Going gluten free

[Funnygembunni]

What fruits and veggies are guaranteed safe for going gluten free? Is white rice plain gluten free? And I can have any kind of meat?

[Fruitandnutcase]

Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains, including barley and rye. Gluten gives elasticity to dough, helping it rise and keep its shape and often gives the final product a chewy texture.

Fruit and veg are gluten free. Rice - it depends - read this celiacdisease.about.com/od/...

Meat is fine.

There is a HU group called Gluten Free Guerillas that is worth signing up to - look under ' My Communites' at the top of this page. If you join Coeliac UK you will be sent a manual with every type of gluten free food you can imagine, can't remember how much it costs to join but it is worth it for that book alone.

Once you get organised eating GF is quite simple - well I find it quite smile - loads of eats places have GF opts these days which helps.

[Funnygembunni in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thank you!!! Also, is there candy that's gluten free?

[Jazzw in reply to Funnygembunni]

Quite a lot of it is. But read the label, every time. If wheat, barley or oats are mentioned, there will be gluten in there.

[BadHare in reply to Jazzw]

gluten free, but may be ground or packaged in a factory where wheat may have been processed by the same equipment. Gluten free oats, which are processed in a factory that just has oats are available, but more expensive.

[BonsaiKid in reply to Funnygembunni]

Why would you want to eat candy? It is full of sugar which is not healthy. Many gluten-free products sold in supermarkets are full of sugar and unhealthy fats. It's one reason many celiacs and people who are intolerant of gluten don't get better.

[Jefner in reply to BonsaiKid]

I can confirm that as I am looking into Gluten free and purchased some items last week from my supermarket, never thought to look at the sugar and fat content. Purchased a box of mince pies to try which were lovely but even with my sweet tooth, I found them too much. When I looked on the box I saw why...22gms sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where would be the best place to buy gluten free products then, or is it down to reading the labels properly?

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Jefner]

I joined Coeliac UK and got their handbook of almost every GF product you can get in the uk. The annual subscription was worth it for that alone.

Tesco seems to have a lot of GF stuff in stock. Their GF aisle is gradually gettg longer and longer. They also have stuff dotted around the store - Heck's GF sausages - they are very meaty and I make a 'burger' by sandwiching the burger between two large field mushrooms. I make it with sweet potato chips - I am on low carb too - I've developed Type 2 diabetes and I've discovered my home made gf oat bran muffins really spike my blood sugar as do jacket potatoes which were my favourite stand by meal - very bad news so I'm trying to avoid that sort of carbs altogether and get my carbs elsewhere. The sweet potato ships I have to say are a bit of a faff but the Tesco ones have wheat in them

I read the labels on everything these days. Shopping takes me hours.

[Jefner in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

made another mistake myself last week and purchased some biscuits which are going right back because of the high sugar content. I am going to be reading all piggin labels too from now on

[Jazzw]

You have to become a bit of a label warrior, I'm afraid - if it can't be bought "loose", e.g., fruit, vegetables, meat and vegetables or if it doesn't tell you on the packet what's in it, don't eat it. And even if you have eaten it before, check before eating it again, as manufacturers have an extremely annoying habit of changing ingredients without notice.

Sausages are the things I'd tell you to watch for, in my experience. And of course, the breading on chicken/fish is a no no.

It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it really isn't so bad.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Jazzw]

You definitely have to read labels very carefully. Gluten crops up in the most unlikely places. Anything that has been processed in any way is likely to contain gluten.

[BadHare in reply to Jazzw]

Loose fruit & vegetables will never contain gluten.

It is a protein found in certain grains. not vegetables or fruit.

[Anthea55]

Look at the Coeliac UK website at coeliac.org.uk/home/

There are sections on gluten free diet, food shopping, cooking, eating out etc.

You don't have to be coeliac to find that a gluten free diet is helpful. I'm sensitive to wheat and oats. Wheat intolerance is very common.

[spongecat]

Holland & Barratt sell Neal's Yard Gluten Free Oats (I love my morning porridge!)....I've been fine on them although I'm not coeliac, I'm just a bit "sensitive" and get very bloated and windy(!) with some sauces, grains and things.

