“That’s the best meal you’ve made in a while!”
Yes, those were the words coming out of Dan’s mouth after Sunday dinner this week. Ahh, so pleasing to my ears. Dan is a really good sport. Sometimes my cooking experiments don’t always turn out great. Plus, he’s not as adventurous of an eater as I am, so while I think it’s fun to try Teff Porridge, he’s a bit hesitant.
So I must share this beautful meal with you.
Starting from Cooking Light’s Tandoori Grilled Chicken with Mint Raita, I added Indian Spiced Millet Tabouli and modified the chicken marinade and raita slightly.
Tandoori Grilled Chicken, Cilantro Mint-Raita and Indian Spiced Millet Tabouli
Start by clicking here and print out the recipe for the chicken and raita. I’ll cover the ingredients and basic steps below, but you may like to refer to the original recipe. Read through this recipe and the instructions I have below so that you understand all the steps. These are really simple recipes, but I haven’t written this up in way so that you can make three things at one time and get it all done efficiently.
Make the millet.
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup millet
Bring water to a boil. When boiling, add millet and cover. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes until the water is absorbed and the millet is no longer crunchy.
While the water boils, put together the marinade for the chicken. I believe this would also be a delicious marinade for extra-firm organic tofu.
Tandoori Chicken Marinade
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt or plain yogurt or buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger (ginger does not need to be peeled when used in a marinade)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 1/2-2 pounds antibiotic free boneless, skinless chicken
Blend yogurt and all ingredients above, except chicken, in a Vitamix or food processor. This is your marinade. Place chicken in the marinade and refrigerate at least 1 hour in an airtight container. Since I didn’t have enough yogurt for the both the chicken marinade and the raita, and because I had old buttermilk in the fridge, I used buttermilk in the marinade for the chicken. I also used boneless, skinless chicken rather than bone-in chicken that was used in the original recipe.
If you feel the need you can rinse the food processor or blender between the marinade and the next step. Since the flavors all combine nicely I didn’t bother with a rinse.
Next, mince the herbs, garlic and ginger. Using a Vitamix or food processor mince parsley and cilantro for the raita and tabouli. Set these aside. Then mince the ginger and garlic.
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 5 sprigs fresh mint
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger (doesn’t have to peeled, but you can peel it if you want)
- Next, make the Raita.
Cilantro-Mint Raita
- 2 cucumbers
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or plain whole yogurt
- Handful each cilantro and mint from previous step
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic from previous step
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger from previous step
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Dice the cucumbers. Mix the cucumbers with yogurt, and a handful of cilantro and mint. Add the cumin and salt. Mix together and refrigerate.
Next, make the Tabouli.
Indian Spiced Millet Tabouli
- 1 organic Roma tomato
- 1 organic green bell pepper
- 3 cups cooked millet
- Chopped parsley, cilantro and mint (from above, about a handful of each)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger from previous step
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic from previous step
Dice the tomato and bell pepper and place in a large mixing bowl. Combine all the ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Season with salt and pepper and more olive oil and lime juice if desired.
Before grilling the chicken, set it out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. This helps the chicken stay moist when you grill it.
Grill chicken and enjoy! There may seem like a lot of steps and ingredients, but this is a pretty quick-prep meal. I made everything in about 30 minutes in the morning and didn’t have to do anything but grill the chicken when dinner time came around. It was perfect!
Who Can Eat Domino’s Gluten Free Pizza?
Domino’s released a gluten-free pizza crust earlier this month and it has created quite a stir in the world of celiac. Here are the facts as I understand them:
- Domino’s wanted to create a gluten-free pizza and sought out partnership from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA).
- I don’t know why Domino’s wanted to create a gluten-free crust.
- NFCA is an advocacy group that, among other activities, certifies foodservice kitchens as gluten-free.
- NFCA has two designations for kitchens:
- Amber, which is a kitchen that provides gluten-free foods but does not have the capacity to prevent contamination from gluten, but DOES have the ability to understand and communicate this risk to people with celiac who order gluten-free foods.
