I am at my witts end with Dominic's gastro issues and I want to try the gluten free diet since I have tried EVERYTHING else and nothing else works. Does anybody know how I would get started? Do I just switch all his food to gluten free? He is pretty picky and there are not alot of foods he will eat so I don't think it would be too difficult.
there is a blood test you can get to see if he has a gluten allergy.
some people are just intolerant and that does not show up in a test, but changing diet will.
I would do the test first before switching diet. this way it rules it out.
otherwise you do go 100% gluten free.
there is a book gluten free for dummies. it is even in salad dressings, etc. It is a change in eating totally. I am in the process of doing so as soon as my blood work is done on Wed.
when I wanted to try it for Raym I just went to whole foods and found a few of the foods he ate in the gluten free version. He ended up hating all of it though and I gave up.
Jasmine, I have not gone gluten free, but I know a LOT of people who have on my UC board, and it has helped a lot of them. (some have tried and it didn't make a difference, but many people swear it was the key for them)
Some things to remember: The tests are not very accurate. Also, he needs to be eating gluten at the time of the test in order to show any reaction to it. So if you are going to do the testing, do not go gluten free before hand. There are different types of tests too-the test for celiac is not the same as the test to show intolerance.
If you decide to try the gluten free thing, my advice to you would be to go 100%-do not try and reduce. You can get lots of gluten free foods now-I don't know what he eats, but you can get most things gluten free. If you want to try and see if it makes a difference, go full on gluten free for 4 weeks or so, and then slowly add some things back to see if symptoms reappear. Trader Joes has a good selection, as does Whole Foods (and we have another one called Fresh Market), but honestly, I have seen a LOT of gluten free products just in the regular grocery store. Read EVERYTHING. Gluten is in all sorts of places you would never expect. Also be aware that if you are making PB&J for yourself or something, and you use the knife from jar to regular bread, then back to the jar, you are getting small amounts of gluten into the jar. That probably is ok for someone who has an intolerance, but is enough gluten to cause problems for a person with celiac. Just something to be aware of.
Also, have you tried dairy free? That is also a very typical cause of gastro issues. I am not sure exactly what his issues are, but dairy is a common culprit. If you want to try that, I would recommend NOT going with soy milk, but rather try rice or almond (I drunk almond, and it is very good. One issue is that most brands contain something called carrageenan-it is a seaweed extract, and is very controversial. Many people say it is a cause of IBD. I have not noticed any issues with it myself, but just something to know about-it does cause problems for some, and it is in a LOT of prepackaged foods). Soy is controversial, but I ere on the side of caution. Soy is high in plant based estrogen (higher than most any other food). Some argue that giving an infant soy formula is like giving them the equivalent in estrogen of taking 4 birth control pills a day. IDK if that is true, but it is not at all disputed that soy is very high in estrogen, which could be damaging to the health in large quantities. There are other issues with it as well, but the estrogen is a big thing. IDK if Dominic is a milk drinker or not-but if he is and you want to try dairy free, like I said, i would try rice or almond milk.
Good luck-I hope you find something that works for him!
Jasmine, I have not gone gluten free, but I know a LOT of people who have on my UC board, and it has helped a lot of them. (some have tried and it didn't make a difference, but many people swear it was the key for them)
Some things to remember: The tests are not very accurate. Also, he needs to be eating gluten at the time of the test in order to show any reaction to it. So if you are going to do the testing, do not go gluten free before hand. There are different types of tests too-the test for celiac is not the same as the test to show intolerance.
If you decide to try the gluten free thing, my advice to you would be to go 100%-do not try and reduce. You can get lots of gluten free foods now-I don't know what he eats, but you can get most things gluten free. If you want to try and see if it makes a difference, go full on gluten free for 4 weeks or so, and then slowly add some things back to see if symptoms reappear. Trader Joes has a good selection, as does Whole Foods (and we have another one called Fresh Market), but honestly, I have seen a LOT of gluten free products just in the regular grocery store. Read EVERYTHING. Gluten is in all sorts of places you would never expect. Also be aware that if you are making PB&J for yourself or something, and you use the knife from jar to regular bread, then back to the jar, you are getting small amounts of gluten into the jar. That probably is ok for someone who has an intolerance, but is enough gluten to cause problems for a person with celiac. Just something to be aware of.
