Need Help Dealing with Celiac Disease/gluten Intolerance & Where to Buy Foods

hi, G.. my 50+ cousin, jim, has been dealing with this disease for many years so i emailed him your post. below is his response; he also said you could email or call him w/ questions if you want. let me know and i can send you his info (my email is ____@____.com). hope it helps.

the first thing to do is to let her know that this does get easier. there is CSA which is the largest celiac support organization in the US. she can contact them at
www.csaceliacs.org
CSA
PO Box 31700 Omaha, NE 68131-0700
Toll Free: 877-CSA-4CSA ·
Email: ____@____.com

CSA has a product listing book that she can buy it tells you about what is gluten free. CSA also has support groups all over the US that she can get in contact with some chain restaurants that i know have gluten free menus are outback steak house, pf changs, legal seafood wendy's have gluten free products also that she can get info on they website. since i don't know where she lives i can't help her too much right now health food stores are her best bet or if she has a whole food store nearby. there are gluten free pretzels out there. one thing is that were they tested for celiac disease or gluten intolerant.

They do have tests to determine if you have Celiac disease....I would NOT assume I had Celiac disease or my child had Celiac disease without knowing for sure.

Hi G.,

I do not have an intolerance to Gluten, but my boss does, and I know he shops at Trader Joe's for most, if not all, of his food. They have a ton of gluten free foods, like waffles, breads, crackers, soups, etc etc. Good luck!

First, congratulations on figuring this out. It is often a disease that goes undiagnosed for years, and people (like many in my family) have symptoms that can't be resolved - thus spend years in pain. Second - while it may seem to be an insurmountable task at first, it is really much easier than you could expect.

Shopping - you can find many gluten free items at most common grocery stores - like Biggs, Kroger, Meijer etc. They are usually found in the "natural" section closer to the produce aisles. At Meijer there is a section near the back closer to the diary. However I have found that Whole Foods and TRader Joes have a wider and much more defined selection. At either store you can ask for a list of products that are gluten free. Trader Joe's also is very inexpensive when comparing the price of gluten free foods. Of course Jungle Jims in Fairfield has a great selection as well!

As far as cooking - we eat just about everything we did before. (I am gluten free as well as our son - and my husband is gluten free at home, just because I don't keep bread/wheat etc in the house.) The main difference is we eat rice pasta, cook with rice flour, eat burgers without buns, and find many recipes online at http://www.cinciceliac.com/ or http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/ - there are many other sources online!

When eating out - just inform the server that you are looking for something gluten free. If it is higher priced restaurant we have found that many chefs will make you something special. And many middle of the road restaurants now have gluten free menus (like Outback, Maggianos, Wendys, Don Pablos, bonefish Grill).

Good luck!

Hi G.
First i'd like to ask if you are Gluten intolerant?
May I recommend a visit to a Herbologist, and I can recommend one. I just recently visited this lady and was amazed at what she was able to tell me.
I had serious surgery in 1998 and may have been able to avoid doing so if i'd known then what I know now.
As for Gluten Free products, you will find those all over the grocery store.
Stay away from foods that contain preservatives and look for rice flours and buckwheat mixes. An awesome gluten free product is Polenta and it can be found in your pasta section. This is great for grilling and topping with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
You will find a lot in the natural food section.
Visit this website for Healthy Gluten Free products under Macro Optimizers http://Lesleymreid.usana.com if you have questions let me know.
Email me if you'd like the name and number of the Local Herbologist.

Good Luck to you.