First Steps

STEP 1 Your first step is your decision to be gluten free, ideally based on a definitive diagnosis, but I don’t think it is wise to spend months or years seeking one while your health suffers. Sometimes test results are inconclusive, or resources are limited, so people choose to try the diet to see if it makes a difference. Once the decision is made, I don’t think anyone should go back and forth with the diet. Be resolute. Find a good medical or naturopathic doctor, be tested, learn all you can about gluten sensitivity, look at your family tree, look at your symptoms, try the diet, then make your decision. The decision is to be gluten free for the rest of your life and you will be in charge of your gluten free diet. If the tests you had are negative, still do your homework and do not rule out the possibility you may be gluten sensitive based on your symptoms. Dr. Rodney Ford’s opinion is this:“it is very frustrating when there is no absolute diagnosis for gluten sensitivity in terms of blood tests or tissue diagnosis. However, in the medical world, most diagnosis is made from symptoms alone, rather than from accurate tests. For instance, depression: people who are diagnosed with depression have symptoms, but no supporting evidence of blood tests or brain biopsy tissue. ……All you have to do is be confident in your own beliefs about gluten and the harm it does to you.”

Do not be fooled into thinking you were healed by taking some special potion, either. Even celiacs with full symptoms have gone into periods of remission without changing their diet, only to have the symptoms reappear later on in a worse and more complicated form. Do not cheat and then conclude you are healed or were mistaken in the first place if you have no immediate reaction. Symptoms can be “silent” or “latent” only to reappear in a worse form later on.

Please understand that I am a faith filled person and I believe that all things are possible with God. I believe that there are wonderful naturopathic resources available. The problem is you don’t know if the therapies worked until it is too late. The nature of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease is such that it can stay “silent” then appear later as lymphoma or a serious autoimmune disease. This is about as passionate as I will get on my blog. I am like Simon Cowell on this point. Black or white. Sorry.

IMPORTANT: Once you are gluten free for a time never decide to go back on gluten (gluten challenge) to be tested. Dangerous reactions can result.

STEP 2 Have a family meeting. My advice after years of observation is that your whole family should be gluten free, at least within the walls of your own home. Make your home a gluten free safety zone. What is the purpose of trying to cook both ways at the same time? There is a delicious gluten free substitute for EVERYTHING. It is very difficult to keep gluten containing foods from contaminating gluten free foods. Also, if the diagnosed member of your family is a child, it is a sad and cruel thing to constantly eat things they cannot have in front of them. If you say to your child, ” We will live exactly as you live out of our love and support for you,” that child will thrive. If you say, “We are partners in this. We are a gluten free family,” it tells your child how important he or she is. I repeat, there is a gluten free substitute for all of your favorite foods, from Angel food cake to pizza, so no one will miss out. Keep your life simple. This diet is challenging enough without worrying about which spoon you stirred what with. Most importantly, if there is one identified gluten sensitive member in your family, there are probably still some in hiding. Gluten sensitive people do not come out of nowhere and they are not alone in the family tree. So when your whole family becomes gluten free, you’ll be surprised at what symptoms disappear and who becomes healthier next.

After your own family is together on this, patiently and respectfully inform extended family members. Explain that you have a serious auto immune reaction to the protein in grains and it is very important to be totally gluten free. Tell them you will bring your own food to family gatherings to help alleviate their overwhelm and to protect yourself from contamination.

Step 3 Clean your kitchen thoroughly. Remove all offending gluten products from your shelves. Scrub down all surfaces with a gluten free natural cleaner. (I use Method) Replace shelf liners. Thoroughly clean all pots and pans and utensils. Pasta strainers should be thrown out. Toasters and toaster ovens should be replaced with new ones. Cutting boards and bread boards, especially wood, should be discarded. Baskets that have held bread should be replaced with new ones. Cookie cutters with grooves should be discarded. Wooden rolling pins are out. Be a sleuth. Leave no crumb unturned.

Step 4 Restock your kitchen. Keep your eating joyfully and deliciously simple. Indulge in fresh organic, unprocessed foods. Buy the best organic olive oil you can find if you can handle fats. Remember this, most of the gluten free, sugar laden bakery substitutes you crave, really are not needed. They are simply treats to be enjoyed for celebrations and they nurture your soul in those times, but they are not the foundation of a good diet. Children definitely need some of their favorite snack foods, so quickly transition to the best you can find and/or make for them.

