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Anyone else feels different in another country?

Melissa93

By Melissa93
in Traveling with Celiac Disease

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Melissa93 Contributor
Melissa93
Posted

Hey everyone,..

I'm newly diagnosed since November, and after two weeks I left the USA for my home country The Netherlands to spend December and January there. While I was there I was eating strictly gluten free certified food (which is <20 ppm there), but in a gluten household. Even though I thought there must have been quite some little cross contamination, I wasn't having much GI problems. I was really happy with the progress I'd been making and was seeing and feeling a ton of difference.

Now after those two months I came back to the USA and it's been pretty much a disaster.. I think I'm free of symptoms about 50% of the time now, which is very frustrating and making me anxious. I've already figured out that I can't take lactose and fructose well, but that I'd figure out in Europe as well. Now it seems that if I eat products with Millet and/or Sorghum I also suffer from really bad GI problems. Grains that aren't used in Dutch gluten-free products but are used here a lot. Even though I'm trying to eliminate all of those now, I'm still getting pain on days I've only eaten gluten-free certified foods without millet/sorghum.

Now I'm wondering if other people have a different response in other countries or in Europe? While the products I was eating in the Netherlands are <20ppm and here I usually only eat <10ppm, I wonder if the gluten particals here are more aggressive or something? Does anyone have other advice for me? I'm getting a little desperate as I feel so well on a good day and so bad again on the bad ones.

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DontEatFrenchFries Apprentice
DontEatFrenchFries
Posted

I don't think the US does enough regulation on gluten, personally. It's difficult to trust anything that's not certified gluten free or just plain meats, fruits, and veggies. However, since I am American and used to being here I feel a lot more confident in knowing what to eat and what to avoid. I struggled in Europe and Amsterdam and got glutened a lot just because I didn't know as much about what to avoid and how certain foods are prepared. I also did really well in Mexico but again I think because I am more familiar with different food preparations there and can navigate more easily. I struggled a lot in Europe and Asia and felt sick the whole time.

EDIT: I don't think the gluten itself is more aggressive, but it is common here for food business to prepare multiple products, so cross-contamination is very common. Maybe in other countries, it's more common for a business to make only one thing?

Melissa93 Contributor
Melissa93
Posted
  • Author
4 minutes ago, DontEatFrenchFries said:

I don't think the US does enough regulation on gluten, personally. It's difficult to trust anything that's not certified gluten free or just plain meats, fruits, and veggies. However, since I am American and used to being here I feel a lot more confident in knowing what to eat and what to avoid. I struggled in Europe and Amsterdam and got glutened a lot just because I didn't know as much about what to avoid and how certain foods are prepared. I also did really well in Mexico but again I think because I am more familiar with different food preparations there and can navigate more easily. I struggled a lot in Europe and Asia and felt sick the whole time.

Yes that makes sense. I think a lot is lost in the language barrier as well. I have a job with a very high travel frequency and with this pandemic I have been bound to nyc, but at one point it will start again and I'm anxious thinking about it haha. In my case I might have gotten used to how food is labelled in the Netherlands, where they have to label gluten as an allergen, so if a product is made without gluten ingredients and doesn't say it may contain gluten, it's usually safe. While here I can't buy that pesto that has no 'gluten free' label but seems gluten-free based on ingredients. (apart from restaurants which always suck and I can definitely imagine getting glutened in Amsterdam).

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

My wife comes from Taiwan so I've spent a lot of time there. Obviously I have a translator with me but my overall health seems to improve quite a bit when I'm there. Part of this is because I walk a lot more than usual, and part is because I'm more in "vacation mode" and am less stressed out, but another part has to be the extremely fresh produce, seafood, fruits, etc. that I eat when I'm there. The average diet there is much more healthy than that of the USA.

  • 4 weeks later...
BuddhaBar Collaborator
BuddhaBar
Posted

Never been to the US, but I have a couple online friends from the US and from what I understand US has a lot of processed foods with an ingredients list longer than the Old Testament. 

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

This is true, but you can certainly also easily find healthy foods, as we have many grocery stores and now restaurants that cater to more healthy eaters.

Melissa93 Contributor
Melissa93
Posted
  • Author

Hahah yes they do have those products, but like Scott said, there are also healthy alternatives. I’ve mainly struggled with having naturally gluten-free products in the house that eventually had trace gluten without labeling. Like my coconut oil or quinoa from Whole Foods.
 

But happy to report that it seems that I found the culpit in my kitchen which were some spices and my non-stick and cast-iron pan. 

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BuddhaBar Collaborator
BuddhaBar
Posted

But I do envy that there's so many foods to choose from in the US. If I ever go there, the first place I would visit is Walmart.

Can you imagine being a celiac in Italy? There must be wheat flour particles in the air 

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

You would be surprised...some of the best gluten-free products come from Italy. Barilla gluten-free pasta is an example, and you could not tell the difference between it and wheat pasta. They actually mass screen kids for celiac disease in many areas of Italy, and so their diagnosis rate is higher than many other European countries. 

Melissa93 Contributor
Melissa93
Posted
  • Author

Hahah I think everyone has those feelings about other countries. I'm from The Netherlands and sometimes I see what they have there and I get so jealous for not living there right now. But I know celiacs that come to visit nyc and are sooo jealous of all the dedicated gluten-free restaurants here (which I must admit, is quite lovely). 

But tbh, it is quite surprising that Italy is so on top of it. Makes me feel slightly less afraid of travel lol.

  • 1 month later...
GodsGal Community Regular
GodsGal
Posted

I have some friends who are living in Thailand. They gave me a Thai cookbook. It is fun to look at the book and see all of the things I can eat! Just have to watch the sauces! 😊

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

Thai food is usually gluten-free, but you do need to speak with the chef to be sure. If they are authentic and from Thailand, the chances are much higher that many of their dishes will be safe. I have found a couple of Thai restaurants that I go to regularly, but only after speaking with the owner/chef about the various dishes I order. I still take GliadinX (a sponsor here!) before I eat out, just in case, and would definitely take lots with me on any trip.

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