Saturday, February 21, 2009

Gluten-Free Tip: GLattack





It's practically impossible to completely avoid gluten attacks all the time. My daughter refers to them as the much dreaded glattacks. For some people it can last for hours; for others it can last a couple of days. Symptoms vary including extreme runs or constipation, bloating, cramps, generalized body ache, and the list goes on. No matter how well you stick to your gluten-free diet, more than likely you will accidentally ingest gluten from time to time. Of course, you should steer away from gluten at all costs, but it isn’t the end of the world if you inadvertently eat it. And as you get more accustomed to a GF diet, you will recognize suspicious red flags more easily.

It is difficult to find remedies for accidental gluten ingestion because no one condones eating gluten ever. However, here is what some people I know with CD suggest for an occasional glattack:

1)Drink tons of hot tea and apply heating pad
2)Take a very hot bath and drink boiled water
3)Grab the Imodium AD (caplets are GF and halt the runs/bloating)
4)And this from http://www.celiac.com/ (1/03/09)

“Ultimately, gluten sensitive individuals should recover from one accidental “gluten slip” here and there, and keeping some digestive enzymes handy to help cope with such an accident is not a bad idea. But do keep in mind that repeated offenses, even the most minute, will damage your body and prevent it from healing. Enzymes help treat the symptoms, but only complete avoidance of gluten can treat the disease.”

(http://www.celiac.com/articles/21721/1/How-Celiacs-can-Deal-with-Accidental-Gluten-Ingestion/Page1.html)

How do you handle a glattack?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Nothing helps me! Ithought the whole enzyme theory was quackery??

elizabeth atkinson said...

I don't much about it so I'll research it and post something here in the future. I don't know anyone who relies on digestive enzymes for a glattack.

Erin Swing said...

When I get what I just call a contamination, I definitely take Imodium and sip on some tea - green tea brewed in chicken broth. It sounds weird, but it makes me feel better. Lately I have been trying digestive enzymes, Beano, and it really does help. Enzymes help to break up certain molecules, therefore it's easier to digest . . . at least in theory.

-Erin
http://thesensitiveepicure.blogspot.com/

elizabeth atkinson said...

I remember my daughter taking Beano at every meal (per dr.'s suggestion) before she was diagnosed with CD and it did nothing for her, probably because she was drowning in gluten. I'll suggest she keep it on hand, thx!

feasting-on-pixels (terrie) said...

I was just luckily diagnosed with Celiac Sprue last week...what a blessing.
I am an RN and food photographer and writer so hopefully that will help me wade thru' all the info available and help me maintain eating Gluten-free.

I just found your blog and it is one of the most helpful on the internet. I like that you focus on the many aspects of maintaining and enjoying a healthy GF lifestyle and not just a focus on recipes.
Merci mille fois for all the work that you do...!

feasting-on-pixels (terrie) said...

P.S. I hope that it is O.K. that I have added you to my blog list...

PJ said...

This thread is a year old, but I just found it and noticed the reference to Beano, which may not be safe for Celiacs. According to Beano's FAQS:

Does Beano contain gluten?

The smallest amount of gluten that can be chemically detected in a product is 0.00016 percent. Results of our testing have shown that Beano contains less than 0.00016 percent gluten. Although the amount of gluten in Beano is less than the limit of detection, we would recommend that individuals who have concerns about the use of Beano speak with their physician.