BRUMI1968

Yesterday I was minding my own business hugging my husband when I got the sharp pain in my upper left abdomen. Well, I looked it up and it sounded like my spleen to me, which freaked me out. I could not take a deep breath, or much of a breath at all. It lasted about 7 minutes, the pain was stabbing, and was like an 8 out of 10. I will say that I decided to try pooping, to see if it might be gas bubble, though usually my gas bubble are lower - and after I pooped, it did go away, but not instantaneously - more like 3 minutes later. There was a lot of air in the poop.

I've had this before, to a lesser degree, but this was ridiculous. I don't know if things bug your spleen or not.

My pain was in front under my ribcage and did not move to the back; not having just eaten fatty thing...well wait, maybe walnut butter; have been more constipated than usual for the past few weeks, but that day was a bit better; burping a bit more than usual, but only during eating time. I had eaten lots of cabbage the previous days, as I had a hankering for ginger stir-fry.

The brain fog has been one of my worst symptoms. Is it possible that some other things that give me the fog when I'm eating gluten maybe don't if I'm not? I mean if my gut has healed, perhaps I can eat a spicy nutmeggy gluten free biscuit or bit of mulled wine and not go completely blank-brained for a day or two?

BTW it's actually kind of nice in its own way, but I can't hold a conversation or train of thought. And it lasts TOO long!

Bell

Nutmeg is actually toxic, in the sense that it is very hard on your liver. I loved eating it for a while about a year ago, and looked it up hoping it had medicinal qualities like so many other herbs/spices. Found out the bad news....not good for you. Darnit. Sure tastes good on a spiced cider. Of course, I don't eat cider anymore anyway, so who needs the nutmeg!

I've not heard of RSD - it sounds quite disturbing, and I can see why a person would get PTSD from such a thing.

All I can think of on the neuro bit I imagine has been checked for. B12, since celiac sufferers don't absorb it well; heavy metal poisoning/toxicity; complete eletrolyte imbalance (inverted sodium potassium ratio, etc. - good idea to check out if it's "electrical" in nature, or if they think it might be). Boy, it's a tough one, and I can't say I have any experience with it. My only neuro symptoms are dizziness, and that could well just be BPPV (benign vertigo) which is not typically related to gluten at all. If your B12 is even low normal, they should check your homosystein levels too, or MME or something like that, to double check it, since high folate count can falsely elevate your B12. My folic acid was high last check, and my B12 barely made it into the 'normal' - by like one point.

Hope you feel better, and I hope folks here can help you. I know lots of folks here have had interesting issues with their celiac disease and other peripheral stuff - someone surely will know something.

Take care.

-Sherri

Okay, I am the researching queen, and I have been high and low on the internet trying to find out the best diet out there for adrenal fatigue/low thyroid (subclinical); low digestive fire, etc. Everyone disagrees.

What have you guys tried who are on adrenal fatigue protocols?

I already don't eat gluten, soy, dairy. I typically don't eat beans or grains (except not true grains such as amaranth and quinoa). I have tried raw food diets, paleo diets, regular gluten free/soy free/dairy free diets. But I can't tell how any of them went since I did not know I was in a terrible state of exhaustion. Digestively speaking, as in ease of digestion from mouth to....the other end has easily been raw food diet. But energy was low on that diet. High raw, meaning about 75%, the rest being quinoa and amaranth mostly.

I admit that I may have gone off the wagon recently, eating more gluten-free cookies and raw 'granola' bars and the like; and I was eating corn and beans.

I also think that I need some serious help with stomach acid, bile acids, pancreatic acids, etc., to be able to digest proteins better, including animal proteins, which I probably need at this point, based on what I've been reading. (The past three days I've been eating buffalo, but I'm not sure how it is digesting. I've been taking HCI and enzymes too...so it's not too bad, but I'm just not sure I'm getting anything out of it.]

Anyway, can folks share what they've found to be true for them or have been told by professionals about protocols for Adrenal Fatigue/Subclinical Hypothyroid? Thanks.

Well, I had a.m. cortisol tested. (I have no insurance and a doc who always takes the worst tests.) Anyway, came back 19 with a range of 5-23. But morning time fatigue is not my problem; it's afternoon tiredness.

