If you are diagnosed with celiac disease (or a gluten allergy or intolerance) how on earth can you supplement your diet with “whole grain products” the way you should to support a healthy heart and lifestyle? I do not understand this. I have celiac disease and am struggling with it because I cannot afford to shop at the health food stores and pay five or six times as much for a gluten free loaf of bread or box of pasta so often times I just skip it and do without.What is an average person like me supposed to do?How can I supplement my diet to get the nutrients I need when I cannot eat the things I am supposed to or afford the alternative? I am a single mother with two children and that in itself is extremely expensive! I am beside myself with knowing what to do. I would just love to eat an entire loaf of whole wheat bread with a package of lunch meat but know the consequences would not be worth it! I need to lose a few pounds and the diets say “whole wheat” this and that … Argh!
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First, let me say congrats toy ou for taking control of your health and acknowledging that Celiac (CD) is a serious disease that needs to be taken care of.
Here is what I do. I too am a mother, albeit a stay at home one but we live in one income of a mechanic with one toddler and one baby on the way, so I can appreciate the budget!
You are right, GF foods do cost more. So if you are a baker, that can help you out. (I personally am not).
First, Great Value (walmart) “Fiber Supplements”, they’re verision of Citrucel, is GF and fairly cheap. I take those every day to assure my fiber intake.
Secondly, shop online if you can. Most GF foods are WAAYYY cheaper online. Here are my fave sites:
http://www.glutenfree.com (wide selection)
http://www.glutensolutions.com They give u something free every so many orders.
http://www.amazon.com grocery section is great if you have the room and can buy in bulk for flours, mixes, etc.
For a sample list of alternative grains, go to http://www.csaceliacs.org
Here is what I often do: For meals requiring a GF alternative, such as pasta, I make myself a GF version (i.e. I boil my GF spaghetti an dmake the family regular spaghetti). This cuts down on costs significantly but u do have to be careful of cross contamination.
If u like to abke and have time, u can buy the flours online for cheaper and use cookbooks like “Bette Hagman’s Gluten Free Gourmet” or “Wheat Free and Gluten Free cooking for kids and busy adults”
Try alternative grains like quinoa, corn grits, brown rice (even instant is fine).
Fiber and lots of nutrients are in many fruits and veggies. Make yourself smoothies with frozen fruits (walmart ones are just as good as fresh!) and slip in some flaxseed. Its GF and a good grain and good for health. Or add yogurts (most yoplaits are GF and now state so). to your breakfast.
If you income is tight, do you qualify for the WIC program for your children? That can help with teh food for them and free up a few bucks here and there for you to spend on GF foods.
I wouldnt worry so much about meetign the whole grains requirement. Celiacs will probably NEVER meet their RDA of whole grains bc most of the grains we ’should’ eat are toxic to us! Do not feel bad if u cannot fit it all in. Just try different GF grains when u can and sub with good fruits and veggies. (apples and pears have tons of fiber.)
Beans and lentils are a good source of fiber and super cheap. Mix up a pot of red beans and brown rice and there u go!
Ihope this helps, I definitely feel your situation!!
Maybe one day a Celiac will write a weight loss book for us! It is a myth that Celiacs cant be overweigh or struggle with weight issues.
ALso on Yahoo health Groups there is a group called “overweightCeliacs” try searching them (under Yahoo Groups) and they may be able to help you. Another good Yahoo Health Group is “SillyYaks.”
Hope all this helps some!
Best of luck!
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I have a friend with this problem and it can be a challange to eat healther for him. I have been using rice flour instead of wheat flour in allot of reciepes also Japanese bread crumbs when he wants something fried like chicken or fish. Learn to cook new ways and u will be surprise how easy and cheaper it can. find a support group you can join the members will have allot of helpful tips too. heres a great website to help you.
Good luck http://www.celiac.com/
whole grain rice, or stuff made from whole grain rice, corn or oats are pretty inexpensive and all count as whole grains.
Hello, I have the same issue. There are alternatives to this dilemma, potato bread is a easy solution. First, I limit myself severely with all wheat products. It isn’t as daunting as it seems. I cut out all breads, first, then my pasta’s, and the prepared foods. You will find you will do a lot more cooking at home. I figured out I can have bread, just not a lot of it. When you are dying for pasta, try gnocchi-it is potato based instead of wheat. You will lose weight as you stop eating all those carbs in the bread. Try english muffins, it seems like it is a hit or miss situation with certain foods. Some times it will bother me and sometimes it won’t. I cannot have bread every day, but if I skip a few days, it won’t bother me so much. I always carry Gas-X with me, ( they have generic brands), and I use that a lot if I feel myself bloating up. I usually can tell within 5 minutes or so of eating, then I force myself to stop eating. Be careful of vitamins because they also use wheat products to bind the minerals together. You will notice you will start reading labels on everything. Sometimes I will have to fix myself something else than what I feed the kids. It is work, but there are ways around it. Read up on it, contact a dietician, see if they can help you figure out a diet plan.
I try to drink an instant breakfast to help out with supplements. As you go along you will learn what triggers it and what you can sneak by with. Fruits and veggies is the best diet anyway, and drink lots of water. Best of luck.
My best friend has actually cut her diet down to only fruits and vegtables…She can eat meat as long as there are no preservatives….for everything else she goes to a website and checks the companies ingredients…its a lot of trouble. its just a way of life you must adapt yourself into….
I have a friend that has been ill for about a YEAR now. She is in her early 50s and it started with an issue they thought with her seizure meds- they took her off and it turned in to a TMJ issue- she had SURGERY to fix it and soon after started having stomach issues- which now has caused her to drop from 120 to 98 lbs in the past year. She cannot wast anything, has been to numerous doctors and no one can seem to figure out what the problem is- she cannot drink milk, and has also basically cut out everything but bread (which burns her stomach) eggs, chicken, rice and pasta. The only thing that irritates her is the bread, but she has been off the seizure meds for almost 3 weeks now and still has acid issues, and it is really scary that no one can seem to offer any clues…anyone have any ideas? I thought gluten, but then she couldn’t eat pasta if that was the case- could it maybe be yeast? Does that cause irritation of the stomach lining?
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