Gluten free?

keith1971
keith1971 Member Posts: 302
edited 17. Mar 2011, 09:31 in Living with Arthritis archive
Was wondering if anyone had altered their diet to help with inflammatory arthritis, specifically cutting out gluten & whether or not it helped any?
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Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    The only way you will find out is to do it as what may work for one won't necessarily work for another. If you are gluten-intolerant then it may well help in some way, if you are not, well only time will tell. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You will do no harm by going on a GF diet to see if it makes any difference to you. I would suggest you try for at least one month though.

    Elna x
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    A yeast, dairy and wheat free mix by Laucke can be purchased at Lakelands and tastes very good. It is very easy to make once you get it into your head that it is a batter. There are two types, white and meals & grains. Apparently it can also be used for lunch wraps, pancakes, pizza,tortillas and cakes. Instructions on packet. Warning when making the bread, use a large enough loaf tin and fill half full as it really does rise that much again.

    Elna
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • Firemanphil_39
    Firemanphil_39 Member Posts: 66
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'm on the paleo diet since Jan and feel awesome . Down to 11 per cent body fat from about 18 .. Increase in muscle mass ... Even though I was an ironman triathlete I'm looking and feeling miles better.

    I started meth in December... Had 2 joints injected twice... I let my diet slip over half term and my ankle has swollen .. But not the knee! I
    'm back on the paleo ish diet (occasional biscuit, pizza) but essentially the diet is grain free, processed free, starch free (some go dairy free,I was but doing a bit of fermented dairy) so it's meat/fish and loads of veggies... Bit of fruit and I snack on nuts and dates/dried apricots...

    Prior to 'injury' some days I was training for 6 hours a day! The wheat based carbs going through my gut must have been enormous.. (long days I burned 5000 calories just training! That's a lot of rubbish going through the gut! (I was 'ironman' distance triathlete )

    I'm about to start reading dr John mansfields' book called 'arthritis, the allergy connection' will keep you posted...

    Any info you want just let me know..
    Cheers
    Phil
    (rode 90 miles last week and went back as an operational firefighter on Tuesday) waiting for an ultra sound guided injection to the ankle tendon sheaths, I reckon the peroneals were the original source of inflammation as they were slightly painful when training prior to 'injury' but I ignored!
  • Firemanphil_39
    Firemanphil_39 Member Posts: 66
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Quick tip... Don't eat bread (full stop) wheat is the enemy to humans .. Google it...

    Breakfast cereals boast 'fortified with....' simply because there are no real nutrients in grain products...
  • keith1971
    keith1971 Member Posts: 302
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks for the response everyone!

    Phil, very very interesting stuff. Haven't heard of the 'paleo diet' but will look it up & do some research for sure! I'm currently eating fairly clean & have cut wheat out completely but still having dairy (experimenting with soya & rice milk this week mind you), oats & rice. Eating plenty of fruit & veg, lean meat etc.

    Not 100% sure I could live without my porridge in the morning or a wee bowl of rice, bad enough I've had to say bye bye to french bread, pasta, pizza & all the other lovely deli treats! :P

    I know they say there's no correct diet for sufferers of arthritis but personally I don't believe that to be 100% true -- what you put in is what you get out, right?
    315yexv.jpg
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You can buy GF porridge oats. I am sure my mum makes her porridge with water.. :wink:

    Elna
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • keith1971
    keith1971 Member Posts: 302
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    elnafinn, porridge oats are already gluten free by nature no? I was more referring to Phil's grain free diet.

    Had a look in Sainsburys today at all the gluten free stuff & Delboy was right about the bread, was rock hard & looked like I could plaster my walls with it!! Will try making my own with gluten free flour I think if I really get desperate!

    ;-)
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  • keith1971
    keith1971 Member Posts: 302
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Phil, you should have said 'The Caveman Diet' & I would've recognised immediately what you meant! Something I used to follow back in my weight training days when I wanted to cut up a little.
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  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    What you put in is what you get out is usually true. I have never really understood why we regard cows' milk as good for humans. Just think about it. If you are a baby cow then yes, but we are not, our digestive systems are totally different.

    Thanks to a childhood wrecked by eczema I had a very restricted diet for years and years - perhaps the only plus of having my immune system switched off is that I have been able to experiment with eating fruit and I have discovered that it's revolting stuff, very unreliable in quality. It can also be very acidic and that is bad for the joints - well, for some people's joints. Acidic foods can be a no-no: my mum can no longer tolerate vinegar on her chips as that makes her joints worse, and I have had to ditch my beloved Branston. Never mind: life is short and who says we have to enjoy it? That is not compulsory! :smile: The only way to find out is to try. Good luck with it - you'll soon be up there with Gwynnie and Madge and their macro-biotic diets! DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    keith1971 wrote:
    elnafinn, porridge oats are already gluten free by nature no? I was more referring to Phil's grain free diet.

