Tips for going Gluten Free

[Ghough]

Hi All,

I'm trying to omit gluten from my diet because I have an interactive thyroid and waiting on the results for my antibodies.

Do you have any tips for going Gluten free? What works well for you? I'm finding it challenging.

Thanks in advance 😊

[Peanut31]

When I first went gluten free due to Hashimoto’s and underactive Thyroid, I went mad buying everything gluten free.

However, I soon learnt some gluten free things tasted horrible and full of sugar.

I try and eat as fresh as possible, plenty of fruit, veg, salads, homemade soups, stir fry’s etc.

I try not to have too much gluten free bread, but I like Schär, crisps, seabrook, or Pom bears.

Most supermarkets have a free from section. You will find gluten free products are a lot more money than non gluten.

Lots of restaurants have gluten free menus/options, but, I tend to stick to steak and salad or salmon.

Best Wishes

Peanut31

[Ghough in reply to Peanut31]

Yes, I agree the products taste terrible. Thanks for the suggestions on food to eat.

Can I ask did it help yoyr symptoms going Gluten free? And how did you know gluten was a trigger?

[Peanut31 in reply to Ghough]

My antibodies have actually increased since going gluten free.

The reason I started going gluten free was I started getting horrendous stomach pain, trapped wind and bloating. I was in agony, often couldn’t move. The following day my tummy felt bruised.

I’m also dairy free as well as I made a connection that when I had dairy my finger and toes felt like I had arthritis,

I did a gluten sensitivity blood test (whilst still eating gluten) and that came back negative.

But all my symptoms and as I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s pointed to leaky gut. I don’t have tummy trouble anymore unless I have gluten by accident.

Interestingly, I started to see a nutritionist and she did a very in dept food intolerance test and it showed I was intolerant to gluten and dairy and several other things.

I had a few toffees a few months ago, not thinking they had gluten in, a few hours later I was double up in pain, tummy and sides, hot water bottle and a hot bath helped. I looked pregnant.

Best wishes

Peanut31

[Nanaedake]

Just buy fresh food rather than factory made gluten free products. I use a steamer and do lots of veg at once and keep some in the fridge for the week and for lunches. Some people think you shouldn't use a steamer with aluminium element but as the water is vapourised and the element is not in touch with any food I can't see a problem unless vapour can carry aluminium. You could use a bamboo steamer instead though.

[Ghough in reply to Nanaedake]

It all seems so complex when it comes to diet. I'm trying to eat plenty of salads, fruits and veg but have read articles on how harmful they are because of pesticides! I can't afford strictly organic brands.

Thank you for your help.

[Nanaedake in reply to Ghough]

If you peel your veg you will remove a lot of possible residue and also wash veg before peeling and cooking. Sometimes organic is not much more expensive so look for veg in season. Wash salad, I use a salad spinner to dry it off. You can buy a cheap one in bargain shops, they should be available in the summer.

How about growing some of your own?

[Nanaedake]

You can also do fish and rice in the steamer so it makes a whole meal in one go in about 20 mins. Sweet potato is good to add to your list of veg.

[crimple]

It really is better and often a lot cheaper to cook from scratch. I can eat fish , meat, veg, fruit. I can't eat eggs so that rules out a lot of GF manufactured stuff. Morrisons do own brand GF bread, bread buns and spiced buns and I buy some GF shortbread biscuits and GF pasta and occasionally GF pizza bases. Eating out is getting much easier. The "killers" are sauces, sometimes gravy, malt vinegar. The coeliac society is useful for giving lists of gluten free manufactured foods.

