Gluten-Free TIP: The GF BLUES

One of the most common symptoms of Celiac Disease is mild depression, which should be obvious…most people are depressed when they feel yucky all the time. However I’m referring to a different kind of blues. Once a person is diagnosed with CD a sort of mourning period often follows. A lot of emotion and affection is tied to food, so it is totally normal to feel really bummed out when you can no longer eat the stuff you literally love.

Lauren Komack, a board member of the Healthy Villi in Boston, is a psychologist who specializes in treating individuals with Celiac Disease. She knows (first-hand) that it can be extremely difficult to adjust to a gluten-free lifestyle on many levels including the social and psychological aspects. While it is perfectly normal to be upset and angry with a CD diagnosis, it is important to remember that it is just food and that many people have food restrictions due to allergies, religious observances, and illness. Relearning what you can eat takes time and patience, but the health benefits are worth celebrating!

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?