The basics

Good morning fellow celiacs!

I thought that a post on what, where, when and how would be important, before I dive into other recipes and alternative medicines. This post is going to be my simple version of celiac.... the one that your doctor decided not to give you!

The way I always explain this disease is by showing people my little fingers (picture me wiggling little fingers at people). These "fingers" are called villi, and can be found in our intestine. When people with celiac eat gluten, we kill the villi... it's as though our fingers get cut off.

-I'm going to back track for a moment to explain that villi are what absorbs all of our nutrients and minerals. This is also a reason why people who have celiac, but aren't diagnosed yet, and still eat gluten, tend to not gain weight and seem almost fragile. This is also why a GF diet is so important to fighting off other diseases that can erupt from malnutrition. When our system stops absorbing nutrients we become prone to other diseases: stomach cancer, osteoporosis, etc. Here is a link to information on celiac disease: http://www.celiac.com/

Ok, so our little fingers are cut off, what do we do now? Well, the benefits of a GF diet are not only going to start making you feel better, but will also allow your villi to grow back and begin absorbing the oh so important vitamins and minerals.

Some key pointers to think about when you are trying to rebuild your system after being diagnosed are:

1- buy a very good multi-vitamin, you may also want to try to buy an older adults vitamin, because the doses tend to be higher. I also want to point out that not all vitamins are equal. Most, in fact, are not easy to digest and therefore get lost on your system, and not absorbed. A really great brand, that is also cost effective is : Quest http://www.questvitamins.com/. or you can try a chewable multi-vitamin.

I still use a multi-vitamin and probably always will. I also started my system off with an iron supplement, a vit-D supplement and a few others depending on what my blood tests showed. It is very important for you to go see a nutritionist and get the proper blood work done, in order to assess how messed up your system is due to eating gluten.

2- probiotics are a great way to help your stomach heal! It does not taste good (kind of sour yogurt). But if you mix your probiotic yogurt (bio-k is a good brand) with flavoured yogurt or fruit, it tastes much better. You can also choose to buy it in pill form, for easier consumption.

I know that it,s tough to deal with all the pain and discomfort of being diagnosed, changing your whole diet, and still not seeing a difference. But it takes time!!!!! It took me about two years to get fully healed, and its still a work in progress everyday, as I try new foods. For a while, I was also lactose intolerant and kept thinking, why me??

Here are a few tricks in case you find yourself in a similar situation:

1- lactaid pills are you friend! lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the lactose is found in this magical little pills that allow you to eat ice cream and cheese. You can buy lactaid pills at any drugstore.

2- once your body has been on a GF diet for a while, it will begin to accept milk.... once again it just takes time!!

3- as mentioned above, consulting a dietitian to help you make a good eating plan, is crucial to proper health and a good recovery.

Lucky for us, gluten free or carb free diets are becoming popular, and its must easier to find alternatives with no bread and gluten when you browse through the grocery store. Its also so much easier to find lactose free items in your milk section.

I should also mention that your local celiac chapter can be a great source of support when you are first diagnosed. check out this site to find your local chapter: http://www.celiac.ca/EnglishCCA/echptr.html

Now if any of you are from around New Brunswick, and if you are lucky enough to live near the moncton area, go buy some Rosie's GF pizza and treat yourself to the best gluten free dinner! Here is her website: http://www.rosiesglutenfree.com/

Check out tomorrow's post when I start listing all of my favourite restaurants around North America, starting with Atlantic Canada!

Have a great day!

Cheers,

Ally


" Try something new everyday, you may surprise yourself!"