Has anyone had luck with the saliva testing - to the point where it's worth the hundred bucks. I just paid 125 bucks for hair mineral analysis, and though it's fun having the results, I'm really not sure what to do with them. They insinuate an adrenal problem. Arg, I'm frustrated.

I get so sleepy after eating - like coma sleepy. This is not true at breakfast actually. Actually, come t think of it, I get insanely sleepy at some point between 3 and 6 every day. Anyway, I ate carmelized onions and scrambled eggs just now, and now my eyes are shutting and my breathing has gone to sleepytime breathing and I'd love to lie down and nap. Heck..I think I will.

Any thoughts?

Okay, so the mercury is like the copper - if it is not showing up in the test does not mean it's not there - it might be held onto? So how do you find out if you have mercury toxicity then? I got zero on this test; about a year ago I did the Greenpeace test and came back with some mercury. I have not been heavily exposed to my knoweldge.

I clearly have copper toxicity, which can also displace the minerals in question, or so says the lab paperwork. Interesting. Thanks for the replies. I'm off to bed as part my new bed by 10 adrenal build-up routine.

Sherri

Hey all! I paid to have my hair analyzed for minerals, even though it is not an accepted diagnostic tool by many docs. (Desperate times call for desperate measures - too many 'normal' lab results.) It came back with some interesting stuff, mostly pointing to adrenal exhaustion and lo thyroid functionality.

I was wondering if anyone else has done this (I used ARL Analytical Research Labs) and taken the advice given in the advice section?

Thanks.

p.s. results:

very high calcium in hair (meaning, not absorbing it properly) (like max good is 80, like max on the chart is 120, and mine was 333)

very high magensium (same as above) good is up to 12, mine was 26

very low sodium (good starts about 12, mine was 6)

pretty low potassium (good starts at 5, mine is 3)

barely high iron (good ends at 4.2, I was 4.9

High copper (good ends about 3, mine was 6)

very high manganese (good ends at .06, mine is .657 - off the chart)

zinc was okay, surprisingly, though I bet dietarily it is quite low (vegetarian)

chromium low just barely

selenium way low

phosphorous just about right

some lead and some aluminum showed up (not much lead; not a ton of aluminum - but I don't get aluminim in diet or in deodorant)

Good nickel and cobalt,

low molymbenum

no boron

hardly any lithium

last three all low.

The report did say I had very little inflammation indicated - so that's good.

You should also have your Ferritin checked because if it is too low, you may have difficulty increasing your Armour to the right dose.

I tested my adrenals via saliva before starting Armour. My adrenals were good. So I went ahead in increments of 1/8 grain every 10 days or so. I am now up to 3 grains and feel it is optimal for me. My Ferritin is a work in progress, but it is climbing.

My ferritin is very low "normal". I think I'll dig up a naturopath in my new town (I'm moving in the next couple weeks) who can help me out with this. I am going to try to find some B12 shots in that timeframe too -- I do sublingual, but I don't really notice much of a change. I'd like to do 4-6 shots, and the sublingual, and see if I can't get a bump.

Thanks, all!

Hi all! Got my thyroid tested recently (TSH, Total T3/Total T4) and came back "normal". Then went home and did some research; went back and demanded Free T3/Free T4. Free T4 came back barely normal, Free T3 came back barely below normal. But even though I have lots of symptoms of low thyroid, my "doc" thinks I don't need to treat it at all. Hmmmmm.

Similarly, my B12 came back okay, but on the low end, and I now read that one should test for MMA if B12 is lower than 300 - to see if there is a deficiency. Again, lots of symptoms of B12 deficiency. Plus, Celiac.......

So, are any of you out there "barely" low thyroid and taking armor or another natural thyroid supplement? How do you deal with not ignroing your probable low adrenal function by just feeding the thyroid and not adrenals - I sound like I have adrenal fatigue to me.

Any advice/experiences would be helpful. Also, any side effects of the natural thyroid, other than too much dose and going hyper instead of hypo?

