Topic: Beginning dairy/gluten free diet and need help!
nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
It is very hard to do this. My son was diagnosed with diabetes and it is important for him to quit, even more than for me, as it can destroy his pancreas. How long does it take to see results?
Please tell me what to substitute, favorite recipes etc. I bought coconut oil, brown rice, black rice, lots of nuts and seeds but do not know how to make anything interesting with them. I also bought almond milk and coconut milk. With diabetes it is best to do a vegetarian diet which makes the conversion harder.
What do you bake with? What do you use in place of bread for a sandwich? I am lost.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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momindeep
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The website The Gluten-Free Goddess is informative and at your finger tips.
We bought a couple books...recipes, eating out and what is really GF in the grogery stores.
It seems overwhelming at first...and is expensive at first because you need to substitute many things...but becomes easier when you get over those initial hurdles.
Udi bread is the best, IMO, bread that you can buy...health food stores carry it almost always.
You can buy Red Mill products which are GF. They have bread mixes, different GF flours, chocolate chip cookie mixes, pizza dough etc...things to get you started.
Apple crisp is REALLY easy to make GF...we started with the easy things first.
Agave is not something you want substitute your sugar/sweeteners with.
We have made delicious cookies, I made a wonderful GF pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and it was easy.
My advice...get a couple of books, eat as much non-packaged food as you can and don't panic.
You will feel better for it. My daughter felt a bit worse at first because GF takes awhile for your digestive system to get used to, but it isn't always that way for everyone.
Posts: 1512 | From Glenwood City WI | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I just wanted to say I feel for you as a mother attempting to do this for your son. I went gluten-free out of necessity a little over a year ago. As daunting as it seems at first, it gets easier once you get up the learning curve. In time it actually becomes fun. The last two years I've served 12 people for gluten-free holiday dinners and nobody has complained, even though I'm the only one who has to eat gluten-free!
As far as sandwich bread goes, try to find a Whole Foods, Sprouts, or a health food store that will order Udi's bread for you. The Udi's and the Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free breads are superb and hold up well for sandwiches that you can pack in a school lunch. The taste difference compared to regular bread is not as obvious as that with most other gluten-free breads. They are fairly pricey, but they are more affordable than investing in tons of ingredients and not yet baking a great loaf of decent sandwich bread.
I tend to save by not serving my precious Udi's to the non GF members of my family and hiding them in the freezer and taking out just what I need, but to be able to have a real sandwich, it's totally worth it! Canyon Bakehouse also makes the best gluten-free hamburger buns I've ever used and our local Red Robin lets me bring my own bun to their restaurant; although, I like their protein style on a lettuce bun so much I usually don't bother to bring my own these days. If I can't find those, I make a mega burger on an Udi's Bagel, taking care to plug the hole on each side with a slice of lettuce.
I'm kind of lazy, so when I need a cup for cup substitute, I use Jules Nearly Normal Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, as I don't have to add guar or xanthem gums. I prefer to bake pastries and cookies with my own lower glycemic blends or almond flour, but I like Jules because I can pop open a regular recipe book & make a Tamale Pie just like I used to, or follow along with her video demo and make a pie crust for quiche.
What I wish somebody had cautioned me about was the difficulty of the wash out period that can vary from one patient to the next. Looking back, I had an addictive relationship with the foods that bothered me the most. I actually went through a physiological withdrawal that included depression after accidental exposures that lasted longer than the horrible physical symptoms. Once the wash out was over it was so liberating. For me accidental exposures usually resulted from using spice blends that typically contain wheat ingredients to allow the spices to flow. It's safer to make your own spice blends to avoid cross contamination.
While you're learning what's safe, remember the easy foods that are naturally gluten-free, such as rice, sweet potatoes (naturally low glycemic index), quinoa, etc. As far as learning how to cook gluten-free goes, I have a few favorite blogs that helped to get me up on the learning curve and were inspirational for changing my perception from one of doing without something I loved to one of celebrating all that I could have and the fact that I was finding the foods that loved me back.
If you haven't heard of it, you might want to visit the Living Without Magazine website and consider a subscription. They have numerous articles and recipes for dealing with food allergies and sensitivities, including those to gluten, casein, & other dietary interests such as being vegan.
Elena Amsterdam: http://www.elanaspantry.com/ many of her recipes are lower glycemic and she loves almond & coconut flours that are easy to work with once you read her tips, tricks and advice for selecting an almond flour.
Ginger Lemon Girl: http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/ as her interest have changed, she has begun including low glycemic labels & using different flour blends & almond flour as well.
You might search gluten-free diabetic recipes and see what pops up, or try searches such as diabetic gluten free blogs, GFCF diabetic, etc. I'm sure their are many resources. I'm trying to eat lower glycemic and prefer natural, gluten-free buckwheat pancakes to some of the gluten-free flour blends that are high glycemic, but I don't really have the daily challenge of making gluten-free diabetic safe foods except for when my Dad visits. I do try to opt for lower glycemic index foods, but I'm not as strict as I have to be when my Dad visits.