Also, have you tried dairy free? That is also a very typical cause of gastro issues. I am not sure exactly what his issues are, but dairy is a common culprit. If you want to try that, I would recommend NOT going with soy milk, but rather try rice or almond (I drunk almond, and it is very good. One issue is that most brands contain something called carrageenan-it is a seaweed extract, and is very controversial. Many people say it is a cause of IBD. I have not noticed any issues with it myself, but just something to know about-it does cause problems for some, and it is in a LOT of prepackaged foods). Soy is controversial, but I ere on the side of caution. Soy is high in plant based estrogen (higher than most any other food). Some argue that giving an infant soy formula is like giving them the equivalent in estrogen of taking 4 birth control pills a day. IDK if that is true, but it is not at all disputed that soy is very high in estrogen, which could be damaging to the health in large quantities. There are other issues with it as well, but the estrogen is a big thing. IDK if Dominic is a milk drinker or not-but if he is and you want to try dairy free, like I said, i would try rice or almond milk.
Good luck-I hope you find something that works for him!
I drink Silk PureAlmond and it doesn't have that in it(unless it goes by another name).
Jasmine, I have not gone gluten free, but I know a LOT of people who have on my UC board, and it has helped a lot of them. (some have tried and it didn't make a difference, but many people swear it was the key for them)
Some things to remember: The tests are not very accurate. Also, he needs to be eating gluten at the time of the test in order to show any reaction to it. So if you are going to do the testing, do not go gluten free before hand. There are different types of tests too-the test for celiac is not the same as the test to show intolerance.
If you decide to try the gluten free thing, my advice to you would be to go 100%-do not try and reduce. You can get lots of gluten free foods now-I don't know what he eats, but you can get most things gluten free. If you want to try and see if it makes a difference, go full on gluten free for 4 weeks or so, and then slowly add some things back to see if symptoms reappear. Trader Joes has a good selection, as does Whole Foods (and we have another one called Fresh Market), but honestly, I have seen a LOT of gluten free products just in the regular grocery store. Read EVERYTHING. Gluten is in all sorts of places you would never expect. Also be aware that if you are making PB&J for yourself or something, and you use the knife from jar to regular bread, then back to the jar, you are getting small amounts of gluten into the jar. That probably is ok for someone who has an intolerance, but is enough gluten to cause problems for a person with celiac. Just something to be aware of.
Also, have you tried dairy free? That is also a very typical cause of gastro issues. I am not sure exactly what his issues are, but dairy is a common culprit. If you want to try that, I would recommend NOT going with soy milk, but rather try rice or almond (I drunk almond, and it is very good. One issue is that most brands contain something called carrageenan-it is a seaweed extract, and is very controversial. Many people say it is a cause of IBD. I have not noticed any issues with it myself, but just something to know about-it does cause problems for some, and it is in a LOT of prepackaged foods). Soy is controversial, but I ere on the side of caution. Soy is high in plant based estrogen (higher than most any other food). Some argue that giving an infant soy formula is like giving them the equivalent in estrogen of taking 4 birth control pills a day. IDK if that is true, but it is not at all disputed that soy is very high in estrogen, which could be damaging to the health in large quantities. There are other issues with it as well, but the estrogen is a big thing. IDK if Dominic is a milk drinker or not-but if he is and you want to try dairy free, like I said, i would try rice or almond milk.
Good luck-I hope you find something that works for him!
I drink Silk PureAlmond and it doesn't have that in it(unless it goes by another name).
I have heard that as well, and oddly enough, I haven't found that brand very many places!!! I'll have to keep an eye out for it-thank you!!