-Sherri

Thanks to you all! I did have my B12 checked and it was within normal ranges, though I thought on the low of that. Nevertheless, not low enough to be the probable cause of this. All my thyroid stuff came back alright, but I insisted on getting different tests for that since I can't get over the idea that my thyroid is low. They don't want to believe this since I'm skinny. "You can't have an underactive thyroid, honey, your BMI is under 19". Well, we'll see about that. My sister has celiac disease and she weights 300 pounds. Doctors sometimes. aRg.

As to the ear crystal things - yes, I'm going to see an ENT next week and see if I can't figure out what the likely thing is. I only get vertigo right now if I bend down to the ground or squat on the ground and move my head, or if I look up, like at a plane, with my head slightly behind my body. I tried to look at the top shelf of the vitamin display at the store today and almost had an attack. So far, while up and out of bed anyway, side to side head movement doesn't cause it. Who knows. All today with ZERO vertigo, but lots and lots of disequilibrium. I did realize today that when I do start to fall from disequilibrium, it is always to the left side....which makes it sound like a singular ear problem.

I've done lots of research - the web is such a powerful too - but there are too many options even just within the realm of the ear related issues, that I need to go to the ENT. Darnit. I wish I still has insurance. They said it will be 300 bucks, including a hearing exam. I am going to call and talk to a nurse and be sure I'm pleased with their diagnostic equipment. If I have to pay that much, I"m going to make sure they have all the modern devices - if they don't, I'll drive the 90 miles to Seattle to get it done right.

Anyway, thanks to you all. I was surprised to learn how fatigue is caused by these vestibular problems because you spend so much of your brain and body power trying to stay steady and compensate for things, that it just plumb wears you out. So if it turns out to be vestibular AND one of the "cures" helps me, maybe I'll quit being so tired on top of it.

Thanks. -Sherri

A little over a month ago, I woke up with vertigo. I turned in the bed and got it, then whenever I would lower down or get off the pot, I would get it and fall into the wall of our tiny water closet. Arg. The vertigo itself (feeling of world spinning or self spinning) probably happened 5-6 times, never lasting more than 15 seconds or so. But when i wasn't having it, I felt very unsteady, like the world was about to spin, like I was not completely inside my body, etc. I went to the "doc" and she didn't think I had an ear infection, though she only glanced (never mind about this doctor who is totally unthorough and can't listen). Anyway, it took three weeks to feel totally better, but I eventually did. I also went to the eye doctor in this time because I found things visually to set me off on an uncomfrotable dizziness/about to have vertigo feeling. Turns out I have presbyopia - or 40-year-old needs reading glasses syndrome. I had just turned 40.

So, all was well until four days ago I was lying in bed AWAKE, when suddenly it felt like the bed tilted 90 degrees - I slammed open my eyes and grabbed onto the bed in response. Then thought, oh crap, not this again. Again, it got me on my way down to and way off of the toilet. But this time, and this has been going on for four days, I am less "dizzy" all the time, but more vertigo. I do occassionally get pressure in my ears and head, but don't have a cold or anything like that. I went to this virtually worthless "doc" again, for some reason (vertigo must be making me crazy) in part to get some valium, since it is a legitiamate treatment for vertigo, and would help with the massive anxiety having vertigo was giving me. Of course she wouldn't give me any -- it's tough to get opiates. Anyway.....

Now I'm thinking I should go to an ENT, but it will cost me $300. If that drums nothing up, it's off to the neurologist. Anyway, this is the typical route to deal with these things. So...questions:

1) to those of you who have used physical therapy/Epley exercises for this - do you think trying the exercises or going to physical therapy a couple times would help me determine if it were the benign bla bla vertigo, caused by the funny rocks being out of place? Do I NEED the diagnosis to get benefit from this? If I'm not vertigo-ridden constantly, will I be able to tell if this is working?

2) to those of you who went to the ENT and got a diagnosis...what was the visit like, what did it entail? What did your diagnosis end up being and what was the suggested course of treatment?