    Had a look in Sainsburys today at all the gluten free stuff & Delboy was right about the bread, was rock hard & looked like I could plaster my walls with it!! Will try making my own with gluten free flour I think if I really get desperate!

    ;-)

    Hi Keith

    If you look on the packets of porridge oats you will more than likely see it says there may be traces of wheat in them. It depends how serious you wish to be with a GF diet. You will have to read all the labels on tins and so on etc to check they are GF. I have not found a GF flour that makes good bread other than the Laucke mix. My son says it tastes very good. Perhaps if you mix quite a few different GF flours together you may strike lucky and that will probably take time.

    I have made other GF bread for him and he has eaten it but says the Laucke bread is lovely. He also likes the flatbreads I make which is made from buckwheat flour and water.

    Elna
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • gickygawky
    gickygawky Member Posts: 478
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Keith,

    I decided to have a go at a low protein vegan diet in November.

    The jury is still out as to whether this has helped me or not as I have also been in a warm climate for a couple of months but I am feeling quite well at the moment, with less pain and fatigue.

    Just arrived back in the Uk yesterday so I will be keeping a close eye on how my body behaves inself in the coming weeks.

    Good luck with your diet!

    Arna
  • Firemanphil_39
    Firemanphil_39 Member Posts: 66
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Caveman, paleo, primal, new evolution ... All the same basically... I struggle to keep 100% wheat free...I'm a fireman... There's always biscuits and cakes knocking around...

    And with regards to porridge.. I can't believe how nice it is with maple syrup.. My wife has been making it for herself and the kids for years and I never liked the look of it! Wasted years... I'm enjoying some now... Had some for breakfast and been out and done a 'brisk twenty' on the bike... Good for workouts..

    Do you feel 100% wheat free is good?

    I'm going to get some gluten free whey and make up some protein bars..

    I looked at your introduction... You ought to take the meth and see.. I was well scared but I'll founded anxiety.. As nothing happened! I've since increased to 20mg's and again nothing... No nausea etc
  • keith1971
    keith1971 Member Posts: 302
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hey Phil,

    I think trying to be 100% wheat/gluten free is a very difficult task as it's in pretty much everything (mustard, mayo, even stock cubes!). Cutting out bread, pasta & processed breakfast cereals etc. is pretty easy once you get your head round it I think so in the whole I think for now I'm gonna label myself *almost* gluten free! In theory though, yes I think it's a good idea overall.......but the bread, oh how I miss the bread!

    :P

    I have my porridge with honey or maple syrup like you said, it's pretty delicious eh? And a great slow release carb.

    I've just started on Sulfasalazine & gonna see how that works out -- wife & I are trying for another baby so it's the best out of the two for me at this point. I'm sure I'll try the meth in the future, all depends on how this disease progresses & how I react to the sulfa.
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  • Firemanphil_39
    Firemanphil_39 Member Posts: 66
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I think we're probably singing from the same hymn sheet regarding diet...
    It's virtually impossible to eliminate... I started on the book today.. Interesting theories about intolerences and symptoms... (masked intolerences) foods that are actually the causative factors but make you feel slightly better initially... Eliminate and symptoms flare until remission (5 to6 days) when a total remission of symptoms.... But so difficult to do clinically cos of soy, wheat, lactose etc etc etc all the usual stuff inter lapping each other symptom wise...

    I'll probably end up having my bloods checked for intolerences this summer... The starting point may be the 'Airedale clinic' in Yorkshire... Probably end up costing a few quid but hey?

    All the best with the pregnancy...
    Phil
  • Rashine
    Rashine Member Posts: 33
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I went dairy free a couple of months ago, and I'm finding that OK.

    (except I now can't have all that milk chocolate I got for christmas) I'm not substituting with soya products, just cutting out all dairy type stuff.

    I want to go gluten free too, but I'm struggling as so much of our family diet seems to have been based on wheat. I have however cut down drastically and will push that extra bit to see if it helps.

    I did look into the paleo diet, and if I were on my own would probably give a modified version of it a try, but there is no way I could persude my OH.