As daunting as it seems now, you will build on your successes and this is the lifestyle that is going to love you back. Once you're both enjoying the benefits of healing, you are going to have so much fun. I've never really enjoyed baking before and now it's becoming a passion & I'm actually asked to bring foods to normal dinners and events.
As far as healing the damage, some results can be almost instantaneous, but I think it took me 6 months to begin to alleviate long standing anemia, etc. By the one year mark I was enjoying great health. The time it takes the damage to heal varies depending upon how severe the damage has been, but most people do heal if they aren't continuing to have cross contamination issues.
BTW, it always helps to have a few Amy's frozen dinners on hand. They have great allergy quality control and have a number of foods labeled gluten-free or gluten-free dairy casein free. Take a look at their website and figure out what's safe because it's always good to have something frozen for the times when you don't have time to cook. I never have a better day than when I stumble across an Amy's meal I can eat for an affordable price at WalMart or Super Target, but if they aren't in stock their, my health food stores always has a selection and sometimes a local grocer will mark them down. Kettle Cusine (available in Whole Foods) makes some gluten-free and even some casein free frozen soups that are wonderful. I've even made those in hotel microwaves before when I'm traveling.
Posts: 487 | From USA | Registered: Feb 2002
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
when I was at the health food store I did not see any bread listed as gluten free but I will ask specifically about those brands. I hope someone carries them because that would make life a lot easier.
Thank you for taking the time to give me such great information and sites to visit. I have heard of using almond flour but I do not have it yet. I have tried brown rice flour but it is very grainy. I love buckwheat pancakes but I always mixed it with whole wheat. I will try it plain.
I like what you said about the foods loving us back. I could live on nothing but bread and dairy so giving it up is difficult. My son is very resistant to the idea so I hope I can make him some things that calm his mind.
His girlfriend has an aunt with diabetes and her family takes care of her, convinced they know everything there is to know - but when my son had dinner at their house his blood sugar was nearly 400 the next morning! The aunt is so sick she is on disability and she still smokes and eats junk food. The girlfriend used to constantly make sweets for my son, bring him candy and lattes loaded with sugar - then the drinking kids do in college.
I am very worried. We don't know yet if it is type 1 or 2 but he doesn't fit type 2 as he is thin and athletic. I had an uncle with diabetes that lost both legs and his vision. Very scary.
I need to encourage him to cook for and take care of himself - hard when they are this old. This also motivates me to try going gluten and dairy free, something I never imagined. But reading about how diabetes can be causes by these sensitivities has changed my mind.
He sees the endocrinologist on Tues and hopefully she will figure out which type he has and give him medication to help control it better. He has agreed to take tests for gluten and dairy sensitivity.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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momintexas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 23391
posted
This site will email you recipes on a regular basis.
Sprouts, Whole Food, Market Street carry frozen bread that is gluten free if you don't want to make it yourself. (I'm not that creative so I just buy frozen!).
My sister is the one that showed me it's not as hard as it seems. With the exception of breads, you can really make any kind of food gluten free simply by altering the recipe. When something calls for flour, just use rice flour. They even sell gluten free bread crumbs now too.
More and more mainstream products are also coming out gluten free. Rice Chex cereals, a LOT of Betty Crocker mixes are now gluten free as well. Lots of restaurants now offer gluten free food too.
As you get more comfortable with it, it will get easier. Posts: 1408 | From Tx | Registered: Nov 2009
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posted
I've been eating low-carb, gluten-free for five years now. The more you learn, the easier it gets. I'm not dairy-free, I don't drink milk, but do eat yogurt, butter, and some cheese.
I use almond flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, etc. all of the time.
Be careful - just because something says gluten-free does not mean it is low carb (or low sugar), especially with pre-packaged stuff like bake mixes. A 5lb bag of sugar is gluten-free.
A website that has tons of help and recipes is www.lowcarbfriends. I don't understand why vegetarian would be best for diabetes, but I'm not a diabetes expert. I think it would be very hard to do LC, GF, DF and vegetarian. Seems like protein would be a problem. Low Carb Friends has a Diabetes board where you might find some help.
I'll try to find some recipes for you. Also the Tropical Traditions website has recipes for coconut flour and other coconut products.
-------------------- "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art" - LaRochefoucauld
Lyme neuro symptoms for 20+ years. Infected in Maryland. Diagnosed with Lyme Jan 2011. (previously diagnosed with CFS, Fibro, peripheral neuropathy) Posts: 261 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
Look on the website pecanbread. They have tons of gluten free special carb recipes on the site. It also has a lust of safe foods.
-------------------- gatorade girl
"I still have Mt.Everest to climb, but I have traveled across the world and arrived at the mountain". Posts: 633 | From baltimore | Registered: Mar 2010
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nefferdun
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Member # 20157
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Georgetown University did a study of about 60 diabetics putting them on a vegan diet (all meals provided) with another group on the ADA diet including chicken and fish. The vegan group had much lower blood sugar.
That is why it is best to eliminate meat as much as possible. Red meat is full of toxins and very inflammatory, so it is not even advised in the traditional diet for diabetes.