I do not have any nausea, vomiting, or sweating thus far. Just the vertigo, and unsteadines, and anxiety, and visual disturbance (if a table is moving, I get dizzy until I figure out it is the table moving). My life is complete nutso right now - just got married (after 17 years together), am moving, my dog is dying, etc. So I have not ruled out somatization, but I'd like to make sure it's not something medical first.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks all. I just had some blood work done and if it all comes back neg, I'll ask for the cortisol testing. The toxic mold I had not thought of. We have been remodeling our house and I definitely feel better in general outside rather than inside. The library usually makes me feel a bit nasueus, but has never done this before. I'll keep it in mind for sure.

Hi all! Have been suffering vertigo and dizziness for almost a week now. Hoping it's an ear infection, though my ear looked fine to the ARNP. I'm having my iron and thyroid checked for good measure.

So far, no nausea, so that's fine with me. Just light sensitivity, mild dizziness (more like pre-vertigo really, if such a think existed), and verging on depression thanks to the inability to read or work on the computer for long or whatever.

One weird facet to it is that what I'm looking at with my eyes seems to make it better or worse. Outside is better than inside. The library - among the books - really set it off. Our water closet which is really small (just toilet and bidet) with paneling is no good. I don't know. It is all so strange and frankly, a bit freaky.

Any thoughts? Oh yeah, no gluten or dairy or anything like that; and since the vertigo started, no corn or beans...and only very small amount of "bread". (working on the idea it might be bacterial or yeast related, so no sugars and little acid producing food; lots of antiinflammatory food). Also put garlic oil in my ears (stinks). Nothing else new but some Tom's of Maine deoderant.

For me the amaranth always jumps out of the pan!

Hi guys. I have been having tons of medical issues and am trying to find out what is wrong with me. Today I actually ended up in the ER. Here is my story and symptoms-

Over the past yrs I have gotten stabbing pains 3 inches to the left of my belly button that spreads. It comes and goes, ended me up in the ER 5yrs ago as it was so bad. Have had my liver, gallbladder, panc., kidneys all tested. Last month it hit me but the pain was dull, lasted for about a week. Then this am I had such bad pain there that spread across my lower stomach that I could not move. I have never had such a pain in my life. 10 min later the pain went down, but came back again 15 min later. They ran all stomach tests on me, did a RA, Lupus, CBC and liver blood test-all was fine.

I have a history of GERD (bad chest pains due to esp spasms) am on Aciphex and do get gas a lot

Hi. Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble right now. This is what I found for side effects for Aciphex. I bolded the stuff I thought it sounded like you're experiencing:

Body as a Whole: asthenia, fever, allergic reaction, chills, malaise, chest pain substernal, neck rigidity, photosensitivity reaction. Rare: abdomen enlarged, face edema, hangover effect. Cardiovascular System: hypertension, myocardial infarct, electrocardiogram abnormal, migraine, syncope, angina pectoris, bundle branch block, palpitation, sinus bradycardia, tachycardia. Rare: bradycardia, pulmonary embolus, supraventricular tachycardia, thrombophlebitis, vasodilation, QTC prolongation and ventricular tachycardia. Digestive System: diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, dyspepsia, flatulence, constipation, dry mouth, eructation, gastroenteritis, rectal hemorrhage, melena, ano-rexia, cholelithiasis, mouth ulceration, stomatitis, dysphagia, gingivitis, cholecystitis, increased appetite, abnormal stools, colitis, esophagitis, glossitis, pancreatitis, proctitis. Rare: bloody diarrhea, cholangitis, duodenitis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatitis, hepatoma, liver fatty deposit, salivary gland enlargement, thirst. Endocrine System: hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism. Hemic & Lymphatic System: anemia, ecchymosis, lymphadenopathy, hypochromic anemia. Metabolic & Nutritional Disorders: peripheral edema, edema, weight gain, gout, dehydration, weight loss. Musculo-Skeletal System: myalgia, arthritis, leg cramps, bone pain, arthrosis, bursitis. Rare: twitching. Nervous System: insomnia, anxiety, dizziness, depression, nervousness, somnolence, hypertonia, neuralgia, vertigo, convulsion, abnormal dreams, libido decreased, neuropathy, paresthesia, tremor. Rare: agitation, amnesia, confusion, extrapyramidal syndrome, hyperkinesia. Respiratory System: dyspnea, asthma, epistaxis, laryngitis, hiccup, hyperventilation. Rare: apnea, hypoventilation. Skin and Appendages: rash, pruritus, sweating, urticaria, alopecia. Rare: dry skin, herpes zoster, psoriasis, skin discoloration. Special Senses: cataract, amblyopia, glaucoma, dry eyes, abnormal vision, tinnitus, otitis media. Rare: corneal opacity, blurry vision, diplopia, deafness, eye pain, retinal degeneration, strabismus. Urogenital System: cystitis, urinary frequency, dysmenorrhea, dysuria, kidney calculus, metrorrhagia, polyuria. Rare: breast enlargement, hematuria, impotence, leukorrhea, menorrhagia, orchitis, urinary incontinence.