- Green, which is a kitchen that provides gluten-free foods AND is able to prevent gluten-contamination of these foods.
- Domino’s was given an Amber designation because they are not able to prevent gluten from contaminating their gluten-free crusts. The gluten-free pizza is prepared on the same line, with the same toppings and in the same oven as a gluten-containing pizza, which means that the pizza is not appropriate for those with celiac disease.
- Domino’s addresses this on their website: https://order.dominos.com/en/pages/content/customer-service/glutenfreecrust.jsp
From the NFCA website statement regarding Domino’s pizza:
“NFCA consulted with Domino’s on this launch and after reviewing operational procedures, we decided that we could not recommend this product for those with celiac disease. We urge those with non-celiac gluten sensitivity to exercise judgment in deciding whether to order this pizza.”
As a result of NFCA’s involvement and demand for transparency in the limitations of Domino’s operating procedures, Domino’s has trained its staff to warn anyone ordering the gluten-free pizza that it is not free of gluten from contamination and when you order online a disclaimer appears warning that the pizza is not appropriate for those with celiac. This is a heck of a lot more than you usually getting when ordering gluten-free foods.
Unfortunately, in response to the public’s confusion and frustration with the Amber designation, NFCA has suspended the use of the Amber designation.
What Does Gluten-Free Mean on a Menu?
In searching for the silver lining, I realize that there’s nothing like a bunch of media attention to get people moving in a different direction. I hope that restaurant owners all over the country are now reconsidering their gluten-free options. For example, there’s a local restaurant that identifies gluten-free options on their menu. One of the taco plates that is marked gluten-free contains, “drunken beans”. I ordered this taco plate with drunken beans and then asked, “How do you make that gluten-free?” The response from the server: “oh, those aren’t gluten-free; we make them with beer.” Hmmm, but it was marked as gluten-free and the server didn’t provide that information when I ordered. That’s not right.
I commend the NFCA for advocating for transparency in foodservice operating procedures. It is rare that a restaurant is able to alert it’s customers to the risks associated with eating gluten-free items. If you are going to identify something as gluten-free then it should always be gluten-free, from ingredients to contamination. Since this is not reality, I find the increased availability of gluten-free items on menus as a risk to those with celiac disease. Identification of gluten-free on a menu does not mean that the food is being prepared in a manner which prevents gluten-contamination, and sometimes doesn’t even mean that the item is free of gluten-containing ingredients!! Domino’s and NFCA were smart enough to realize the limits of their gluten-free pizza and worked dilligently to ensure that customer’s were informed about the risk of eating the gluten-free pizza. Not all restaurants do that.
What if NFCA hadn’t been involved?
I wonder what Domino’s would have done if they had not consulted with NFCA? Would they have released the gluten-free pizza crust without any warnings? Would those with celiac be congnizant enough to ask how the pizza was being prepared?
At least NFCA advocated for us so that we would know that the Domino’s gluten-free pizza is not right for us. I fully support transparency, it’s the only way the we can eat out. It’s infuriating to read a menu, see gluten-free, order it and then realize that it’s not really gluten-free. At least Domino’s will be up-front about it.
I hope that this brings NFCA more support to continue working in the foodservice industry to improve operations and make it easier to eat out.
So who can eat Domino’s gluten-free pizza?
Someone who has does not have celiac, yet chooses to eat gluten free. Why did Domino’s make a gluten-free pizza even though those with celiac can’t eat it? Probably because gluten-free is a fad. Which is annoying, but maybe the next big chain will do it right.
Gluten-free grains that everyone should eat
I find it somewhat troubling that the gluten-free diet focus so heavily on what you CAN’T eat rather than focusing on what you CAN eat. Since there are way more foods that you CAN eat on a gluten-free diet, it’s called “gluten-free” because that’s a little easier to verbalize than describing the diet by what you CAN eat. Can you imagine if I went around saying, “I have celiac disease, so I follow a teff, amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, vegetables, fruit, fish and beans-containing diet”. That would be weird. And I couldn’t possibly list all the things that I DO eat.