    Does anyone have any good gluten free recipies to try?
  • jhjm
    jhjm Member Posts: 11
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have Coeliac Disease and have no choice but to eat gluten free and it is the bain of my life. :???: I was diagnosed last July and still have all the symptoms I had beforehand. To be honest I felt better with the diet I ate before gluten free. I get most of my food on prescription pasta, biscuits etc, but to buy it is very expensive, some of the gluten free food on the shelves are more palatable than prescription, I don't eat the bread though as I am trying to avoid yeast. My diet mainly contains of soya products, fruit, veg etc, as I don't eat meat, I make my own pies, flans, stews cakes etc. I also had a food intolerance test a while ago and it pinpointed a few foods I should avoid and amazingly wheat and gluten were very high, as I wasn't convinced of it until then. I suppose it is healthier, but I would rather choose what I would like to eat, I miss having most of the foods I used to take.
  • Polo
    Polo Member Posts: 3
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    jhjm wrote:
    I have Coeliac Disease and have no choice but to eat gluten free and it is the bain of my life. :???: I was diagnosed last July and still have all the symptoms I had beforehand. To be honest I felt better with the diet I ate before gluten free. I get most of my food on prescription pasta, biscuits etc, but to buy it is very expensive, some of the gluten free food on the shelves are more palatable than prescription, I don't eat the bread though as I am trying to avoid yeast. My diet mainly contains of soya products, fruit, veg etc, as I don't eat meat, I make my own pies, flans, stews cakes etc. I also had a food intolerance test a while ago and it pinpointed a few foods I should avoid and amazingly wheat and gluten were very high, as I wasn't convinced of it until then. I suppose it is healthier, but I would rather choose what I would like to eat, I miss having most of the foods I used to take.

    I too have Coeliac Disease, and it's a right nuisance and quite difficult to be completely gluten free- I think if you have one autoimmune disease you are more likely to have another, so there's a chance that arthritis and CD can go hand-in-hand. Being totally gluten free has had no impact whatsoever on my arthritis, although this may well be different for others.
  • jhjm
    jhjm Member Posts: 11
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Polo,

    I did'nt realise that arthritis and CD can go hand in hand, and I agree, with having joint pain/symptoms, it has had no impact on me either.

    Janice
  • alarkra
    alarkra Member Posts: 213
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Keith!

    Before I was diagnosed with RA I suffered with terrible IBS. I tried many things and eventually went on to mess with my diet to see if that would help. I am pleased to say that when I cut out wheat, my life has gotten easier - I don't get tummy cramps and my stomach doesn't bloat up either. I know that there is a theory that wheat could be linked to inflammatory symptoms, so I can only see lots of positives to giving wheat up. I couldn't do gluten free (although most things are wheat and gluten free by default if you are looking for food which are specifically made for people with allergies), but cutting out wheat was hard to begin with but over time has become easier. I find that bread was the trickiest thing - I missed toast so much! First Geni** bread came around and that was good as toast and not so great for sandwiches (crumbles to bits). Today I actually discovered War******ns who have just started (literally in the past few weeks) doing a gluten free, wheat free bread and tea cake range. The tea cakes are DIVINE if toasted properly and the bread actually made a decent sandwich and was fabulous toasted. I am so happy! Nothing beats marmite toast.

    A wheat free pasta which is really good is a maize and rice mix as it doesn't fall apart once it is made and doesn't go soggy - a rice pasta alone does this (it's yucky to eat). So that's two of my main food staples resolved. It took a lot of time to find places that made good food with substitutes for wheat. If I bake I use spelt flour - some of the best cakes I've ever made have been using spelt flour actually, it makes the cake so moist! Marks and Sparkles do a good wheat free range - their brownies and lemon cake are to die for!

    I do miss pizza - I have yet to find a good base that doesn't taste like bland cardboard... *sigh*.

    I have porridge for breakfast. There are some porridge oats which do actually have gluten in, so if you need to avoid that too, make sure you read the packaging carefully. I can't start the day without porridge. It's so satisfying!

    Let us know how you get on Keith, best of luck! 8) :P
  • keith1971
    keith1971 Member Posts: 302
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi alarkra,

    Wow, thanks for such an informative reply!

    I shall seek out the War******ns (are we not allowed to mention brand names!?) products. I'm a couple of weeks into my 'gluten free' experiment & generally feel lighter (no bloating like you said) for it but missing bread & hmmm.....teacakes sound divine!

    I've never heard of spelt flour but if it's as good as you say then it's worth investigating. Will also try M&S when my sweet tooth needs tickling! Pizza is my 2nd favourite food behind a good curry so I'm sure having one when I'm craving it isn't going to kill me.

    At the moment I'm just experimenting with things, I don't NEED to be gluten free but I'm trying to find what works best in keeping me as fit & healthy as humanly possible. As well as arthritis, I also suffer with PVCs (extra jumpy heartbeats) & take beta blockers -- eating lots of wheat definitely seem to make them worse.

    Having to re-evaluate every day living including dietary habits isn't something I thought I'd have to face at this point in life but hey, you do what you gotta do eh?

    8)
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