Jasmine, I have not gone gluten free, but I know a LOT of people who have on my UC board, and it has helped a lot of them. (some have tried and it didn't make a difference, but many people swear it was the key for them)
Some things to remember: The tests are not very accurate. Also, he needs to be eating gluten at the time of the test in order to show any reaction to it. So if you are going to do the testing, do not go gluten free before hand. There are different types of tests too-the test for celiac is not the same as the test to show intolerance.
If you decide to try the gluten free thing, my advice to you would be to go 100%-do not try and reduce. You can get lots of gluten free foods now-I don't know what he eats, but you can get most things gluten free. If you want to try and see if it makes a difference, go full on gluten free for 4 weeks or so, and then slowly add some things back to see if symptoms reappear. Trader Joes has a good selection, as does Whole Foods (and we have another one called Fresh Market), but honestly, I have seen a LOT of gluten free products just in the regular grocery store. Read EVERYTHING. Gluten is in all sorts of places you would never expect. Also be aware that if you are making PB&J for yourself or something, and you use the knife from jar to regular bread, then back to the jar, you are getting small amounts of gluten into the jar. That probably is ok for someone who has an intolerance, but is enough gluten to cause problems for a person with celiac. Just something to be aware of.
Also, have you tried dairy free? That is also a very typical cause of gastro issues. I am not sure exactly what his issues are, but dairy is a common culprit. If you want to try that, I would recommend NOT going with soy milk, but rather try rice or almond (I drunk almond, and it is very good. One issue is that most brands contain something called carrageenan-it is a seaweed extract, and is very controversial. Many people say it is a cause of IBD. I have not noticed any issues with it myself, but just something to know about-it does cause problems for some, and it is in a LOT of prepackaged foods). Soy is controversial, but I ere on the side of caution. Soy is high in plant based estrogen (higher than most any other food). Some argue that giving an infant soy formula is like giving them the equivalent in estrogen of taking 4 birth control pills a day. IDK if that is true, but it is not at all disputed that soy is very high in estrogen, which could be damaging to the health in large quantities. There are other issues with it as well, but the estrogen is a big thing. IDK if Dominic is a milk drinker or not-but if he is and you want to try dairy free, like I said, i would try rice or almond milk.
Good luck-I hope you find something that works for him!
I did stop giving him milk awhile ago and it seemed to help for a little bit. He still eats cheese and yogurt though. He won't drink soy milk, I have tried to give it to him, he wont' drink milk at all now.
I am far from an expert but have become much more aware because we know so many people, adults and children, with various food allergies.
I don't know what he will eat, but some of the easy things I know you can get easily in most supermarkets (sometimes you have to look in the health food section) are brown rice pasta, gluten free boxes of cereal, various mixes, rice flour, and chips. Also, almond milk tastes much better than soy milk. It tastes more like a milkshake than milk to me and I also prefer to get the vanilla flavor almond milk.
Some of the super markets around here carry Cherrybrook Kitchen box mixes for pancakes, cookies, cakes, etc. People around here seem to really like it. In fact, I made Elizabeth's Snow White doll cake from the box mixes and everyone devoured it. Here's the link:
http://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/
I also agree with Supa. Trader Joe's tends to have lots of gluten free things.
Jasmine, we had considered going this route for Koda at one point, but decided against it. In all the research I read, I would echo Supa's post- it has to be all or nothing. It takes time to see the result, and introducing even some gluten back into the diet negates all your efforts. Everything I read is there is no such thing as a gluten-lite diet.
Good luck. I've read some amazing success stories, and for some it just doesn't pan out. I do know that there seems to be so many more options now than their used to be. Even the popular pizza take out place here has started offering gluten free crusts! So, it is possible :)
Jasmine, I have not gone gluten free, but I know a LOT of people who have on my UC board, and it has helped a lot of them. (some have tried and it didn't make a difference, but many people swear it was the key for them)
Some things to remember: The tests are not very accurate. Also, he needs to be eating gluten at the time of the test in order to show any reaction to it. So if you are going to do the testing, do not go gluten free before hand. There are different types of tests too-the test for celiac is not the same as the test to show intolerance.