Having celiac has introduced me to a lot of new foods. If I wasn’t diagnosed with celiac I probably wouldn’t eat as many beans as I do. And I certainly wouldn’t experiment with whole grains like teff and buckwheat! Naturally gluten-free grains add variety and positive nutrition to all of our diets.
If you eat gluten-free or not, these are grains that are high in fiber, minerals and antioxidants that are often lacking in our diets. On KVOA tomorrow, I’ll bring all these grains so you can see what they all look like. I’ll post the segment next week. Try these out!
- Amaranth
- Brown Rice
- Buckwheat and/or Kasha
Buckwheat Groats
- Millet
- Oats, Steel-Cut Oats, Oat Bran
- Quinoa
- Teff
Whole Grain Teff
- Wild Rice
If you have celiac make sure that these grains all come from gluten-free facilities. I could only find brown rice, wild rice, oats, steel-cut oats, quinoa and teff. I went to Sunflower, New Life and Whole Foods, none of these stores carried all of the grains above from gluten-free facilities, so I ordered amaranth, millet, oat bran from Bob’s Red Mill. This is another example of how celiac is unique; someone who is following a gluten-free diet for reasons other than celiac disease could purchase all of these grains from any company or the bulk section, however, those with celiac need to seek out grains from gluten-free facilities. I prefer Bob’s Red Mill because the company uses very clear labeling regarding their manufacturing facilities. On the front of the package it clearly shows that grain comes from a gluten-free facility.
Click on the picture; see the gluten-free information on the front of this package? You can easily identify which grains and products are gluten-free and which are not.
I made Curried Buckwheat Risotto last night that I will be writing up for GF Connect. 
GF Connect sends care packages of gluten-free foods, which is a wonderful service for those who are newly diagnosed with celiac or just need to find more options of gluten-free foods to eat. Not everything in those packages are “healthy”, but it’s important to know what’s out there. I’ll post the recipe when it’s ready, it’s modified version of Steel-Cut Oat Risotto. I used ginger, turmeric, garam masala and curry powder to season it and carrots and cauliflower for veggies. I added raisins, chopped almonds and parsley at the end. Delicious!
I also tried Teff Porridge this morning and it was a really nice new breakfast cereal! While the cereal is a different color and texture than most hot cereals, we all thought it was really tasty, including my hubby with discerning taste buds.
I followed the recipe on the package, using raisins in place of dates since I didn’t have dates. My husband asked, “why do you make all these different things?” I think it’s fun to try new things. I find it interesting how you can pretty much swap any grain into a recipe and it works! For example, this teff cereal is just like making oatmeal, but uses a different grain. And the buckwheat risotto was just like regular risotto or steel-cut oat risotto. Trying different foods and preparations keeps me from getting bored. Plus, some of these grains are nutrition superhouses! Teff is particularly high in magnesium, calcium and zinc, which are important for bone health, mood stability and insulin regulation.
More Resources
Bob’s Red Mill and the Whole Grains Council have excellent recipe resources available online. You can search each recipe database by specific grain or by gluten-free. Be cautious when using these resources since there are gluten-containing recipes on both sites that you want to avoid.
On my website you can find more recipes using whole grains in the “Great Grains” category.
Celiac is Unique, Get Tested
There are many reasons for people to follow a gluten-free diet: The Paleo diet advocates for a gluten-free diet. Gluten-containing foods contain lectins, which may not be good for us. Gluten is in a lot of processed foods that aren’t good for us. Gluten is a difficult to digest protein, which may cause digestive upset and inflammation.
