Question and Answers – Page 3

Q. Dear Roberta,If there is no gluten in oats why it is suggested that a person with Celiac not consume oat products?

A. Oats are very often contaminated with other grains that do contain gluten. If you are interested in certified gluten free oats check out the following:

Roberta


Q. Dear Roberta,Is there anything I can use in a favorite recipe that calls for cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup that is gluten free?

A. Progresso makes a Cream of Mushroom soup that is gluten free. It is not condensed like Campbells, but you could make adjustments to the liquid used in the recipe.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta,I’m 50 and dx’d with Celiac at age 47. Is it possible to get ‘sick’ from breathing gluten particles in the air?

Recently I bought bread for the family since we were stocking up for a hurricane (which didn’t come, thank God), and although my home had been GF for 3 years, I felt that my family had to have bread for emergency food if the storm came through.

It just seems that since I brought those dreaded grains home, I can’t get rid of this awful stomach ache and terrible feeling of being sick to my stomach.

Is there any correlation, or could I be struggling with a stomach bug or something of that nature?
Thanx

A. The way gluten gets into your system is through your small intestine. If you breathed the particles in through your mouth and some got in your small intestine that way, this is entirely possible.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta,I was in the Gastro- Doctor’s office yesterday and had to wait forever. Started reading about Gluten- and side effects. I think I have them all. Anyway, in my browsing on the net today, I found one thing lacking.

I don’t cook- well, hardly at all. So is there some kind of a guide for fast foods and YES, I know that I should not eat at them. Usually like Lean Cusine and Smart Choice, but there are days that just is not a real option.

A. Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken with rice is gluten free (it is one of my favorites, so I was pleased when I heard that).

Amy’s brand makes a vegetarian gluten free frozen lasagna and mac and cheese as well as frozen pizza.

There are some brands of Indian frozen entrees that are gluten free. Healthy Choice Split Pea with Ham soup is gluten free.

Unfortunately not too much else convenience wise is gluten free. Hopefully as the food manufacturers realize what a growing market this is there will be more “mainstream” foods without gluten.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta,Hello. I was diagnosed with Celiac Sprue about 2 years ago. My only symptom was I became very anemic and needed iron injected into my veins.
I try not to eat any glutens, but sometimes eating out is difficult just because the way foods are prepared.
Question: It seems like I get a rash behind my knee and my elbow and a little bit on my stomach, if I eat foods containing gluten.
I went to a dermatologist for medicine and she said she’s never heard of a rash being connected with gluten.
I didn’t get any medicine, except an oral anitibiotic.
IS there a cream that I can apply that can help this rash? It comes and goes, of course.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

A. You may have a condition called dermatitis herpetiformis. It is a form of celiac disease that appears as a rash and can be treated by a medication.

I would recommend making an appointment with a dermatologist and informing him/her that you have celiac disease and may have the skin condition.

They may decide to do a skin biopsy which merely involves taking two tiny samples of skin (with a couple stitches) and sending it off for a biopsy similar to what they did when you were diagnosed with celiac disease and they biopsied your intestine.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, I wasn’t diagnosed with the disease…but me and my sister suffer with acid reflux…and I gas all day every day especially after I eat…is it wise to follow this program?

A. I usually don’t recommend that you go on a gluten free diet without a definitive diagnosis of gluten intolerance or celiac disease because if
you aren’t diagnosed you won’t know if you can ever go off the diet.

When you say you weren’t diagnosed does that mean you were tested and the results were negative? If that is the case you can try following the GF diet to see if it helps you, but the usual recommendations for acid reflux are avoiding spicy, peppermint, tomato or citrus foods and not eating right before bedtime.

I would suggest seeing a gastroenterologist to find out what is really going on.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta,

Hello I have a question. I was diagnosed with Celiac on June 22nd of this year. The reason they gave was the birth of my 4th child at the end of September the year prior. They claimed it was a blunt trauma. He was a big baby but, all of my kids were big. (9lbs. 4ozs., 9lbs. 5 ozs, 8lbs. 5ozs, 9lbs. 6ozs. )

Anyways, since I was diagnosed and now that I know what to look for I have had 7 attacks.

Mine starts with back pain, diarrhea, then I spike a temp. of over 101 degrees for half an hour, (I usually try to take some Advil
liquid gels before this), then, the gut cramps start (they are about as intense as 3rd stage labor) that lasts for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

I am left sweaty, shaking exhausted and “off kilter” all day long.

