How/where Do I Find...? Is It Necessary..?

[Creative-Soul]

I've been poring through as many of the threads and posts as I possibly can in the past few days, but my eyes are getting tired!! I've learned a lot from the posts but didn't want to ask anything that's already on...but I'm a newbie so I'm going to ask anyway! I've seen it mentioned about people using gluten-free personal care products; I don't remember ever seeing anything like that - where can I find them? (Stores? Internet? I didn't know that there was gluten-free toothpaste!!!!)

Also...do you really have to use different silverware and cuttingboards? Pots I can understand...this is all still new and tough to navigate sometimes! Please help! Thanks a million!

[Guhlia]

There are many companies who make naturally gluten free things. They are not necessarily marketed as such, but they will list any gluten-containing ingredients. Unilever (Suave) and Dove come to mind for personal care stuff. As far as new silverware and cutting boards, I would say give the silverware that you have a really good wash, but I would replace the cutting boards. Gluten can get stuck in the crevices that your knives have made making it virtually impossible to clean thoroughly. Better safe than sorry, right?

[kbtoyssni]

I've been poring through as many of the threads and posts as I possibly can in the past few days, but my eyes are getting tired!! I've learned a lot from the posts but didn't want to ask anything that's already on...but I'm a newbie so I'm going to ask anyway! I've seen it mentioned about people using gluten-free personal care products; I don't remember ever seeing anything like that - where can I find them? (Stores? Internet? I didn't know that there was gluten-free toothpaste!!!!)

Also...do you really have to use different silverware and cuttingboards? Pots I can understand...this is all still new and tough to navigate sometimes! Please help! Thanks a million!

I use mainstreet personal care products - you just have to read the labels. I use Colgate toothpaste. I know aquafresh is also gluten-free. Sensodyne is NOT.

I use thermasilk shampoo/conditioner. Suave is also gluten-free. Aveeno is NOT and I don't think biolage is, either. I find that the more expensive shampoos are the ones with gluten because they're using oats and wheat and all this supposedly good natural stuff.

I'm sure if you do a search here on the different brands of makeup and personal care product you use, someone will have posted whether or not they're gluten-free.

You'll want to replace anything in the kitchen that's wooden because gluten can easily get into the cracks as well as scratched pans. I don't know if you share a kitchen with gluten-eaters, but if so you'll definitely want your own toaster. I would also recommend your own cutting board and pans due to scratching, but you should be fine sharing everything else (as long as it gets washed well!)

[DingoGirl]

Hello and welcome.....

check out Nini's Newbie Kit:

Open Original Shared Link

I don't bother with gluten-free shampoos/conditioners, hair color, adn even some lotions, have not had a problem, but others are cautious with it. Definitely gluten-free lipsticks, toothpaste, chapsticks, etc., things that obviously go in your mouth.

I didn't replace any silverware, pots, pans, even my toaster oven - just cleaned it carefully. Gave a good scrub to my wooden cutting board, and did get a new colander. Haven't had any problems wtih any of it. However, I do live alone, adn no one is contaminating my kitchen.....but I have friends visit who eat lots of gluten-y things, and not a problem with that either.

Welcome, and ask as many questions as you like! We were all where you are, once.

[frenchiemama]

I don't have separate cutting board, utensils, cookware, etc. because my husband doesn't cook. If he eats gluten stuff in the house it's either a frozen pizza or takeout. I got a new toaster and new baking pans (after making myself sick using my old baking pans) but nothing else. Even when I ate gluten things, they never would have been on my cutting boards. Those are pretty much for vegetables only.

[Creative-Soul]

You'll want to replace anything in the kitchen that's wooden because gluten can easily get into the cracks as well as scratched pans. I don't know if you share a kitchen with gluten-eaters, but if so you'll definitely want your own toaster. I would also recommend your own cutting board and pans due to scratching, but you should be fine sharing everything else (as long as it gets washed well!)