I acknowledge that celiac is not the only reason to follow a gluten-free diet. However, celiac disease is a very unique condition. If you feel that your overall health and well-being is improved on a gluten-free diet, you absolutely need to pursue celiac testing. Here’s why:
Unique, increased and life-long risks when you “cheat”
There are dramatic differences in the health effects of gluten on someone with celiac versus someone who does not have celiac. When someone with celiac “cheats” on their diet and exposes themselves to gluten, even minuscule, tiny, parts per million exposures will trigger inflammation and an autoimmune response that you may or may not feel. Continued exposure to gluten will increase your risk of developing other autoimmune conditions, intestinal cancer, osteoporosis, depression and infertility. The risks associated with not following a gluten-free diet are huge in someone with celiac disease, which is uniquely different from someone with a wheat or gluten allergy or sensitivity.
Genetic linkage
If you have celiac, your family members and children need to be screened for celiac disease, including blood tests and genetic markers. Celiac disease is unique because no other condition that is responsive to a gluten-free diet is genetically linked. If you feel improved health on a gluten-free diet, it is your responsibility to rule out or diagnose celiac disease so that you can inform your family members of this genetic condition.
Parts-per-million sensitivity
With celiac you are sensitive to teeny-tiny-miniscule amounts of gluten. This means that you must be cautious about eating in other peoples homes, eating out, sharing cutting boards, kissing, licking your fingers and so on. Even the smallest amount of gluten can make you sick, phyisically or mentally. Depending on how gluten exposure manifests in you, you may or may not leave a restaurant feeling ill, but your intestine and immune system always knows.
With celiac your intestine is uniqueliy sensitive. It means that you can’t just take the bread off a sandwich and eat the turkey inside, you must skip the sandwich entirely. You can’t kiss someone goodnight with passionate, reckless abandon, you have to first politely request a teeth brushing and mouth rinse…Or enjoy a close mouthed kiss. No other gluten-responsive condition, except possibly a severe wheat or gluten allergy, requires this level of diligence to a gluten-free diet.
Just ask for the test(s)
If you have celiac and you don’t follow a strict gluten free diet, you will continue to be not well, even really sick or plagued by health problems. If you respond well to a gluten-free diet, and ignore the possibility of celiac, you, and family members who have celiac have yet to be diagnosed, will continue to be at risk for chronic health conditions. If you have symptoms of celiac disease and you feel an improvement in these symptoms on a gluten-free diet, then you need to ask your doctor for more testing.
Advocate for yourself and work hard to rule out or diagnose celiac disease. Please contact me if you are unsure how to proceed at Hana@NourishingResults.com.
How to Pursue a Diagnosis of Celiac Disease
How do you know if gluten-free is medically necessary?
Celiac disease is hugely undiagnosed. I meet with at least one person per week who has multiple signs and symptoms of celiac disease who is searching for an answer. The answer may be gluten-free diet, but how do you know definitively if you have celiac disease? Here are the tests available to help to diagnose or rule out celiac disease.
Blood tests
There are multiple blood tests that should be done to screen for celiac disease. I say “screen” for celiac because blood tests cannot diagnose someone with celiac disease. If one of these tests is positive for celiac, further testing will be recommended to diagnose celiac. You must be eating gluten on a regular basis for these tests to be valid. From Celiac Central and the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, these are the tests to be ordered:
- Total IgA
- Anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTg)
- Anti-endomysium (EMA)
- Anti-deamidated gliadin peptides (IgG and IgA-DGP)
- Possibly, IgG-AGA
Physicians don’t recognize when a person presents with celiac disease; that is the first problem contributing to celiac disease being under-diagnosed. The next problem is that most physicians only order tTg. This test has a high tendency towards falsely negative results, which means that the test comes back negative and you are told that you don’t have celiac, but you actually do have celiac. That is what happened with me. My physician ran the test 4 or 5 times over the 8 years that we were searching for the cause of my osteopenia, gut distress and elevated liver enzymes. My tTg level was always normal. My doctor also ran tests looking for nutrient deficiencies and those came back normal too, even though I had physical signs of a few nutrient deficiencies. Finally, I asked for an intestinal biopsy.
