Gluten Free Basics

[lovetoscrap]

We are experimenting with gluten free to see if it helps DD10's stomach problems. She has had tests run (but nothing internal) and seen several doctors and they just keep saying IBS. They did test for celiac and said that she doesn't have it.

She can go for weeks and be just fine, eating anything and everything ( and we eat a lot of pasta and breads) but when it flares up she is miserable. When it got bad last week I switched her to gluten free for a few days and she seemed to feel better faster than usual. We did just meats, fruit, veggies and gluten free pasta for several days.

But I am not sure beyond the basics of what to look for with Gluten Free. For instance when I read labels and they don't specifically mention Wheat or say Gluten Free I am unsure what else to be looking for. A few things I have seen are:

Corn starch (good?)
Modified Corn Starch (modified with what? )
Food Starch (what the heck is this??)
Yeast extracts?


Are there specific hidden things I should be looking for in food labels? We tried dairy free about a year ago so I know there were things on labels that you wouldn't realize were dairy unless you knew what to look for. I wish they would add Gluten to the allergen information since it goes beyond just Wheat from what I understand.

Any recommendations for a good forum/website that will explain the basics in easy to understand language? There are some good threads here that I am going to read for ideas on recipes but I need to start with the basics.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm a lazy parent of a child with celiac (have a gluten free mac n cheese in the oven right now). Corn starch is fine (used it for the mac n cheese), and I believe yeast extract is as well. I stay away from food starch, but I think modified food starch is okay? If I'm not sure, we just don't have it. It's the hidden gluten that is hard (licorice, soy sauce...). I don't have a particular website, although many have been forwarded to me. I just keep things simple. Vans waffles are great, and the only way to eat the bread is to toast or grill it.

 

[fireworks fan]

I have celiac and I like the sillyaks group on yahoo for information. Modified food starch in the US has to be gluten free-imported products you would have to check. Yeast is fine-so I would think yeast extract is fine too. Corn starch is used all the time for gluten free-easy to find and use.

Hidden ingredients-malt extract, sometimes caramel coloring or flavoring, and "natural flavors". You can always call the company and ask. I've done that several times for natural flavors. Also, only wheat is required to be disclosed, so oatmeal, barley, rye may still be hidden. HTH

 

[Traveliz]

I'm a lazy parent of a child with celiac (have a gluten free mac n cheese in the oven right now). Corn starch is fine (used it for the mac n cheese), and I believe yeast extract is as well. I stay away from food starch, but I think modified food starch is okay? If I'm not sure, we just don't have it. It's the hidden gluten that is hard (licorice, soy sauce...). I don't have a particular website, although many have been forwarded to me. I just keep things simple. Vans waffles are great, and the only way to eat the bread is to toast or grill it.

My husband is celiac's and honestly your post is just what he would write.

Keep it simple, some stuff will suprise you (licorice) and he was just telling someone the other day you have to toast the bread to make it taste even somewhat decent.

Liz

 

[Bilberry]

I used to have a severe gut problem. And after several tests was told I did not have celiac sprue. Yet several of the doctors mentioned that wheat can still cause problems regardless and best I avoid it. So after going wheat and also dairy free, my gut health improved greatly. Basically I eat what is called a paleo diet.

Dr Cordain, a paleo diet researcher, has a nice blog about the diet:

http://thepaleodiet.blogspot.com/

I've noticed also that two supplements fish oil, and vitamin D3 helped greatly also. I'm not sure why they helped, but both have anti-inflamatory properties to them. I take 2000mgs of EPA/DHA from fish oil a day. Vitamin D3 can be tricky to figure out the correct dosage. This article should help:

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/getting-vitamin-d-right.html

Good luck to your daughter! It's no fun having a grumpy gut.