My questions are this: Since my last attack I am not able to handle Milk Products, Is that common? and will it last forever? or when the villi repair themselves will I be able to process milk? Do you have any idea how long it takes for them to repair? and I also heard that distilled vinegar is another thing that Celiacs cannot eat but, I am not sure if this it true or if it is true.

I am not sure if it’s something that goes away as I heal?

Thank You for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

A. The enzyme you need to digest milk products (lactase)is produced on the villi, and it may take upwards of 6 months on a gluten free diet before you feel you can digest milk products normally. Until then you might want to try Lactaid or Lactaid Milk and see if it helps.

Experts now say distilled vinegar is ok for celiacs.

As far as your babies and their size at birth, did you have a glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetets while pregnant with any of them and if so what did it show?

The reason I ask is that large gestational size is one of the signs of this condition. What often happens with celiac disease (and happened to me as my son was born at 4 pounds 13 ounces) is that your body doesn’t absorb nutrients so the placenta doesn’t get what the baby needs and therefore the baby is born small for gestational age. (which didn’t happen in your case). You may want to investigate this further.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, What do you think about steroids for celiac, do you know people taking it, any side effects? Gluten free diet did not help so dr. told me to take steroids.

A. Steroids may be prescribed for “infractory celiac”, which means “celiac that does not get better with just a gluten free diet”.
The important thing with steroids is to take them exactly as your doctor prescribes, which usually involves tapering the dose down before stopping them.

Some people have side effects from steroids but some do not. You may want to ask your pharmacist about your particular medication and whether you can expect side effects and what they would be.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta,I was just diagnosed as Celiac yesterday through a biopsy after 10 weeks of diarrhea.

I am not sure what foods I can eat. I have not yet met with a dietician, and am concerned about what foods to eat now, as I am VERY tired of the troubles that are associated with it.

What about rice, and fresh vegetables and things like that? I do not know as every time I ate, I had trouble.
Not sure when I am to meet with the dietician, have not heard back from them. Thank you so much.

A. A good place to start for a guide to the gluten free diet would be:
www.celiachealth.org/pdf/GlutenFreeDietGuideWeb.pdf

This will help you with “survival skills” until you are able to meet with a dietitian.

Rice and fresh vegetables do not contain gluten, but sometimes people with celiac have other GI problems that cause them to have issues with other non gluten containing foods. For example, lactose intolerance is common because the villi of the intestine produce lactase and if they are blunted due to celiac there might not be lactase there to digest the lactose in dairy products.

Hope this is helpful.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, How does one convince a physician you have a gluten allergy when your blood test came back neg?

I have been diagnosed with IBS, but have an awful lot of symptoms of a gluten allergy or some severe food allergies.

I have in the past had numerous bouts with apthous ulcers, fatigue, abdominal bloating, gassiousness, lately severe diarrhea with unexplained wt. loss.

I am definitely lactose intolerant. I have not ever had the following blood tests done & trying to convince the physicians to do them is like pulling teeth. Never had: IgC antigliadin, IgA, tTG, Igc tissue transglutaminase, IgA, Itotal IgA. Can you provide some insight & suggestions?

Over Memorial Day wkend I did have gallbladder surgery as the gallbladder supposedly was chronically inflamed & not working properly. I did well for about 3 wks, then all the same symptoms nausea, vomiting, diarrhea & some heartburn returned.

The GERD is much better since having my gallbladder removed, but when I get diarrhea it is horrific, foul smelling, somewhat fatty in appearance & very pale in color. Sorry to be so graphic, but I am at my wit’s end.

I am seeing a gastro doc to insist on another endoscopy as the last one 2 yrs ago, just showed hiatal (tiny one ) hernia, severe GERD.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

A. There is a nice brochure available on line that you can print off where you check off your symptoms and show it to your doctor.

Take a look at it and see if it might be something you could show your doctor.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, Please let me know if grits and microwave popcorn are okay on the gluten free diet.?

A. Grits, yes (don’t buy them from a bulk bin because they could be contaminated)
Microwave popcorn, check the label to make sure it doesn’t contain a gluten containing ingredient like malt, modified wheat starch, etc. and pepper, and whatever other gluten free seasonings you would like.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, Although I don’t have celiac disease, I have a ton of allergies (wheat, corn, eggs, beef, potatoes), and this makes it rather hard to buy food sometimes.

Do you have any recipes, or can you guide me in the right direction so I can find a way to avoid the foods I’m allergic to, but still eat.