If one of the tests above comes back positive an intestinal biopsy will be recommended to confirm celiac disease. If the above tests all come back negative, but you still suspect celiac disease, you may consider genetic markers, a trial gluten-free diet or an intestinal biopsy.
Intestinal Biopsy
These finger-like projections, called villi, line the entire gastrointestinal tract. As celiac disease progresses, the villi flatten and the absorptive surface of the gastrointestinal tract is destroyed, resulting in nutrient deficiencies and multi-organ dysfunction.
You must be eating gluten on a regular basis to have an intestinal biopsy. An intestinal biopsy is used to diagnose celiac disease. Celiac is an autoimmune condition that results in flattening of villi in the small intestine. Villi are tiny, finger-like projections that cover the surface of your gastrointestinal tract and absorb nutrients from food. An intestinal biopsy is done to assess whether or not villi have been damaged.
Intestinal biopsy is considered the “gold-standard” for diagnosis of celiac. However, there is still a risk of false negative results with intestinal biopsy, particularly in people 18 years and younger or when the biopsy is done incorrectly. The risk of false negative is dramatically reduced when the gastroenterologist does the biopsy correctly by taking 3-4 or more biopsy samples from throughout the small intestine, including the duodenal bulb, and when a special stain is used to identify intraepithelial (between cell) inflammation.
One of the most frustrating cases I had last year was a young woman who had an intestinal biopsy done incorrectly. Only one sample was taken and she was told that she did not have celiac disease. She continued to eat gluten until her health had spiraled so out of control that she started a gluten-free diet on her own and immediately felt better. She had all the signs and symptoms of celiac and a cousin with celiac. In her case, her positive response to a gluten-free diet, signs and symptoms of celiac and family history (i.e. genetics) provided the diagnosis of celiac disease. Our work together centered primarily on working towards acceptance of her diagnosis and living well on a gluten-free diet.
Genetic Markers
Approximately 95% of people with celiac disease have one of these two genes, HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8. Having one of these genes does not mean that you have celiac, and so genetic testing cannot diagnose you with celiac. However, if you do not have one of these genes, it is highly unlikely that you would ever develop celiac disease. Genetic tests for celiac are helpful in many situations. Here are a couple of examples of when genetic testing may be used:
- When you have multiple signs and symptoms of celiac disease but the blood tests for celiac came back negative. You aren’t sure if you should pursue a biopsy or not. If you don’t have one of the genes, the biopsy would not be indicated, as it is highly unlikely that you have celiac.
- When you have multiple signs and symptoms of celiac disease, but you have already initiated a gluten-free diet and have experienced an improvement in your health and well-being. You don’t want to start eating gluten again simply to have blood tests and/or a biopsy.
- As a screening tool for family members of those who have celiac disease to identify those that would be at risk for celiac disease.
Trial Gluten-Free Diet
I do not recommend a trial of a gluten-free diet to be used as a part of the diagnostic process unless you are completely sure that you can use response to diet as your diagnosis. Once you go on a gluten-free diet and feel better, there’s often no turning back. Blood tests and biopsy depend on regular consumption of gluten for the three months prior to the test or biopsy. If you go on a gluten-free diet and feel better, you will need to start eating gluten again if you wish to pursue further celiac testing. This is an important consideration, as most people don’t want to start eating gluten again if they feel better on a gluten-free diet.
I fully support those who have already started a gluten-free diet and feel better and then come to me asking why. I have a client who started a gluten-free diet as a part of cleanse and felt immediate relief from a wide-range of non-specific complaints. She was too far into the gluten-free diet for diagnostic tests and she was struggling with the realization that she did not have a clear diagnosis of celiac and that no doctor would diagnose her without a positive blood test or biopsy. I recommended the genetic tests and she does have one of the celiac genes. Finally and fortunately, a local gastroenterologist did a complete assessment and diagnosed her with celiac based on the facts that she had a positive response to a gluten-free diet, signs and symptoms of celiac disease and a genetic marker for celiac.