I think Nairns do one as well.

[oldtrout]

Check out Paleo Diet cookbooks for eating ideas as the Paleo includes no grains at all.

[suemagoo2]

Hi I certainly benefit from going gluten free and don't itch any more plus my bowels work much better. You can eat all fruit and veg. Check all labels when you shop as gluten is in a lot of processed food. You can have rice and quinoa. There are lots of gf products plus easy enough to eat out. Yes you can eat meat. I don't but eat fish and eggs. You will feel better for it!

[decembersignup]

No gluten in fruit and veg. Google it.

[decembersignup]

By the way white rice is not good for you, anyone who cares about their health has brown or black rice.

[Funnygembunni in reply to decembersignup]

Sorry I am just trying to start somewhere with the gluten free, doesn't mean I don't care about my health, means the exact opposite actually thanks for the input

[Gill-56]

Very interesting information here!

[motherelle]

Bonsai kid I'm a bit offended by your post why would you say that ? It takes a long time for a Coeliacs gut to repair and that's if by no mistake of their own they are given contaminated food . I'm gluten intolerant and feel the best I have for 10 years . We are well aware of what gf food contains but we are human like everyone else ,we don't have a choice being gf its not a will I won't I choice it's permanent for life . I eat very healthily but do treat myself to gf bread and occasional cake or biscuit .

A lot of Coeliacs remain unwell because the medical profession haven't got on top of their condition not because they eat candy or gf foods . As many patients with Thyroid problems are not treated correctly so are they .

[BonsaiKid in reply to motherelle]

Sorry I offended you motherelle. It was not my intention to offend anyone. I know it can take a long time for people with CD to repair their guts. I wasn't talking about contaminated food. I was talking about eating sugar which is not a healthy food for anyone.

The nutritionist presenter, who was a coeliac himself, of a webinar I listened to a few months ago about gut problems mentioned the fact that people who eat gluten free food from supermarkets often do not regain their health because most of the GF products contain unhealthy fats and sugar. It was a valid point because if people are following a strict GF diet but still do not do well then that could be a reason. I'm not saying that's the only reason.

I've been gluten free for years myself so I know what it's like. I also had to avoid sugar and dairy. I have to make everything myself because of the problems buying stuff that does not contain any of these things.

[conniemeg]

Read every label. Every label. lol! Don't just look to see if wheat is listed as an allergy alert (which is done here in the US). Barley malt is often added to granola bars, and barley has gluten. Watch for wheat, barley, and rye, and any derivatives of that. Also, I avoid beer because of the grains used in making it. Hard alcohol I have not had a problem with, and there is a claim that any gluten is distilled out, but if you want to be safe, use a vodka made from potatoes or grapes. And yes, lots of candy does not have gluten in it, but the upside of having to avoid gluten is eating healthier, so I try not to go there... and when you go to potlucks, avoid anything that you don't know for sure was made without gluten. I used to ask people, but they just are not aware enough. I got very sick after eating a dish that a friend brought me that she swore did not have gluten in it, but she thickened it with canned soup, and the soup had wheat flour in it. Bring your own dish to every family meal or potluck so you will at least have one thing to eat

[Funnygembunni]

Thank you everyone for you're replies I appreciate them all. I already notice a difference in how I feel which is great as I've been suffering for over a year! I was only asking about the candy because every now and again I know I will want something to make me feel like I can splurge even a little bit. I am a woman after all and we sometimes get a hankering for some chocolate

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Funnygembunni]

I'm sure you can get gf chocolate. I haven't had any. I found out at the end of December that the steroids I was taking have tipped me into T2 diabetes so I avoid sugar like the plague these days fortunately I found that when I went gf back in September I completely lost my taste dpfir sweet stuff. If you look at my name - I used to consider fruit and nut to be two of my five a day. Definitely a contributory factor to the T2 even though the steroids were really to blame. Best thing you can do to make your life easy is to join Coeliac UK and get 'the book'☀️