and constipation issues I had been dealing with. Keep me posted!

[LokiX in reply to powerofprobio]

Thank you for your reply. I'd be really grateful for the name of the probiotic tablets please as it seems to be taking so long for me to "balance out" from that awful July attack, despite the introduction of lotsa yogurt into diet and all manner of other foodstuffs, let alone the elimination of others. Thank you so much.

[powerofprobio in reply to LokiX]

Hi! Here's the link to the Probiotic and Magnesium supplement...these two have really helped! ProBio5 and BioCleanse (very effective, gentle, I take one a day) shopmyplexus.com/bethcurley It's not a unicorn pill....please give it time to work, and drink half your body weight in ounces of water everyday! It's really important!. I waited and found relief after about 3 weeks. But even if it had taken four - six weeks it was still better than the lifetime of gas/bloating/diarrhea and constipation issues I had been dealing with. Keep me posted!

[Lisahelen]

There is a hu forum for gf/ coeliacs you might want to join for any other info.

Gluten free guerillas.