Consult First, Gluten-Free Later
If you are suspicious of celiac disease, please consult with a knowledgeable medical practitioner before proceeding with any dietary changes. This is tricky and complicated stuff. There is not always a clear diagnosis of celiac disease and it’s not always a straightforward path. But, when possible, diagnosis of celiac is essential! More on that next time….
Why Do You Feel Better on a Gluten-Free Diet?
If you feel better on a gluten-free diet, the next question is, “why”. If you don’t ask “why” you will potentially miss something. Some people feel a dramatic change in their overall wellbeing or their digestion improves or their bone and joint pain disappears or the cloud of depression begins to lift. Some people will even lose weight. Yet others feel nothing; there is no change in their health and wellbeing at all. Why is that?
If you aren’t reactive to gluten, you wouldn’t feel any difference taking it out of your diet. However, if you react positively to a gluten-free diet, you are likely reactive to gluten. Described below are a few different conditions and reasons that people react to gluten.
- Celiac disease. The first thing to consider and rule out is celiac disease. Undiagnosed celiac disease has significant long term health risks including osteoporosis, depression, infertility and intestinal cancer. These are in addition to the risks of nutrient deficiencies. And celiac is genetic, so if you have it, your first-degree relatives should be screened for celiac. My next post will be all about how to test for celiac.
- Wheat allergy. Wheat allergies most often occur in children, who may outgrow the allergy by adulthood. Wheat allergy symptoms generally include digestive complaints, nasal congestion and/or skin rashes and hives. There are blood and skin tests for an IgE wheat allergy.
- Wheat sensitivity. The difference between allergy and sensitivity is the part of your immune system that is activated in response to the food. The type of food sensitivity test that I recommend for sensitivities measures your overall immune response to foods. These types of tests are particularly helpful in managing IBS, migraines, fibromyalgia and inflammatory conditions. Food sensitivity tests do not diagnosis or rue out celiac disease, so celiac must still be considered, particularly when there are signs of genetic linkage, nutrient deficiencies and/or related conditions to celiac disease.
- Fermentable carbohydrates. Gluten-containing foods contain fermentable carbohydrates that are difficult to digest and cause gas, bloating and abdominal discomfort in susceptible individuals. People with IBS should rule out celiac disease and then try a low FODMAP diet. They may respond favorably to a gluten-free diet simply because a gluten-free diet is low in fermentable carbohydrates. There are many other foods that contain fermentable carbohydrates and are limited on a low FODMAP diet.
- Non-celiac gluten-sensitivity. If you don’t have celiac, wheat allergy or sensitivity or GI discomfort that is worsened with fermentable carbohydrates, yet you still respond positively to a gluten-free diet, you may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Non-celiac gluten-sensitivity has many of the signs and symptoms of celiac disease, however, non-celiac gluten-sensitivity is not autoimmune nor is it genetic nor does eating gluten damage your gut lining, which means that you would not have nutrient deficiencies or the long term disease risks associated with celiac disease. There is not a test for non-celiac gluten sensitivity, it is diagnosed by a process of eliminating other conditions described above. Researcher Alessio Fasano predicts that up to 1 in 17 people have non-celiac gluten-sensitivity.
- Reduced processed and packaged foods. One global reason that you may feel better on a gluten-free diet is that a gluten-free diet MAY limit processed foods. A gluten-free diet MAY refocus your diet on quinoa, brown rice, gluten-free oats, sweet potatoes, beans and lentils in place of pasta and bread, in which case you would be cutting out tons of refined flour, sugar, processed fats and salt…, which would definitely make you feel better. However, this MAY NOT happen if you fill your gluten-free diet with processed gluten-free foods that tend to be higher in sugar and fat and lower in fiber compared to gluten-containing packaged foods.
Take-home points: Don’t take feeling better lightly. You want to continue feeling great, so you must explore why you are responding favorably to a gluten-free diet. And don’t kid yourself, gluten-free does not necessarily mean “healthier”. Gluten-free packaged foods are nutritionally worse than gluten-containing 100% whole grain options.