Thank you all for the sites and help. We had brown rice and black beans for dinner. Like I said, not very interesting but not too bad either. When he eats this kind of food his blood sugar is dramatically lower. I do not see the immediate effect.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
nefferdun, Let me first say that I don't tell anyone how to eat. Everyone is different and some thrive as vegetarians and some thrive on a mostly protein diet. (And it's my belief that unless they're organic, fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes also contain added toxins).
That being said, I see some flaws in using just one study to go on. One study with only 60 subjects. How long was the study? Was it just about short term blood sugar numbers or long term? Also, the ADA diet, IMO, is garbage. The American Diabetic Association is to diabetics what the IDSA is to Lyme folks. They insist on recommending sugar and starches in their diet, which, it seems to me, is ridiculous. I know diabetics who say that they have been extremely ill following that diet.
Instead of using that one study to make the decision to put your son on a vegan diet, maybe go to some of the sites listed above by me and others and see if you can chat to other diabetics who are doing well and see if any are vegan. Maybe search for other studies on diabetic diets and see if they support a vegan diet.
-------------------- "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art" - LaRochefoucauld
Lyme neuro symptoms for 20+ years. Infected in Maryland. Diagnosed with Lyme Jan 2011. (previously diagnosed with CFS, Fibro, peripheral neuropathy) Posts: 261 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2010
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nefferdun
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Member # 20157
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I think the reason the vegan diet may have been successful was because there is a relationship between sensitivity to dairy ( and gluten) in some diabetics and the auto immune response in the body to destroy beta cells, in the pancreas, that make insulin. That was written up in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Meat retains 6 times the toxins of plants because it is at the top of the food chain. Cattle are fed hays sprayed with chemical fertilizer and herbicides. Then they are transported and kept in filthy feed lots and pumped full of antibiotics.
We hear a lot about cleansing the system of toxins from mercury and lead but not much about the poisons from contaminated meat.
You can always find research to support different opinions - how to treat lyme for example. I have not eaten red meat for two years. Shortly before my son was diagnosed a person recruited his help to slaughter a cow that was crippled from being crushed in transportation. Inside the dead cow was a calf fetus that also had to be killed. This turned my son off to meat. He is still eating fish and chicken though.
The carbs you are supposed to eat are complex, not simple. They are full of fiber and take a long time to break down so they enter the blood stream slower, not as likely to cause rapid spikes in blood sugar.
As your body operates on glucose for energy, you cannot eliminate it completely without serious health consequences. You have to use healthy forms of it.
I am having a lot of trouble thinking so it is very hard to figure things out.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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I substitute coconut milk for milk and you can make almond milk or buy it. I use nut flours to make breads and muffins and cakes and sweeten with stevia.
Actually, you don't need a many carbs or much fiber in my opinion. Many traditional native diets often had little of both.
I used to make a great bread and I think the recipe was:
1 cup peanut butter 1 can pumpkin Stevia equivalent to 1/4 cup honey 2 eggs 2 tablespoons soy four or low carb GF flour of some kind 1/2 to 1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix it all up, spread in a cake pan and bake about 20 minutes until firm. Cut into squares. It's quite good and amazingly works in sandwitches.
Tish
Posts: 31 | From TX | Registered: Nov 2008
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posted
I second the suggestion of the Weston A. Price site.
I agree with Tish. You need very few carbs and you can get those from vegetables and a small to moderate amount of fruit.
Complex carbs still turn to sugar and processed grains have very little fiber. Grains are a recent addition to the human diet. The Paleo Diet is too restrictive for me, but it is interesting. The corn and wheat industries have worked long and hard to convince everyone that grains are necessary.
nefferdun - I can understand if you and your son don't want to eat beef, to each their own. But you may not want to move to a LC, DF, GF, AND vegan diet all at once.
This recipe is LC and gluten-free One Minute muffin 1/4 cup almond flour or Flax Meal 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder sweetner equal to 1-2 tsp. sugar 1 teaspoon Cinamon 1 Egg 1-2 tablespoons Butter, softened (or coconut oil)
Mix the dry ingredients in a large coffee cup or cereal bowl. Add egg and butter; mix well. Microwave for 1-minute. (microwaves vary, I use 1 minute 10 sec.) Muffin pops right out.
-------------------- "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art" - LaRochefoucauld
Lyme neuro symptoms for 20+ years. Infected in Maryland. Diagnosed with Lyme Jan 2011. (previously diagnosed with CFS, Fibro, peripheral neuropathy) Posts: 261 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
My local supermarkets started carrying GF items I asked for. Try a quick email to your locals.
t
Posts: 30 | From Sturbridge, MA | Registered: Nov 2010
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phyl6648
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28522
posted
Watch the carbs.. Gluten free foods have a lot of carbs if you don't pick the right ones. Its a hard diet but can be done but with a child its harder.
Eat several small meals if he is a diabetic I would be more concerned about carbs than gluten..Maybe you good get help from the doctor.
Good Luck.
Posts: 1058 | From VA | Registered: Oct 2010
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