Step 5 Give thanks for your new path to healthy gluten free living. You are very blessed to have arrived at these crossroads and to have chosen the road less travelled. Be grateful that you have been given wisdom. Approach everything with joy. Then bless yourself, your family and your food, always.

The Transition

Many people see a difference in how they feel after only one week on a gluten free diet. For others, it takes a bit longer and they go through “withdrawal symptoms” for a time and then stabilize and begin to feel better. But some people who have a very tender digestive system may find that symptoms don’t clear up immediately. It is the extra sensitive who need some professional help during the transition phase. Find a gluten savvy nutritionist who can help you.

I have in mind some suggestions that may soothe the extra sensitive. The first one is, you guessed it! Chicken soup! But it must be made from scratch and ideally from organic chicken and organic vegetables. Without the veggies added you have “bone broth soup.” It is a warming and gentle way to receive extra nutrition in the form of protein and minerals. It may be sipped as a hot drink between meals as often as desired. With the veggies added you have “Grannie’s Chicken Soup.” Here is how it is made.

For the bone broth:
1 Large Organic chicken
2 Tsp GF Sea Salt
2 TBLSP GF Apple Cider Vinegar (I use “Bragg.”)

Organic vegetables for soup:
1 Medium onion diced
2 All purpose potatoes diced
3 Stalks of celery diced
3 Carrots diced
3 Cloves of garlic minced

1 TBLSP fresh herbs such as sage or thyme
Black pepper

Remove giblets and wash chicken. Place the chicken and giblets into a soup pot and add enough water to cover. Add the sea salt. Simmer until the chicken is done and meat falls off the bone easily.

Remove chicken from pot, leaving the broth in the pot. Remove chicken from bone and save. Return the chicken bones to the broth plus the vinegar. The vinegar will render the calcium and minerals from the bones. Simmer bones in the broth for about 2-3 hours.

Cool slightly and strain and discard bones. This is your bone broth. You may stop here and have a nutritious comforting hot drink.

For the soup, simply place the broth back into the pot. Add vegetables and herbs and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add the cut up cooked chicken back into the soup and warm through. Add more sea salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

You can make beef bone broth the same way using beef shanks. I like to brown them first.

Vegetarians may make a vegetable broth using only vegetables You can make a simple broth by cooking the vegetables, especially root vegetables. Cook for one and a half hours. Strain out the vegetables and discard. Enjoy the broth between meals.

Personally, I believe that soups and stews and ragouts are comforting during this transitional phase. I would stay away from cold foods such as salads in the beginning and icy drinks always. You want to “warm” up your digestion.

Ginger and peppermint teas are warming.

Baked sweet potatoes are comforting. Baked apples are, too.

Blessings,
Grannie Thomas

IMPORTANT: Please seek advice from your health care professional if you are losing weight and to ascertain any nutritional deficiencies you may have. A complete physical exam is in order here. One diet does not fit all. Taylor your diet for you.

How to Shop

1. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store for naturally gluten free foods. These are fresh organic vegetables, organic fruits (especially berries), fresh organic meats, organic eggs, gluten free nuts and seeds, organic olive oil and organic ghee and perhaps some hard naturally aged cheese.

2. Become your own food detective. (See “Resources” page.) I have found that lists of gluten free foods often contain contaminated products. Shockingly, the label “gluten free” does not mean anything unless it is “certified gluten free.” Many companies label “gluten free” if they did not add any gluten to their product. A product is gluten free only if it is uncontaminated from the field to the table.

3. Learn how to be instinctive with the foods you choose to put into your body. Hold the food in your hand and ask the question, “Is this food good for me?” Let your body tell you “yes” or “no.” I don’t mean to get “woo-woo” here, but your body does know what food to choose given the chance without addictive foods in the way. Gluten products are probably the most addictive and cause you to lose your instinct on which foods to choose. So become an “intuitive shopper” and always learn to read labels and discern whether a food is truly gluten free or not.

God Speed,
Margery