“I Tried a Gluten-Free Diet and Feel Better”
Pic from an excellent 2009 article in Scientific American
“I tried a gluten-free diet and feel better.” “I tried an elimination diet and feel better.” “I tried the Paleo diet and feel better.”
These are increasingly common statements that I hear across my desk. A few years ago, the statement was similar but different:
“I tried a low-carb diet and feel better.”
In fact, prior to being diagnosed with celiac, that is what I thought about myself. I felt that I just did better on a lower carb diet, which was strange for a runner. I noticed that if I didn’t have pasta at dinner, I wasn’t bloated in the monring and that if I didn’t have cereal for breakfast, my energy better throughout the day. This phenomenon was the result of eating a lower gluten diet; I didn’t know at the time that I had celiac disease, I was just trying different ways of eating and my body was responding. Noticing how my body responded to a lower-carb diet helped me assert myself when perusing diagnostic testing for celiac disease. Now, I feel even better on a gluten-free, higher carb diet that is appropriate for my activity level.
Whenever someone tells me that they “feel better” on a low carb or gluten-free or Paleo diet I begin to wonder why. There is a lot of controversy surrounding grains in our diet and how much we need, or don’t need, for optimal health. I don’t have all the answers on that debate, however, I do know for certain that if you feel better on a lower gluten diet, you had better determine whether or not you have celiac disease, preferably before you’ve fully adapted the lower gluten diet.
What is celiac disease? (If you have celiac and already know all this stuff, scroll down, I have a question for you!)
Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the small intestine when a person consumes gluten. Gluten is a protein in wheat, barley in rye. About 1 in 100 people have celiac disease, but 95% of those with celiac are undiagnosed. Gluten-free diets are popular right now, so there are a large number of people who are simply “trying out” gluten-free foods and stumbling onto a medically necessary diet that should be adapted for the long term.
Symptoms of celiac disease
Think you could have celiac? Here’s a list of symptoms of celiac. You may have one, two or ten of these symptoms. Everyone with celiac is different.
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Panic attacks
- Personality and/or behavior changes
- Poor memory and/or concentration
- Intense appetite
- Unintentional weight gain
- Unintentional weight loss
- Irregular periods
- Infertility, male and female
- Recurrent miscarriages
- Delayed puberty
- Abdominal cramps
- Gas
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Stomach grumbling
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Anemia related to iron and/or vitamin B12 and/or folate deficiencies
- Sores inside your mouth
- Cracks in the sides of lips
- Frequent cavities, dental enamel abnormalities
- Easy bruising
- Nose bleeds
- Failure to thrive in a child
- Low blood calcium or magnesium
- Muscle cramps
- Fatigue
- Difficulty seeing at night or at dusk
- Sensitivity to bright light
- Pale appearance
- Changes in tounge
- Tingling in extremities
- Vitamin D deficiency or iron deficiency that is unresponsive to supplementation
- Arthritis, rheumatoid
- Joint pain
- Bone pain
- Dermatitis herpetiformis, an itchy rash
- Hypothyroid
- Osteoporosis or osteopenia
- Elevated liver function tests
- Migraines
- IBS
- Sjorgren’s
- Type 1 diabetes
- Peripheral neuropathy, which is a tingling in your extremities
- Turner Syndrome
- Down Syndrome
- Williams Syndrome
- Intestinal cancer
- Family members who have any of the above conditions
More to come this month:
- What difference does a diagnosis make? You already know a gluten-free diet feels better, why would a diagnosis matter?
- How do you diagnose celiac disease?
- What are your favorite gluten-free foods? For those of you eating gluten free, what are your favorite gluten-free foods? I know what my favorites are, but I’m curious what you are eating. I’ll share it all later this month.
What’s your favorite gluten-free:
- Bread
- Pasta
- Cracker
- Cold cereal
- Hot cereal
- Granola
- Tortilla
- All-purpose flour blend
- Baking flour blend
- Bar-fruit n’ nut bar, protein bar, granola bar, etc
