Gluten-Free Mamas

How did you decide to go GF? It was a long process, but I read Nourishing Traditions and began grinding my wheat at home and soaking and sprouting my grains. My digestion never really changed despite the those changes. Then, a couple years ago I decided to go on the Atkins diet. After 2 weeks on Induction (carbs only from veggies) my digestive symptons disappeared and I felt amazing. I got pregnant with DS and went back on grains, but in smaller amounts. Symptoms came back. Then, when Micah exploded with eczema, I began to dig deeper into my diet and digestion and it led me to the GAPS diet. We are now fully grain/dairy free.

What symptoms did you have before making the change? All my childhood I had terrible digestive issues. Stomach pains, diarrhea, gas, bloating, overweight, and tired. It didn't help that my mom fed us a complete diet of processed food. By the time I got married, I had my weight under control, but still suffered IBS-like symptoms. I thought it was normal.

How do you feel after cutting it out? Amazing and free. I didn't suffer from gross bloating, gas and pains from trying to hold it in (just being honest!) I lost some weight and had energy.

Do you need to cut it out completely to see a difference, or just reduce the amount you consume. I believe it needs to be cut out fully. Gluten intolerance is just a symptom of a larger problem- damaged gut flora. We are supposed to be able to digest small amounts of grains but when our gut flora is damaged, we are unable to. This spirals into a whole host of other issues. In my case, it caused a leaky gut which allowed undigested food/toxins into my bloodstream as well as caused all those digestive troubles. I believe this this was also the cause of Micah's eczema.

If you suspect an intolerance, I highly reccomend Gut and Psychology Syndrome. It is a diet to heal and seal the gut so eventually you can consume grains and dairy and actually digest them properly.

ETA- typos

Edited by Clare_S - 26 Jan 2012 at 12:12pm

Ok, sorry, I have no idea why that post looks so funky. 

Liz, I am so amazed at the connection between the immune system and the digestive system. I wish more people knew that they can heal their autoimmune diseases by looking into nutrition and diet. I love your story, thanks for sharing! It gives me hope that I can heal S & M's eczema.

Edited by Clare_S - 26 Jan 2012 at 1:18pm

How did you decide to go GF? Dairy free and soy free still weren't helping the kids' tummy troubles, DH was very interested in the Paleo diet which was gluten free, and we needed something to help us eat healthier! We jumped in 100% Paleo about 10 days ago but dabbled in it since 3 weeks before Christmas.

What symptoms did you have before making the change? All of us had chronic tummyaches (the children were quite miserable 5 days out of 7 at least); the kids all had chronic diarrhea, John had eczema

How do you feel after cutting it out? AMAZING. I haven't lost weight but I'm also not exercising and my overall healthy and wellness isn't great...yet. The kids have completely stopped having diarrhea. No.Joke, Jeanine and William (who were the worst) had their first formed poops ever within the last couple weeks. Meaning, Jeanine had diarrhea her entire life, until she was 3.5 :(  WILLIAM STARTED SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! For 12-13 hours! For the last 4 nights and still going strong on naps finally. I am thoroughly convinced his tummy troubles due to gluten were what was keeping him awake 24/7 for his first 21 months!  Also, when I did this major detox diet, I did break out in acne on my back for a while but now it's almost gone.

Do you need to cut it out completely to see a difference, or just reduce the amount you consume?  See Clare's post above. Yes.

stegmanjessica wrote: How did you decide to go GF? Dairy free and soy free still weren't helping the kids' tummy troubles, DH was very interested in the Paleo diet which was gluten free, and we needed something to help us eat healthier! We jumped in 100% Paleo about 10 days ago but dabbled in it since 3 weeks before Christmas. What symptoms did you have before making the change? All of us had chronic tummyaches (the children were quite miserable 5 days out of 7 at least); the kids all had chronic diarrhea, John had eczema How do you feel after cutting it out? AMAZING. I haven't lost weight but I'm also not exercising and my overall healthy and wellness isn't great...yet. The kids have completely stopped having diarrhea. No.Joke, Jeanine and William (who were the worst) had their first formed poops ever within the last couple weeks. Meaning, Jeanine had diarrhea her entire life, until she was 3.5 :(  WILLIAM STARTED SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! For 12-13 hours! For the last 4 nights and still going strong on naps finally. I am thoroughly convinced his tummy troubles due to gluten were what was keeping him awake 24/7 for his first 21 months!  Also, when I did this major detox diet, I did break out in acne on my back for a while but now it's almost gone. Do you need to cut it out completely to see a difference, or just reduce the amount you consume?  See Clare's post above. Yes.

I have a question but I know that yall arent experts but would like yall's opinions. I have hypothyroid disease (underactive) along with some other medical issues. Do you think GF would help fire my thyroid & metabolism back up? Ive been working on loosing weight and Ive lost about 5 or 6 pounds since October. Oh and what if you have an insane sweet tooth?? Thanks!

R*J*H wrote: I have a question but I know that yall arent experts but would like yall's opinions. I have hypothyroid disease (underactive) along with some other medical issues. Do you think GF would help fire my thyroid & metabolism back up? Ive been working on loosing weight and Ive lost about 5 or 6 pounds since October. Oh and what if you have an insane sweet tooth?? Thanks!

elus0814 wrote: Clare_S wrote: Liz, I am so amazed at the connection between the immune system and the digestive system. I wish more people knew that they can heal their autoimmune diseases by looking into nutrition and diet. I love your story, thanks for sharing! It gives me hope that I can heal S & M's eczema. I had severe eczema as a child, I still have the scars on my arms. It continued on and off until I stopped the gluten. I've only had one very, very minor flare (1.5x1.5 cm patch on my hand) when pregnancy was normally a time it would get significantly worse. I hope your kids skin clears up, I wish my mom had been so bold as to investigate diet as a cause of my eczema.

Your mom probably had no idea it could even be a culprit.  All this sort of new diet & allergy stuff is very recent.  "Gluten" is in our vocabularies but would not have been in our parents'.

Thanks for sharing everyone! I do have a slightly underactive thyroid, but they only tested the levels, not for the cause. It does run in my family, so not sure if that makes it more or less likely to be autoimmune. I was just wondering if this is something that I should look into or not. Looks like I should do some more research and see if my doctor will investigate the cause of the thyroid issues.