Overwhelmed

[mnbrave]

HI,

I was just diagnosed with severe ( actually she said profound) iron and vitamin D deficiencies, malabsorption syndrome probably due to Celiacs. I was told to eat red meat 3 times a week, take prescription strength vitamin D and become wheat and gluten free. I am so confused from all I have been reading. It's not all black and white. There are many shades of gray. Is everything with artificial coloring and flavoring made with gluten? Diet soda? Is there someplace where there is some sort of list? Any advice and/or thoughts would be welcome. Please help.

Mara

[CarlaB]

Mara,

Welcome to the board.

First, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, rice and potatoes are naturally gluten-free so start there. Then, if there is a particular food you like, you can look for a gluten-free replacement for it.

Nini (a board member) has a newbie kit. If you see one of her posts, click the link to her website and you can download the kit. That is the best place for you to start, then start asking questions! It takes time, and it's hard to learn in the beginning, but it becomes second nature as you are on the diet for a while.

[Ursa Major]

Hi Mara, and welcome to this board.

If your doctor thinks that eating red meat three times a week will bring your iron levels back up to normal, she is wrong. It will take a lot more than that.

First off, your gut can't absorb iron right now, and you may need iron injections to bring the iron up to where you can function. Also, you need to get that vitamin D up fast, because without it your body can't absorb calcium and magnesium, which will lead to osteoporosis (which you may have already, you need to have a bone density scan done to find out). You may want to consider taking cod liver oil for your vitamin D. Butter is also high in vitamin D, plus, good old sunshine every day will be good, too.

You doctor seems to still hang onto the myth that red meat isn't good for you, hence eating it only three times a week. For iron, you should first of all eat red meat more often than that, plus you might want to eat liver regularly.

It will be best and easiest to start out with eating naturally gluten-free foods, until you get the hang of the diet. Diet sodas don't necessarily have gluten (even though I believe some do), but are generally bad for you, and you really need to make what you eat and drink count towards getting better now. So, it would be best to cut out all junk for at least a while.

Also, you need to check all your personal care items (shampoo/conditioner/mousse, soap, lotions, lipstick, bubble-bath, toothpaste etc.) for gluten, as you can gluten yourself with those. Look for things like wheat germ oil, barley extract and oat bran, plus vitamin E might be derived from wheat germ oil. If in doubt, call the manufacturor to find out if it has gluten.

I hope this isn't too overwhelming, and that you'll feel better soon.

[Guest nini]

You will also need to take a good gluten-free multivitamin and probiotics and digestive enzymes... the newbie kit is on my website, link in my signature, then at the bottom of my webpage.

[tiffjake]

  mnbrave said:

HI,

I was just diagnosed with severe ( actually she said profound) iron and vitamin D deficiencies, malabsorption syndrome probably due to Celiacs. I was told to eat red meat 3 times a week, take prescription strength vitamin D and become wheat and gluten free. I am so confused from all I have been reading. It's not all black and white. There are many shades of gray. Is everything with artificial coloring and flavoring made with gluten? Diet soda? Is there someplace where there is some sort of list? Any advice and/or thoughts would be welcome. Please help.

Mara

Hi Mara! Welcome! Stay Brave, you can do this! You have great advice so far! I second CarlaB, sticking to naturally wheat/gluten free foods will be the best for now. Fruits, Veggies, Meats (that you cook at home, simple, no frying). You may feel like a rabbit for a little while. There area lot of great gluten-free meal ideas, and when you want to be adventurous, you can find them on this site or many others.

You soda, made in the US, should be fine. It is the caramel coloring that is a concern, but in the US, it is not made from gluten sources.

There are lists, and often, you can find the info on the companies’ website! Just take it one step at a time, and ask anyone here (through the postings) if you have other questions!

A good vitamin is important. I take prenatal, because they are LOADED!

[daffadilly]

Hi Mara, & welcome you will soon get the hang of eating gluten-free, it is a little hard at first.

I second the suggestion to ditch the diet sodas - the artificial sweetner and all the other junk in them are jsut not good for you.

also, do not forget to clean the gluten out of your kitchen, maybe that info is in the newbie packet.

Hope you are much better soon

[Matilda]

..

[Carriefaith]

Here are links to safe and forbidden foods:

https://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodi...-51106512845.d9

https://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodi...-51106512845.d9

[kabowman]

I loved the cleaning out all of the gluten (and for me all the rest of stuff I can't eat) out of the cabinets. I only kept a few things for the kids and hubby but the baking stuff all went. I was very cathartic!!!!

Ditto to checking out beauty products. Watch kissing if your significant other (maybe yes, maybe no) has been consuming something with gluten.

All this gets better, once you get past the learning curve. Also, I had my oldest son help me read the ingredients (he started on his own so I just started including him) and he would find stuff that I missed or skipped over. That extra set of eyes was very benificial in the beginning especially.

Anything porous we use for my foods is dedictated, meaning the kids and hubby don't contaminate it with their foods - teflon pots and pans, wooden utensils, cutting boards, sponges, towels, and cast iron (I have mine and we have theirs). Stainless steel can be shared.

We cook our meals gluten-free and occasionally I add something as a side that is not for the kids and DH. But mostly, it is all gluten-free. Sauces are added at the table or on a special section of the counter where my food is NOT and is considered a shared area that I rarely use.

Many charcoals (sp?) have gluten...we had moved to a new house and decided for us, it was time for a grill change so our new grill, gas, is clean and only my food goes on there - no BBQ unless I make it.

[Guest nini]

the newbie kit does contain the April Delphi list, I haven't had a chance to change it to the August Delphi list yet, BUT I have uploaded the August Delphi list to the web page under the Files for the newbie kit where you can download the individual files instead of one zip file...