I recently found a book called "Why Stomach Acid is Good For You" which talked about acid reflux, and some ideas on how to help it w/o medication. I don't know if it is this medication that is bothering you, but it sounds as though it could be. A site that lists what folks are experiencing on this drug is here:

Open Original Shared Link

I also did not quite catch if you are off gluten or not - if not, I would get off gluten asap, as well as dairy to see if that helps your acid reflux. I know for me if I ate bread (back when I did), I would get it quite badly. Now I only get it occasionally, and usually from avocado or something else fatty (which most of the time I digest fine).

Anyway, I can't think of anything else other than gluten reaction or drug reaction (the drug, by the way, does claim to be gluten free) that might cause so much "pain" associated things, other than an intolerance to nightshades (tomato, potato, eggplant, peppers/chilies, tobacco).

I ditto the coriander and cumin. A lot of my raw food recipies call for those, and they are pretty good. Black pepper is, of course, okay. That's a tough one though, if you want the heat. wasabi, but that won't be any good in tacos.

Oh, mustard greens are really good. and hot. but only around right now for the year.

And brown mustard seed (already mentioned I think) and hot radishes - I ditto that. Arugula is spicy (also called rocket?)

What kind of stomach ache is it? I finally figured out that coconut oil gives me a stomach ache, though a weird one. I was loving it! Sugars can give me stomach aches.

I've determined that I have various tummy aches and can usually tell by the type which food has offended me. Like I eat lots of avocados. Sometimes it is just too much fat. And that is a particular tummy ache. Dehydration tummy aches are different. Coconut oil tummy aches are different. Constipated/gluteny tummy aches are different.

Can you describe your tummy ache?

Sweet potatoes (baked in a tiny bit of olive or sesame oil or baked whole with coconut butter or olive oil on them when they come out).

Quinoa - this is an easy "grain" (actually a seed) that cooks in 15 minutes in the same manner as rice (bring to boil, lower heat, wait, let sit) with way more nutrients. I make a salad with quinoa, chopped veggies, olive oil and lemon - like a tabbouleh if you've had that. You can also put herbs and nuts in there, or seeds. I oftentimes mix quinoa with a green salad as well.

Hummus - this is also easy to make if you have a food processor, and cheap if you buy dried garbanzos. You can also make it bean free by using zucchini instead of beans...and if your kids don't like spicy, you can leave out the garlic - I do since my system doesn't take to it very well. I replace the garlic with onion. Anyway, I don't know if your kids would like it or not, but it's great on carrot sticks and celery sticks and the like.

Sauteed veggies with carmelized onions. I find the sweetness of the onions carmelized adds some palatability to veggies for folks that don't take to them (I don't know if your kids like veggies or not). They do take about 20 minutes to do. And there is some chopping, etc.

Corn tortillas with chili? I don't know about that one since I don't eat beans - but if your kids like beans, refried or otherwise, corn tortillas with some beans and sprouts or lettuce or onion or something.

I don't know. My partner's daughter had a weird palette - favorite food at 2 years old was salad with all sorts of things (raw mushrooms) and blue cheese dressing. Now she loves sushi and even eats my raw food with glee. I was a picky eater. Anyway, good luck.

My family LOVES food for life millet bread. And they can eat gluten...so the fact that they like it says volumes. I like it too, but I gave up eating grains entirely. So anyway, worth a try.

Welcome!