I share a house with gluten-eaters, so I'll definitely take these recommendations seriously. Thank you all SO much for all your suggestions; they are very appreciated! Since adjusting my diet a few times, I feel much better, but there are still some times when I feel symptoms like the old exhaustion creeping back and I scramble frantically trying to figure out if I ate anything weird, etc...this may help solve that mystery! There are so many little things to consider that you may not think of (immediately), if at all...

Like the computer keypad...everybody eats here! and I can pretty much guarantee to you now that if I ask that no-one do so, I'll get the "she has horns growing out of her head AND she just turned purple" look. They are still struggling with the fact that, no, I can't, "just have a little of this; it can't be that bad/painful!" - so it's going to be interesting when I start using a different cutting board!! Because I'm still learning about this stuff I get a little tired having to explain things over and over...but I have this is my health, so I have to remind myself to stick up for me!

I'll have to constantly remind myself to always keep my hands clean, I guess...

[loraleena]

If you prefer natural products, you can use Tom's of Maine toothpaste, and Giovanni hair products. Also all Shakai products are gluten free.

[Sissy]

I had no idea that externally used products containing gluten could be a problem, heck, I had no idea that those products even contained gluten...Like Creative Soul I too have been reading like a fiend on this board trying to absorb as much as I can in a short time..there is so much to know, but fortunately you all seem to be very generous in passing along your experiences and knowledge. Sissy

[Creative-Soul]

Sissy, I didn't know that myself until yesterday when I saw it in some of the previous posts! I'm definitely going to make sure my toothpaste is okay, and I've also been reminding myself constantly to keep washing my hands,especially after touching this keypad. I've been feeling so darned tired again lately -that's one of my uh-oh signals - and I'm almost convinced that it's not anything I've eaten, so I'm kind of hoping that this will prove to be the issue/will help. Thank you so much, guys!

[Sissy]

Creative Soul, You are one step farther than I am, I am still trying to accept the whole thing and make sense of some of it. I am 64 years old and this is the first allergy...sensitivity or reaction I have ever had to anything that I was aware of..looking back for a few years I realize that there were signs there I just wasn't picking up on them...I would think that I had a touch of food poisoning or something just didn't agree with me or that I had the flu but until I had a few episodes that lasted 2 and 3 weeks and began feeling like I didn't even want to get out of bed much less do anything fun I didn't realize that it was something else. The only reason I finally figured out what was going on with me is because several years ago in the 80's my aunt came to live with us because she had been feeling so sick she had to quit work...she went to several doctors who were no help at all and then found a doctor that luckily for her suspected Celiacs, did the biopsy and diagnosed her, she went back to Philadelphia, changed her diet and was able to return to work...I did not know until a few weeks ago when I started researching it on the internet that it was genetically transferred. I also had no idea how many products had gluten in them and the biggest surprise of all was the external gluten thing....we retired to a rural area of NE Oklahoma and I am afraid it is going to be very difficult for me to find gluten free products here as our health food store is very limited. I see that you have the very next member number to me so know that all this is as new to you as to I. Sissy

[daffadilly]

re gluten free products: for newbies you are better off eating very little of that stuff, if any, until you are healed somewhat & feeling really good, so that you can tell if a new product makes you sick. Some of us me, at 60, do better with no grains. I eat a little rice and corn in white corn tortillas as a bread replacement. I recommend Lundberg Rice chips, and rice cakes, those people only do rice so there is less chance of cross contamination. Some of the other products make me sick. I am very sensitive to even a whiff of gluten.

That said you can order anything you want off the internet if you cannot find it locally.

