Help? I'm New...

[Mr. T.]

Hi, I have just been diagnosed with Celiac Desease and I am trying to sort through what I can and can not eat. I have read several differing things. I will be seeing my doctor soon, but I would like to start today to feel better.

Couple of questions? Can I eat soy flour? Can I eat yeast? Can I eat oats? Am I correct that I can not eat Rye, Barley, and Wheat?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your time..

[aklap]

Hi Mr. T,

Welcome to the board! Sorry to hear about your diagnosis (dx). But now, you know, and you can get on the road to health.

Figuring all this out will take some time. Just be patient - it will come to you.

Can I eat soy flour?

Technically yes, pure soy flour it is GF. You may find that you might have multiple food intolerance. Soy is one of the Big 8.

Can I eat yeast?

Most yeast is fine. Some commercial yeast has gluten in it. I know some people that also have been tested for and have problems with GF yeast too. Red Star Yeast is GF.

Can I eat oats?

At this point in the game, you are best to stay away from them. At least until you have healed and are feeling good. Oats are controverisial. While pure oats will not give most celiacs problems and can be eaten, regular oats have HIGH contamination factor. There are a few companies that are in the process of offering pure (no contamination) oats to us. McCann's Irish oats are said to be GF, but I think they may have some contaminination issues. Maybe someone can back me up on that. As I said, I would wait until everything settles down, so that you know if they are causing you problems. We have several theads on Oats. I post them here when I have time to find them

If you haven't seen it already, you might check out Our Thread on GF Diet Boot Camp. This covers the basics of the diet and should give you a good start.

Glad you're here. Don't be afraid to ask questions - I know you'll have many. We'll help any way we can to make this as smooth as possible!!

Good luck in your GF Journey!!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[cruelshoes]

Welcome to Mr. T! I pity the fool that has celiac disease!


Has you Dr. suggested seeing a dietician? If you get a good one, they can be a lot of help getting started.

My Dr reccommended that I avoid oats for at least a year. You might want to scale back your diet to the basics for now while you heal. Plain meats and veggies/fruit. plain rice, potatoes, etc. That helps take some of the worry out of it while you are learning what you can eat.

Welcome to the board. We have a really nice bunch of people here.
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[aklap]

[Mr. T.]

I really appreciate the feedback and the humour! Unfortunatly I don't look like that Mr. T.!

I will be seeing my doctor as soon as I return from a Business Trip and his HMO has a dietition that I will be seeing. I know that it takes awhile to see her, so all this is helpful.

Thanks for the directions on this site! I will keep investigating...

[mrsppmrxky]

Welcome to the board. It is very overwhelming at first. I always tell people that I talk with that are new to CD that it feels as if you have been dropped off into a new world where food is poison to you and you aren't sure of the language on the labels to prevent getting poisoned.

We have all been there with that 'helpless, overwhelming feeling'. It really isn't that bad.

Instead of looking at what you can't eat, look at all of the foods that you can eat.

One thing that I didn't know at first was to read the labels on fresh meat. In the supermarkets, they inject many with broth and it could contain gluten, so read the labels (chicken, beef, pork, lamb)

I didn't know that there were so many code words for 'wheat'. (Semolina, durham and on it goes) The new food labels really help, but they still aren't 100%.

While you are learning, it is best to shop the perimeter of the store: Fresh fruits and veggies, meat and dairy if you aren't allergic to that. You can start reading and learning and then adding to the diet.

Ask questions! Believe me, once you get this you ask all kinds of things. It is funny at some of the meetings how people openly talk about their poop, vitamins, foods, and not bat an eye with embarrassment.

Know that you are going to make mistakes as you are learning. It takes time to get all of the hidden gluten out of your diet. My best advice I can give you is read every label in the grocery store. (It will take you a long time the first couple of trips in the store, but you soon learn what labels are good for you and it becomes easier.)

Once you aren't feeling so overwhelmed, you will want to start learning how to make your own breads and branching out. (I would not push this too fast, because it might be more overwhelming ..............also, do not judge what your food is going to taste like by some of the Gluten free ready made products..........some of them are just plain horrible, but many are good.)

I have been learning how to cook GF for just over 2 yrs now. I can honestly say that I have come up with a replacement for almost everything that we ate before, so we don't feel deprived. (I personally don't like the GF Allpurpose mix that is pre-made.....it has a metal taste to me. I make up my own mix. It really isn't hard! As I said before, you might want to hold off for a bit on that until you get the basics down first.)

When you get ready to branch out, ask questions for fool proof recipes to get started. We can point you to some really good ones, so you don't get discouraged. (of course different people like different foods, so you do have to take that into account.)

Okay, I have rattled on for long enough. LOL

Relax. This is really not that hard............it just takes practice.
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