Some good things for lunches:

quinoa salad (cooked quinoa, chopped up veggies like celery, avocado, tomato, herbs, etc., olive oil, lemon) quinoa should be cheap if you buy it in bulk - but if you buy it in bulk, YOU HAVE TO WASH IT. You do anyway with quinoa...or else it is is bitter. So wash wash wash and rinse rinse rinse, then it is easy as pie. One part quinoa to two parts water, bring to boil, turn down heat, let simmer for 15 minutes, let sit for five. It is like rice, but more nutritious.

Avocado with salt (and if you like, add tomato with olive oil)

Salad

LARA bars

Hummus (with veggies to dip or lettuce cups to fill with humus and other veggies)

Nuts

Admittedly, lunches are tough because we're so used to having bread. You can get get gluten free wraps, such as corn tortillas, hemp wraps, rice wraps, etc., and use those instead (watch for 100% corn tortillas - and not those w/ traces of wheat flour in them).

Good luck. I'm glad you're here.

I would not do well on a "standard" vegan diet, which is high in beans and grains - both of which are extremely difficult to digest, tend to cause weight gain, block minerals, etc. etc. I eat a raw vegan diet, which does not include any true grains, beans (including peanut, cashew, and soy), etc. Often, vegetarians use a high level of whole grains and beans, to make up for loss of protein from animal foods. I use nuts for protein, as well as amaranth and quinoa and avocado and other veggies. Almost all foods have some protein, except sugar.

Anyway, I would never expect to push my diet on anyone. It is very personal. It's taken me years to find a place that makes some sense to my digestive system. And also, I don't think it's healthy to be so rigid that it starts to seep into the rest of your life. We HAVE to be rigid on some things (Gluten, the most obvious), but should not impose utter rigidity on ourselves in other ways as well. We need to be able to respond to our environment, and if we are unwilling under any circumstances under the sun to eat a trout or a bean or some cooked food or some raw cheese or whatever, we are not really living as human beings. That said, we can certainly strive to avoid them as much as possible.

I think there are two important things coming out of this thread:

1. vegetarianism is viable for some, not for others. there are health issues that can arise from being veggie when it doesn't fit well with your body for whatever reason that may be. there are health reasons that arise from eating meat when it doesn't fit well with your body for whatever reason, or the meat you are choosing is grain fed and factory farmed.

2. vegetarianism/veganism can also be a choice that has nothing to do with health - and we need to respect folks' choice in that case. We can ask them to review their choice based on what we hear them saying about their health, but I don't think it's cool to disrespect the choice in the first place. Challenging people's views is important to do,and it's something we shy away from in American discourse I think. Instead of respectfully asking folks to review their ideas deeply, we tend to "other" them.

I did send the original poster a personal message saying this isn't normally the way posts go; and I hope they return, I really do. For my part, I felt I was defending that person; but I suppose in the end the discourse would not have been so back and forth and volatile had I just let it go. I just know that it is already socially stigmatizing to avoid gluten, and folks don't need to feel further ostracized for being veggie. For my part in the debate if it did indeed chase off our newbie, I apologize.

That is a lie. Wild animals are a natural resource.

I live in a rural community and the cows here are free ranging. And darn tasty too!

Dont believe everything you see on Oprah!

I love animals too. They taste great!

PETA = People for the Eating of Tasty Animals!

Dont tell me Im stupid, and I wont tell you the same.

You are just like the first person who insulted me on this thread.

You dont like my way of life. And I dont like yours.

Since I believe I am the "first person who insulted you on this thread", I'll reply. I certainly was not being 'insulting'. I believe the best diet for the human body is the paleo diet - meat, veggies, fruits, nuts. No grains, no beans, etc. Eating animals is 100% humanly natural - being a vegetarian or vegan is, in almost all instances (except where no animals exist to hunt), 100% unnatural. But so is living in a house covered in tyvec and driving a car. The point about vegetarianism is that people make choices for various reasons.

You sound like you're probably a relatively conservative person (based on your dislike of "liberal" media, etc.) - and as I understand conservatism, the idea is to respect and continue and CONSERVE the ideas of the American forefathers. I don't know if you are aware of this, but some of our founding fathers were vegetarian - Benjamin Franklin for example. Some Christian sects are vegetarian.

