BRUMI1968

I use Lebanese olive oil imported to Bellingham, WA by a Lebanse businessman (owns gas stations and a mediterranean food shop). It's good, and he can't always get it - we have to wait sometimes. But it is bottled in clear glass. Hmmmm..

I really want to taste Palestinian olive oil - it is supposed to be the best in the world - but it is so hard to get. You can buy it by the truckload from the Internet, but not by the bottle...at least not the last time I tried. Maybe I'll look again...or just give it as Christmas gifts this year.

Before I got dx'd, I would be more susceptible to bloating (intestinal, I mean) during or just before my period. I haven't noticed it since. My period is more serious now - I think my hormones are adjusting out.

I'm not a nutritionist, but have seen one, though not while pregnant. Anyway, I thought I would mention the one thing I'm sure is very good for gals who are preggers: dark leafy greens. For example, kale, beet greens, chard, spinach. These are all high in folate, which you need to get ready to have the baby, and which many celiacs are deficient in. Despite the fact that often we think raw foods are healthier than cooked, these foods contain oxalates, which are decreased when cooked, which is good. Oxalates can, though don't usually, contribute to gallstones and the like.

Anyway, I eat a ton of sauteed greens -- they are in season right now so it is easy.

I chop them up and wash them.

Then sautee some leek or shallot in some olive oil

Once those are soft, I add the greens

I toss them about in the hot pan (very hot pan by this point) for only about two minutes

Then you can squeeze some lemon on them.

Salt/pepper.

Yum.

(I actually eat this for breakfast with poached eggs, but I'm unclear if eggs are particularly good for pregnant women.)

First, a sidenote about brown rice. If you add a bit of seaweed (kombu or dulse) to the cooking water, it will help break down the structure of the rice to make it easier to digest.

One way I like all rice.

Cook rice as normal.

In a pan, sautee some leek or shallot - olive oil or butter if you do butter

Finely chop some cilantro and if you like, mint, but not too much mint

Then, in a bowl, add the rice, the sauteed shallot/leek, and the chopped cilantroy - and then squeeze a lemon on.

Salt/Pepper...or for Mexican flavor, add cumin powder and chili powder if you like.

It's pretty good. Sometimes you have to add a bit more oil, depending on how generous you were while sauteeing your leeks/shallots.

This is especially good with basmati/jasmin types of rice, but I've also done it with sweet brown and long grain brown.

The suggestion to eat fermented foods probably comes from the idea that fermented foods aid in digestion, especially proteins and fats. AND it is especially important for the absorption of B12, which many folks with celiac have a deficiency in. Most cultures have some form of fermented foods, though I'm having trouble thinking of hispanic foods that fit this bill. Yoghurt maybe? There are some drinks based on fermented plants, pulque and tepache, fermented beverages made from the maguey plant and pineapple, respectively -- but those are alcohol and have their own set of problems.

If you want the healthiest kind, they need to be raw veggies; or if you can eat dairy, then kefir is good. It is like yoghurt, only liquid.

I eat raw sauerkraut. I thought it would be gross - but it is good. It is just chopped cabbage that is fermented. In this case, it is raw. It does seem to be helping me - and it seems to be making my skin really nice, which is an added bonus.

I'd focus mostly on the getting rid of the gluten, then worry about the smaller things. If your problem is celiac, you should notice a change in your skin problems pretty quickly I would think. At least I did, though my problem was not very bad.

Good luck.

I'm going to need a bigger purse. So far:

lotion

hand soap

Himalayan salt

apple cider vinegar w/ mother and lebanese olive oil (virgin of course)

boiled eggs? bowls of sauteed veggies? bag of sunflower seeds? avocado (w/ knife) apple butter (w/ spoon)

tea bags (I'm very picky)

spring water

lipbalm and if I'm lucky, lipstick

Maybe I should get a suitcase. What am I forgetting?

oh yeah, wallet.....

I am waiting to get my food panel back, and hope I'm not allergic to eggs. Since I've started this whole thing, I'm thinking I'm allergic to almonds, but I hope not. I used to be able to eat almond butter, but now whenever I do, I feel MSG'd. Yuck. Ah well, it's best to eat apples plain and on an empty stomach anyway, but almond butter makes them taste better,...less sweet.

Anyway, breakfast is tough. If I ate beans and grains, I'd have burritos of breakfast.

I don't understand. Celiac is the inability for the boyd to digest gluten. Since when is it bad to even touch it? I have food allergies that I react to if I touch those things because it if a histamine reaction. But I thought gluten had to actually go through the stomach to cause symptoms.

I'm just thinking of how often I touch my mouth at any given point in the day. I'm not religious about washing my hands a lot, and so far have not been glutened. If I touch bread to make a sandwich or something, i definitely wash, but I forget with things like spices, etc.

