Gluten Free Question

For people with Celiac disease, they absolutely feel better almost immediately...because their body is having an autoimmune response to the gluten in foods. A sensitivity may take longer to show improvement, but the big issue is whether or not he is truly gluten free.

You have to be fairly vigilant at first in determining what is truly gluten free...it's not just about eliminating obvious sources of wheat from your diet. Many processed foods use malt, which is generally made from barley, and anything that lists "flavorings" or "spices" or "seasonings" may contain wheat, barley, rye, etc, as an ingredient. Although foods made in the US are held to a higher standard of labelling, imported foods are not. For example, Klass makes a rice drink mix that says "Gluten Free!" on the front and clearly says "Contains wheat" on the back.

You also need to look at your cookware and other sources of contamination...the biggest one is the toaster. Putting GF bread in a toaster that was EVER used as a non-GF toaster is contaminating your food, as can be making cookies on a non-GF baking sheet, etc.

Lastly, the source of his diarrhea may not be gluten and if that's the case, then of course he isn't feeling better...but I hope he does soon! If you'd like any help with a gluten free diet, please feel free to PM me. I do have a child with CD so have learned to be absolutely rigid.

It depends on the serverity of sensitivity but it can easily take a month or more, it usually takes 3 full months. Also, there are a lot of foods with hidden gluten most often in the form of wheat. Even things you'd never suspect like oat meal. It can have trace elements of it. So you really have to watch carefully.

I am not gluten intolerant, but I do have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which can cause loose stools or constipation (I get the loose).

I have found that sometimes it is related to what I eat (too much rich foods for example) & sometimes to chemicals (imitation flavoring in Cherry Coke, or excessive amounts of caffeine) & sometimes to stress in my life.

Your husband should be keeping a food diary - everything he eats, no matter how much, should be documented, as well as how he feels & how things progress through his digestive system (gas, bloating, runs, constipation, etc.)

If he has a high sensitivity to gluten or Celiac disease, he will need to be very careful to eliminate all sources (see prior post from MrsLavallie, she explained it well). But if it is a mild intolerance, then yes, it should have at least given some improvement over the course of a few days (in most cases, there are always exceptions to everything in medicine!).

Also, if he is on any medications, talking with a knowledgable pharmacist might alert him to some side effects, or adverse reactions that explain his issues.

If all of that turns up negative to explain his problems, next step is probably to visit an allergist. Best of luck to him!!

T.

Actually, it can take months (not all the time) for your body to get right. Yes, it is certainly normal to have the same symptoms for some time, when eliminating food from the diet. If he body is gluten intolerant, then it will not be magic. He will have to cut it out for a few months, to see the real differences.

Many people in my family have celiac, and I don't agree with gluten very well. When I did an elimination diet, it took me around 4 months to feel differently, and when I introduced gluten back into my diet...boy was it awful. The same goes for dairy, or any other food intolerance.

It depends on his sensitivity level. When I eat gluten, my stomach hurts, my arthritis flares, I feel foggy, but I can still function. But my sister is extremely sensitive -- she has to have separate utensils in her kitchen because even if they are washed in a dishwasher, there is enough residual gluten she gets sick. If he is extremely sensitive, he may be getting a lot of contamination in ways you don't expect -- sharing a tub of margarine or peanut butter with people eating bread, for example, is impossible for my sister. And there are a lot of hidden sources of gluten. Research alternate names or sources to see if he may be eating it unwittingly. It's not hard once you get in a rhythm, but starting out on the gluten free path can be very tricky.