As to the renewablity of eating meat - certainly on the small scale, eating animals is entirely sustainable. Hunters are, for the most part, not depleting the animals on earth - environmental degredation and development are doing that. Most hunters, though not all, are more respectful of the environment and the circle of life than many other folks who never think about where their food comes from.

I certainly don't dislike your way of life (the ten seconds of it glimpsed here), and you have no idea what my way of life is, so you certainly couldn't dislike it. It is nicer for all of us posting here to feel like assumptions are not being made about us in seconds, and I'm afraid that is, although quite by accident no doubt, how your posts are coming across.

My point had nothing to do with whether or not you should eat meat or even if the previous poster should eat meat, or even that eating meat is environmentally unfriendly (since the original post was asking about celiac disease and vegetarianism, not the ethics or environmental ramifications thereof). My point was, that your post, had it been worded differently, would've seemed much more supportive. For example:

I am wondering why you don't eat meat? If it is for health reasons, are you sure you're feeling good? Also, if it is for health reasons, there is a lot of research about how grass-fed meat can be quite good for you. Of course, if your reasoning for not eating animals of ethical or religious, that is different. I just wanted to check. Thanks.

Had you posted that, I think the dialogue, which is what this board is all about, would not have strayed off topic and become volatile.

Why dont you eat meat? Meat is good for you, and its a renewable resource. Having to be gluten-free is torture enough. Be good to yourself and cook yourself a big thick, juicy steak, and enjoy it.

I don't really think this is the most appropriate response.

First, there are various reasons folks are vegetarian - so your opening question of why seems good to me: is it mostly health reasons, environmental reasons, socio-political reasons, ethica reasons, religious reasons. Yes, some denominations are vegetarian by faith -- I assume you don't wish to challenge or disrespect an entire sect of Christianity, and virtually the entire Buddhist population of the world...that's a lot of folks.

So the first question seems valid; it is the rest of your repsonse that is disrespectful, in my opinion.

Meat being a renewable resource is not exactly supportable by facts, if one examines the immense environmental impact of meat eating, and dairy consumption. If you google environmental impact of eating meat, you will find endless reams of evidence that it is not "renewable" in the true sense of the word.

Lastly, and maybe this is just me, being gluten-free is not torture, nor is foregoing animal flesh (or animal products if vegan). What was torture was immense pain, constant toilet time, anxiety, extra weight, brittle nails, canker sores, etc. If you feel tortured by your diet, I am sorry for you.

Anyway, my two cents, espcially about how this board is supposed to be supportive, not flippant.

You certainly don't have to eat meat. But, you do have to eat fat and protein. My favorite source of fat and protein is AVOCADO...and guess what, it's also full of fiber and magnesium and B vitamins, etc. I also like nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, and those are relatively high calorie, high protein, and high fat. All these things are very high in minerals, which we are often deficient in.

Something you need to worry about, and this is true of all vegetarians, especially vegans (like I usually am), B12. I take sublingual drops of B12, some folks get shots of B12. But folks with celiac are notoriously short on this vitamin, as it is digested in a highly acidic tummy in a bunch of special circumstances that we can't always manifest. But it's not really in anything vegetarian, for the most part. Algae has some (spirulina, etc.). This is something we don't make inside our bodies, and which we need. We save stores of it so we won't know for a long time maybe that we are getting low. If you have low energy, this could be why.

If you need to gain weight, you should definitely include almond milks or rice milks (if you like them), hemp protein shakes, avocado, sweet potato, etc. I don't eat any grains (except quinoa and amaranth) and have never felt better in my life -- but, it is hard to keep the weight on when you are low carb.

Don't worry if some folks on here try to convince you to eat animals - they do it with their hearts in the right place. Some veggies end up feeling so much better if they eat meat - but others don't. I can go either way, but find my digestion definitely prefers vegan - mostly raw.

Things to watch out for as a veggie: too much soy, too much dairy; too much "fake meat" based foods.

Anyway, good luck to you. I'm going to check out that vegetarian celiac board mentioned earlier!

BallardWA - do you live in Ballard? I live in Bellingham.