[Summer64]

I tried it for a year and to be honest didn't find much of an improvement. My IBS improved a bit so could be a connection there. I try not to have an overload but have put it back in my diet as it is very expensive compared to ordinary stuff. I didn't like the bread and cakes much. I try and have ryvita instead of bread now but love my toast for breakfast, just one slice. There is a company called Amy's Kitchen that do a range of things I like. Their Ricemac is a frozen macaroni cheese made with rice and I love that but double the price of an ordinary one. Their tinned soups are nice too. There are also some biscuits like oatcakes that you can find in the non gluten free section of supermarkets and that don't cost any more than ordinary ones, same with cereals.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Summer64]

If your IBS improved then likely gluten is a problem

Ordinary oat cakes or oats are not guaranteed to be gluten free

I agree with Maxxxx M&S bread is excellent- especially new oaty one

[Summer64 in reply to SlowDragon]

You do have to look at the labels. I was surprised to find wheat in wine gums. Is this M & S bread gluten free then? Sadly I don't live where there is an M & S but my daughter does and as I only need a loaf a week I could always ask her to get it for me.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Summer64]

Yes they have a small gluten free section in most food departments. About 5-6 different breads, also brown seeded thins - make good sandwiches

Also a lot of their ready meals are gluten free

[Maxxxx]

My health has definitely improved since I went gluten free and if I accidentally eat some I end up with a headache so I know i'm doing the right thing.

It was initially challenging for me but now I'm in the swing of it. First of all I thought - what am I going to miss - the answer was toast, pasta, baking and sauces. So, I started to look for alternatives. Toast was easy - Marks and Spencer do great gluten free bread and also some specialty bread shops do as well. I'm in London so we have Le Pain Quotidien which does a nice gluten free bread. For baking I use a mixture of buckwheat flour, gluten free flour from Waitrose, rice flour, almond flour, banana flour (just discovered it), etc. For thickening sauces I use buckwheat flour which gives the food a really nice flavour. Most of the gluten free pastas were really disgusting until I discovered Barilla which is amazing and tastes just like 'real' pasta.

I personally don't buy gluten free cakes, pastries, biscuits etc. as I'm worried about what other junk is in them so I agree with the others that making food from scratch is best.

Restaurants can usually accommodate people who are gluten free. The biggest challenge is when you eat at other people's houses as they sometimes think you are just being faddy or say things like, "well, there's only a little flour in it" or things like that, not realised that a little is like a lot if you are gluten intolerant. I sometimes bring a plastic zip-lock bag with gluten free bread and gluten free oatcakes just so that I don't have to miss out.

You can go gluten free for two weeks and see if you feel better. Then you can re-introduce gluten and see if you get a reaction. That way you should have a good idea if it is something that would help you. I personally think that everyone with Hashimotos should be gluten free.

[Summer64 in reply to Maxxxx]

You are lucky to live where there is such a nice variety. I'm in a small country town and not so much choice. I did find that a half and half mix of corn flour and rice flour with a bit of gluten free baking powder made a nice cake that came out just like ordinary ones and I always use corn flour for sauces and thickening. It is really the bread issue I find the hardest. I will get my daughter to have a look in her M & S for me but it is a small branch.

[Maxxxx in reply to Summer64]

Hi you could try requesting the bread in your local branch if they don't have it. If they know there is a demand they will hopefully cater to it. Also if you find some you like you could freeze it and either toast it straight out of the freezer or defrost and its perfectly nice.

[Summer64 in reply to Maxxxx]

Can you give me the exact name for it please and I will certainly try that? I haven't liked any of the breads I've tried so far although they are better toasted. Genius was the best of the ones I've tried.

[Maxxxx in reply to Summer64]

The M & S brown bloomer slices (Free from range) is pretty good but they have lots of different things you could try. I just looked on their website and found this page with recipes and advice. They have lots of interesting looking things. Here's the link: marksandspencer.com/s/food-...

I personally don't eat a lot of this kind of thing as I am trying to keep fairly low carb for diet reasons. But i love my toast & butter! Also Barilla do a really good gluten free pasta.

[Summer64 in reply to Maxxxx]

Thank you. I will try and get to my nearest store and see what they have in.

[sarihoult in reply to Maxxxx]

I found your post really helpful... thank you 🙏🏼