A lot of recipes I find substitute wheat for corn or potato flour or include eggs. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

A. It is extremely unusual to be allergic to potatoes or beef.

Have you been tested for these allergies by a physician or do you have an intolerance to these items (experience symptoms when you eat them)?

An allergy to eggs is more common and I have heard of corn allergies, but here again I would suggest getting tested to see if they are actual allergic reactions or intolerances.

To give you an example, there is a difference between being allergic to milk, which is an allergic reaction to casein, the protein in milk, and having lactose intolerance, which is not having enough lactase enzyme to digest lactose, the sugar in milk.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta,I was wondering if you could tell me about soy sauce and is it gluten free? My husband is still sick and I have tried everything.
Is there a list somewhere of the things that are gluten free. Thank you.

A. LaChoy soy sauce and San-J Wheat Free Tamari Soy Sauce are both gluten free. It is difficult to get a comprehensive list of all foods that are gluten free because manufacturers can suddenly change ingredients on a product. For that reason we suggest always reading labels carefully and avoiding questionable ingredients.

Contacting the manufacturer is tedious but sometimes the only way you can definitively find out if something contains gluten.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, My daughter, who is 31, has just been diagnosed gluten intolerant.

At Christmas I usually cook a turkey with stuffing and all the trimmings. Where could I find a recipe for this?

I am thinking of the bread stuffing I normally do, which she now can’t eat.

I looked up one recipe and it gave me a list of strange ingredients that I know I am not going to find at my local supermarket in my small town.
If I do my normal stuffing, would she still be able to eat the turkey, like the leg part?

Also in one recipe it mentioned gluten free chicken stock. What on earth is that? Why would chicken stock have gluten in it?

I am really confused on all this. I thought it was just wheat/flour related.

My daughter also doesn’t eat dairy now, so what can I baste the turkey with instead?

I thought about not doing a turkey, but my daughter would be most upset if I changed the tradition because of her.
Please help!

A. I buy a product called Better than Bouillion (in chicken flavor)–I think it comes in beef flavor too. I have seen it in larger grocery stores and on line and it is gluten free. It is a paste consistency and you mix one teaspoon with 8 oz water for a chicken broth. I am sure you could use it for your stuffing.

The regular chicken stock can contain “hydrolyzed vegetable protein” which can come from wheat.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, When my husband was first diagnosed with Celiac Sprue (a few months ago) I was constantly on the computer for information.

I know at one time I ran across an article regarding children that are Autistic or Downs and studies were done that showed improvement with the children that were on the Celiac diet. I can’t remember how or where I ran across that information.

Can you tell me where I would find it?

A. Numerous people have experimented on an individual basis and reported positive response to a Gluten Free Casein Free Diet.

Experience suggest that positive responses are more easily demonstrated in younger children…the Gluten Free Casein Free Diet is considered experimental (for treatment of autism)

You might try Googling this person’s name for more information. The theory is that gluten and casein cause incompletely digested peptides with opioid activity that have a narcotic effect on the child’s brain.

This is still a theory but some people have found it works.

Roberta

Q. Dear Roberta, Hello – I turned 40 this past october. I live in Lewistown, PA I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in April 2006. I actually have 3 questions:

1. What is the verdict on soy lecithen? I have read both…that is is gluten free, and it is not gluten free.

2. Is the law passed yet that all products manufactured must be labeled if they are gluten free or not?

3. How can Celiac Disease affect fertility and is it possible to become fertile again?

Thank You so much!

A. 1. Soy lecithin is gluten free.

2. Unfortunately the labeling law requiring products to state whether they are gluten free or not has not passed yet. The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America is working very hard on this. Currently products made in the US must state whether they contain wheat or not, but not if they contain malt (from barley), oats, or rye. There is a new certification that some companies have adopted to note that their products are gluten free. See the following website for info:
www.GFCO.org

3. If you have celiac disease you are not absorbing nutrients through your small intestine and therefore run the risk of being malnourished. Certain nutrients, such as folic acid, are essential for the growth and development of a fetus, so the lack of an adequate supply of these nutrients can result in your fertility being compromised or the risk of miscarriage.

I experienced 6 miscarriages myself before having a baby at age 43 who was very small (4 pounds 13 ounces) and was told at the time I probably had intrauterine growth retardation. This was before my diagnosis of CD.

It may very well have been my celiac disease that was resulting in my miscarriages, but since I was “advanced age” it was never looked into. I guess I was just lucky because I had no idea I needed to avoid gluten at the time.

The answer is YES, you can become fertile again after being on a strict gluten free diet. Good luck.

Roberta