Now, you're probably not going to run into gluten in the public bathroom. I was just thinking it would be unfortunate to wash your hands there and then later touch your mouth and then end up eating the soap. It's a reach, I know. Just playing it safe.

I know I switched dishsoap because mine had gluten in it. Didn't seem wise to wash my dishes with the very thing that is trying to kill me.

Dunno. Just thinkin!

i have the vertical ridges, they started around the time i started getting palpitations and tinnitus, and also my nails started looking paler and i lost the white "moons" at the bottom of them on all my fingers. i've read that the ridges can be due to nutritional deficiencies and malabsorption too. i also just read that they can be due to iron deficiency as well.

nice beagles!

I find now I eat smaller meals because I feel full faster - but I get hungry faster too, so have to eat often. Maybe it's just because I'm paying so much attention to eating, that I notice I'm full, instead of plowing through a huge plate of Brussels sprouts (an uncommon weakness, I know).

I like it, but it does cause me to have to carry food around all the time. Who wants a purse full of sauteed asparagus spears and boiled eggs.

the file thing is NOT long and white. It is a spongy rectangle, with a white side (which is silk - that's the last thing), a grey side, and two blue sides. First you do blue, then gray, then white, and I swear to you it is like you have brand new nails...no, I don't sell these things. They are made by "Seacret" from thd dead sea. www.seacretspa.com. They make lotions too, which have gluten in them.

Anyway, I was trying to check out this HUGE and FANCY new outlet mall near my house, and was accosted by a woman at one of the sales carts in the middle. She did this thing to my thumb, and it was amazing. I let her talk me into buying it, even though I don't normally buy things from whence this product came (for personal political reasons).

I think it works by gently filing off your ridges, so I would think doing it very often would leave you with no fingernails at all. The cuticle oil is nice.

Interesting. I've been ejoying the sauerkraut for a few days w/o reaction. I do CRAVE it, which is odd.

The rice/almond shake has: brown rice, almonds, almond flavor, and brown rice syrup - but it is claimed to be gluten-free, and I've not had a problem with it before. They also make one called Tiger Chai, which I do have problems with, though more from the tea/spices on my empty stomach. This time it was more canker sores and amazing yuckyness.

I'm not sure. But since I wasn't eating any grains at all and the rice shake is based on grains, it was really just a treat anyway.

I'll watch the sauerkraut - do a test. All it has in it is cabbage and sea salt, but obviously it has been fermented. I'll eat a bunch of it for dinner and see what happens. Hopefully nothing!

See, onions don't bother me at all. I eat them by the truckload - mostly because I'm not allowed any sweet veggies right now (sweet potato, etc.) and so they help cut the sweet tooth, but also since they are supposed to be good to fight candida, and because I LOVE them. And they don't trouble me, at least not cooked.

Hmmmm. Well, next time I'm in the doc's office I'll see about the breath test, just to be sure. Thanks, guys!

Take it easy on the meat ... Start out small!! I'd see if there are enzymes you can take to help with digestion as you add meat back to your diet, maybe the health food store will know.

Oh I know. I've actually only eaten chicken so far, and I started out very small and built up. I really only want one bite of the bacon. I take a full spectrum digestive enzyme that I think covers meat stuff, so that should help. PLUS, I LOVE the fermented veggies - the raw sauerkraut - that is supposed to help digest meat too. I think I'm alright. I know what you mean though. I had to pick up Burger King for my husband and friend last night who were working late getting our rental ready to put up for sale, and it was the first time since I was dx'd that I thought, "why can't I just be a regular person" and get a hamburgler every now and again.

Boo hoo.

I know, I'm healthier than that. But on rare occassion, boo hoo.

Oddly, it turned out to the be Amazake Rice/Almond shake that got me. I'm not sure it was gluten, though. They don't make anything with gluten in it - so I don't know how that would be it. But the next day I had ONE SIP of another one I had - and right away was covered in canker sores. I felt like I had been MSG'd. Thankfully, just one sip and I felt better w/i a half hour or so.

Oh well. I won't be drinking those anymore. I'm waiting for my food panel to come back, so maybe it was something else.

Okay, I figure bacon is no good for you based on all the weird ingredients on the package. However, do any of these things spell gluten? In case I wanted to taste the tiniest bite of bacon after 15 years sans meat.

What if the hand soap in the public restroom has gluten in it? When I'm at the office, I just use the facility then wash my hands in my own sink back in my office (I work in a lovely Victorian building and my office has its own sink). But what about this? Anyone given it any thought? Should I carry around my own soap?