If you decide to try the gluten free thing, my advice to you would be to go 100%-do not try and reduce. You can get lots of gluten free foods now-I don't know what he eats, but you can get most things gluten free. If you want to try and see if it makes a difference, go full on gluten free for 4 weeks or so, and then slowly add some things back to see if symptoms reappear. Trader Joes has a good selection, as does Whole Foods (and we have another one called Fresh Market), but honestly, I have seen a LOT of gluten free products just in the regular grocery store. Read EVERYTHING. Gluten is in all sorts of places you would never expect. Also be aware that if you are making PB&J for yourself or something, and you use the knife from jar to regular bread, then back to the jar, you are getting small amounts of gluten into the jar. That probably is ok for someone who has an intolerance, but is enough gluten to cause problems for a person with celiac. Just something to be aware of.
Also, have you tried dairy free? That is also a very typical cause of gastro issues. I am not sure exactly what his issues are, but dairy is a common culprit. If you want to try that, I would recommend NOT going with soy milk, but rather try rice or almond (I drunk almond, and it is very good. One issue is that most brands contain something called carrageenan-it is a seaweed extract, and is very controversial. Many people say it is a cause of IBD. I have not noticed any issues with it myself, but just something to know about-it does cause problems for some, and it is in a LOT of prepackaged foods). Soy is controversial, but I ere on the side of caution. Soy is high in plant based estrogen (higher than most any other food). Some argue that giving an infant soy formula is like giving them the equivalent in estrogen of taking 4 birth control pills a day. IDK if that is true, but it is not at all disputed that soy is very high in estrogen, which could be damaging to the health in large quantities. There are other issues with it as well, but the estrogen is a big thing. IDK if Dominic is a milk drinker or not-but if he is and you want to try dairy free, like I said, i would try rice or almond milk.
Good luck-I hope you find something that works for him!
I did stop giving him milk awhile ago and it seemed to help for a little bit. He still eats cheese and yogurt though. He won't drink soy milk, I have tried to give it to him, he wont' drink milk at all now.
Jasmine, just caught this. I'm wondering if it might be easier to try dairy-free first since you saw some success when you eliminated milk? Just a thought.
Jasmine, I have not gone gluten free, but I know a LOT of people who have on my UC board, and it has helped a lot of them. (some have tried and it didn't make a difference, but many people swear it was the key for them)
Some things to remember: The tests are not very accurate. Also, he needs to be eating gluten at the time of the test in order to show any reaction to it. So if you are going to do the testing, do not go gluten free before hand. There are different types of tests too-the test for celiac is not the same as the test to show intolerance.
If you decide to try the gluten free thing, my advice to you would be to go 100%-do not try and reduce. You can get lots of gluten free foods now-I don't know what he eats, but you can get most things gluten free. If you want to try and see if it makes a difference, go full on gluten free for 4 weeks or so, and then slowly add some things back to see if symptoms reappear. Trader Joes has a good selection, as does Whole Foods (and we have another one called Fresh Market), but honestly, I have seen a LOT of gluten free products just in the regular grocery store. Read EVERYTHING. Gluten is in all sorts of places you would never expect. Also be aware that if you are making PB&J for yourself or something, and you use the knife from jar to regular bread, then back to the jar, you are getting small amounts of gluten into the jar. That probably is ok for someone who has an intolerance, but is enough gluten to cause problems for a person with celiac. Just something to be aware of.