For those of you that have to live in a house where they are eating gluten, the cross contamination symptoms will become more of a problem the longer you are gluten-free, hence the reason some of you might be noticing a problem now after being gluten-free a while.

also, it is not uncommon once you are gluten-free to notice that you have another food intolerance, but this does not always happen.

wishing the best healthiest days to everyone

[Creative-Soul]

re gluten free products: for newbies you are better off eating very little of that stuff, if any, until you are healed somewhat & feeling really good, so that you can tell if a new product makes you sick. Some of us me, at 60, do better with no grains. I eat a little rice and corn in white corn tortillas as a bread replacement. I recommend Lundberg Rice chips, and rice cakes, those people only do rice so there is less chance of cross contamination. Some of the other products make me sick. I am very sensitive to even a whiff of gluten.

For those of you that have to live in a house where they are eating gluten, the cross contamination symptoms will become more of a problem the longer you are gluten-free, hence the reason some of you might be noticing a problem now after being gluten-free a while.

also, it is not uncommon once you are gluten-free to notice that you have another food intolerance, but this does not always happen.

Thanks for the info, Daffadilly! I've always been in tune with my body, but am super-sensitive to all the cues and re-actions now, of course! I love the Lundburg brown rice cakes with raw cashew or almond butter (can't eat peanuts) occasionally. I've also been experimenting with Quinoa at times so I'm not just eating brown rice - every time I eat potatoes recently I feel like a baby whale so I've added those to my 'do not eat' list . I've found also that I have to be careful with bottled ground stuff, more specifically, cinnamon - the brand I used to use, anyway - talk about the stomach-ache from hell. What the...can anyone explain that? So I've been getting fresh herbs,etc, and grinding them myself...

I think that I've had many of the allergies manifesting more strongly now for years, but I think that I'd gotten so used to feeling like crap for so long that everything was a blur. It was only when I put myself on a serious detox @ last October last year that a lot of lightbulbs lit up in my head! I'd gone through the worst bout of constpation in my LIFE, and afterwards I felt like I was run over by a dump truck for like, two weeks. My body only wanted very light things so I kept it simple with fruit, lots of water, vegetables and gentle teas - no sugar or any other processed goods - for about a month. It was then I noticed something miraculous...I wasn't bloated anymore! It hit me that I was almost always bloated before, but it was so constant that not knowing any other experience I didn't realise that this wasn't 'normal'! My migraines just stopped; I wasn't so exhausted all the time that I felt like the walking dead...

So I called a good friend who's toddler son has celiac, and who has put her whole household on a gluten-free diet. We discussed what was going on with me and she is the one who told me about this site...and that's how my journey began. When I started rotating certain food back into my diet - whoa!!! Talk about a learning experience; other allergies began to show up to the 10th power.

Sissy, you're not alone!! Everyone here has gone through what we have, and I'm so grateful for a resourse like this. So...welcome, come by often, and feel free to ask away!! We're all in this together!

[Budew]

Validation for so many things. That's what I get from this board.

I have been gluten-free 7 years. I am still working on feeling great. I am much better the last year. I really began to cut out foods. I have been vegetarian 30 years. I can tolerate some dairy especially high fat low protien products. I have not had any grains for a few months now. I feel much better for it, so I am looking into using tapioca and buckwheat soon. I have trouble with nightshades but seem to be tolerating white potato without a reaction. I have been off all nightshades for almost 2 years. I quit legumes about 3 months ago on a hunch. I knew I was no longer having the stabbing abdominal and back pains but the black bean soup story will make it easier to decide to be very careful. My doctor wants me to eat them, but so far split peas are as close as I have come to eating legumes.

I got really serious a couple years ago checking medications, personal care items, cooking cross contamination. It has made a huge difference for me. I use suave shampoo, brush with crest occassionally but usually stick with baking soda. I use bleach and vinegar for cleaning. I have separate cookware, utensils and cuttingboards. Changing to gluten free cosmetics made a big difference for me (and my mom gluten-free 50 years, reluctant to buy special make up noticed the difference immediately)

I think not rushing to use gluten-free substitute products is good advice. Even quinona can be hard on a system that has not fully healed. I did not use many alternative products but each time I increased a type of grain I found myself sick. First corn, then rice, then soy...now I stay away from all of them.

Best of luck to you all! Budew