Is this a test on the regular food panel? I've eliminated all fruits/sugary veggies/sugar of any kind about a week ago. All my bloating went away (already wasn't eating grains/beans, which helped, but was stll bloated). However, I practically couldn't do anything -- no energy. I know the concept of yeast die-off, if I had a candida problem, so I tried to stick with it.

Then I gave in to my fatigue/depression (which I'm not used to having) and got a RICE/ALMOND shake. This cured me...only bloated me again.

Yesterday I ate an apple w/o bloat. It was on an empty stomach.

So I'm debating yeast problem or fructose problem.

Oh anyway, my question - if I just had a food panel run, does it check for that?

I have the ridges too - for about ten years now I think. Worse, though, is that the last year or two, I haven't been able to use them for anything, they are so weak.

But, I quit all grains a couple weeks ago and they are stronger. They still have the ridges.

I found this product that made my nails look so nice. It is a weird little square thing with multiple sides. One side files the nail (the top of it - this makes the ridges go away), the next one buffs it - so they look literally like they have clear nail polish on them.

Granted, I think since it's based on filing down your nails, it wouldn't be smart to use it too often. It is supposed to last a month.

If anyone is interested, I can go grab it and see what it is called.

On the issue of corn chips and cc, I'm curious if anyone knows what Kettle and Garden of Eatin's records are. Good/bad?

Haven't read to bottom...but I did Emal Hain, which produces Garden of Eatin ... they make their product on equipment that produces wheat, so the chips aren't clean. Boo hoo. I love their sesame blues.

My understanding is about 30% of those with ceiac suffer constipation. I know I did. I only ever got D when I had food poisoning or something. 34 years of virtually constant constipation. Yahoo.

Also, I think those with C are less likely to be underweight than those with D, though I do realize that not all with D are underweight either.

Anyway, good luck.

Oh...I don't know about acidic/alkaline stuff and aluminum foil. I just avoid aluminum altogether.

Not only is it not good for you, but it is so environmentally bad. It takes a TON of power to make the smallest amount of aluminum. That is why much of the aluminum in our country is made in my neck of the woods - the Pacific Northwest - where energy is "cheap".

Also, ONE of the industrial biproducts of aluminum manufacturing is fluoride, which is a very very nasty substance. Sure, many cities put it in their water (not mine, thankfully - we just defeated another attempt), but believe me, when it shows up in the tanker trucks to put in their water system, it's got a skull and crossbones on it. (They're not using pharmaceuitcal grade fluoride.) It is one of the biggest scams in American health history. Of course now I sound like a big conspiracy buff...but anyway. A good book is "The Fluoride Deception" where a guy actually documents the whole story and shares a ton of info and sources.

So, that's why I avoid aluminum foil and antipersperant and aluminum cans. (by my own logic, I'd also need to avoid airplanes - since aluminum makes them possible - and while I don't like flying, I admit I do now and again.)

I'm 99% sure I got glutened late today. Funny thing is, the only reason I can come up with is that I ate some sliced avocado from a friend's salad from her home. I didn't even think of cc at her house. Otherwise, I've only eaten safe things today (beet greens, poached egg, sunflower seeds...then chicken meat [which is gluten-free and which I've been eating for a week at least] with avocado, mustard [gluten-free], raw sauerkraut [gluten-free], and lettuce.

AHHHHH.

Actually, my stomach is mildly bugged - but I took a three hour nap with horrible nightmares, and I have at least two monsterous canker sores.

Well, not too bad for two and a half months off the evil gluten. Still...I wish I could eat something yummy right now, instead of being pretty sure I shouldn't put anything in this delicate stomach.

Just to clarify, folks-- if you use a clean dishrag that has gone through a full cycle of laundry with hot water, detergent & bleach, (after being exposed to gluten) do you think it is safe for wiping the (shared) counter, or not? Likewise handtowels? I'm assuming dishtowels are okay because the dishes are clean when you use them... at least they'd better be... but then again my dh & sons are not exactly super meticulous.

I try to get my gang to prepare everything on plates or cutting boards, but some crumbs do hit the counter. I always use something so my food doesn't touch the counter, but I'm thinking those cloths might be getting gluten to me somehow... I hate using SO MANY paper towels... Plus I'm lining my bakeware with foil to make sure no gluten touches my gluten-free goodies... expensive & unecological! But if that's what it takes, I guess...

Leah

as to the lining of bakeware, you might try parchment paper. It is expensive and unecological, but at least it isn't also unhealthy. Aluminum is not good for you.

Yeah. I'm usually pretty ecologically minded, but I've gone to paper towels for cleaning the counters, since I never know where gluten might be hiding. (Actuallly, over the past couple weeks, I've gotten my husband almost entirely off gluten. Don't tell him though.)