Also, have you tried dairy free? That is also a very typical cause of gastro issues. I am not sure exactly what his issues are, but dairy is a common culprit. If you want to try that, I would recommend NOT going with soy milk, but rather try rice or almond (I drunk almond, and it is very good. One issue is that most brands contain something called carrageenan-it is a seaweed extract, and is very controversial. Many people say it is a cause of IBD. I have not noticed any issues with it myself, but just something to know about-it does cause problems for some, and it is in a LOT of prepackaged foods). Soy is controversial, but I ere on the side of caution. Soy is high in plant based estrogen (higher than most any other food). Some argue that giving an infant soy formula is like giving them the equivalent in estrogen of taking 4 birth control pills a day. IDK if that is true, but it is not at all disputed that soy is very high in estrogen, which could be damaging to the health in large quantities. There are other issues with it as well, but the estrogen is a big thing. IDK if Dominic is a milk drinker or not-but if he is and you want to try dairy free, like I said, i would try rice or almond milk.
Good luck-I hope you find something that works for him!
I did stop giving him milk awhile ago and it seemed to help for a little bit. He still eats cheese and yogurt though. He won't drink soy milk, I have tried to give it to him, he wont' drink milk at all now.
Jasmine, just caught this. I'm wondering if it might be easier to try dairy-free first since you saw some success when you eliminated milk? Just a thought.
ITA-and i wouldn't want to do full on dairy and gluten free at the same time. Too much change all at once, plus you wouldn't know which was helping the most.
Dairy free is tough-but you can do it. There are even rice and almost "ice cream" type snacks now because there are so many people who can't eat dairy. And you could try and find some cheese makes from goat or sheep's milk and see if he likes them instead of cow's milk. Just a thought.
I haven't tried soy milk, but ITA with Libby. The vanilla almond milk is super yum. I can't imagine any kid not liking it, but then I am sure there are some!
Dairy isn't like gluten though. I agree with Jenn that gluten definitely is an all or nothing thing. Reducing generally isn't effective. But dairy is different. Some people can eat harder cheeses without issue, but can't have milk. Some people are fine on yogurt, some can't have any dairy at all. Even with that, I would advise eliminating it entirely for a few weeks and then add one thing at a time back in to see if he has problems. Elimination diets are truly the only way of knowing if you have an intolerance for a food.
If you cannot first have allergy testing done to just rule out the big obvious. I know it is expensive. Maybe try an elimination diet first before going gluten free.
You can google online and should be able to find a sample one. Basically you one by one eliminate certain foods out of his diet. You may find by doing this and keeping a journal that you can find foods that trigger behavior, etc. It takes dicipline and planning to do, but in the end may be well worth it.
Kaylin has been wheat (gluten) and egg free since January. It has done wonders for her! It is a BIG PITA, but very worth it for us. She has been amazing!!!! Every once and awhile I hear, "It's not fair that they boys get to eat....", but overall she transitioned so well.
The first thing you need to realize is that it's expensive, although I've found Target to be the least expensive. Most all of the grocery stores now have a gluten free section. Van's makes gluten free waffles. Ian's has gluten free chicken nuggets and fish sticks. Annie's makes a gluten free mac and cheese. Betty Crocker's gluten free chocolate cake mix is amazing!! The vanilla is gross. I make all of Kaylin's bread either from scratch or with a mix. I've found some very good recipes. The pizza crust is now the whole family's favorite.
What I find the hardest is that eating really is no longer spontaneous. No more just ordering a pizza. If we go somewhere I need to make sure to plan ahead for Kaylin.
I could go on and on. If you decide to go that route and want more info, let me know!
Thank you so much for all of your info. His issues are constipation, he just has it constantly! I have given him Benefiber, Miralax, etc. We have seriously tried everything. I dont' have insurance right now so I can't get any allergy testing done for him. I can't seem to find the exact amount of Miralax to give him to keep him regular, it either doesnt' work or works too much and he ends up having diarrhea. It is so frustrating. I feel so sorry for him to have to deal with it all the time. Right now he is fine because I gave him the Miralax for about a week and it seems like after I stop giving it to him his body does like a full system clean-out. LOL. He is very picky with what he eats so I dont' think it would be too bad to make him stuff gluten-free, I almost always end up making him something else besides what we are eating anyway. Thanks again for all your suggestions and advice!
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Jasmine
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