Going Wheat Free
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I have been contemplating trying diet changes to try and improve my health for some time now.
The problem is, where do you start?
Different people are affected in different ways by foods so it’s really trial and error what may or may not make a difference.
I tried researching the internet but everyone has different ideas on what is and isn’t good for you.
It’s enough to drive a girl crazy!!!!
After listening to a couple of seminars by a travelling Naturopath who visits the area, I started to wonder if my body was even absorbing nutrients properly.
He put me on dozens of “pills” which seemed to be having little to no effect (hundreds of dollars later I might add).
So either he has no idea what he is doing or there’s a deeper problem here that needs to be addressed.
One of my netball team mates is a Community Health Nurse and is also studying Naturopathy so I talked to her about it.
She suggested that I try a wheat free diet.
Apparently the most likely irritants are wheat or dairy and the only way I can find out is by going off one or the other and seeing if it helps.
So I am now on day 7 of my wheat free diet.
It hasn’t been easy.
You don’t even realise how much wheat is in your diet until you try and eliminate it.
It’s been good though because it’s helping me break the toast, toast and more toast diet I seemed to have lapsed into (there’s nothing like hot toast with butter and jam on a cold day!).
I did some research into “wheat free diets” to try and get some ideas and discovered that some of the common problems in those with a wheat intolerance are low energy levels, depression and irritable bowel. The very 3 things I’m trying to find a solution to. So, fingers crossed this works.
Not that my wheat growing husband is all that impressed about me going off of wheat. He thinks if everyone stops eating wheat we’ll go broke. I think if everyone goes off wheat we’ll just find something else to grow.
So, how is it going so far?
Days 1 & 2 I nearly starved because I couldn’t work out what to eat (very thankful to facebook friends for their suggestions).
Days 3 & 4 I didn’t feel so crash hot.
Days 5 & 6 I felt pretty good but that could be as much to do with better eating patterns than specifically wheat free. Either way that’s a good outcome.
Day 7 (today) I’m feeling a bit tired again today but yesterday I did 2 lots of full on exercise (totalling 2 and a half hours) so that might be playing a part in how tired I am.
I’m not sure how long I need to try it to really know if it’s helping.
Probably quite some time given the real improvement should come as my body heals and starts to absorb nutrients from food more efficiently.
And then if it’s not wheat that’s causing the problem….
Hmmm.
Anyway, what I would like from anyone out there is suggestions for wheat free eating. No doubt there are at least some of you that are wheat free or have tried wheat free.
And does anyone know of any good Australian websites I can source products from?
Our little town is a bit limited in variety.
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That is a huge diet change to take on. I cannot even begin to imagine giving it a try. I, too, love my toast and breads (especially warm breads). I hope you start to notice a significant change soon. One that let’s you know for sure if it’s working or not. Would love to hear the final results.
Peace and blessings to your day.
Jeanine
I’ve been thinking about making some changes to my diet. Specifically, I think that I need to cut out sugar, mostly in the form of added sugar and sugar substitutes. I also think that cutting out refined wheat products is important. Go for whole grain bread rather than white bread -that sort of thing. I notice that when I eat too many sugars and refined carbs I have very little energy, but if I eat a lot of veggies and fresh foods I feel great.
I think the best way to approach it is to up the veggie intake, especially fresh, seasonal veggies. For a sweets craving, grab a piece of fruit instead of candy. Try to eliminate prepackaged foods as much as possible. Also, the diabetic diet really is the healthiest diet around, so try to model your diet after that one.
Even though it’s US-based, check out the Summer Tomato blog. The woman who writes it is a huge advocate of eating local, seasonal produce, and she’s also a scientist, and she’s very good at giving sound advice without making it sound too sciencey.
Hope you get the results you’re after. I tried dairy and gluten free but felt so sick after a few days I had to abandon that. Luckily today there are quite a few wheat free food options around. Best of luck to solving your health problems.
Libby
Think Thai. It’s wheat and dairy free. Think rice. Rice, rice noodles, rice pasta. Rice pudding for breakfast. Rice crackers with pb for a snack. Think about a fruit and vegetable based diet.
Hey,
Good for you in trying something new.
Just over 12 months ago we started a similar venture to see if we could ‘cure’ my depression. So far so good.
Well most days. We choose to go with a diet option called Failsafe (more info can be found at fedup.com.au). The main things we eliminated were artificial colours, flavours and preservatives as well as two natural chemicals; Saicylates and Amines. We choose to not do dairy and wheat/gluten as well, it seemed a bit too hard. We did however switch to A2 milk (something else you could try if you don’t want to eliminate dairy altogether).
We found for me, my bad sleeping patterns, lack of energy as a result of bad sleeping and my general overall depression was caused primarily by the natural chemical Amines. I can not beleive the difference that it made.
I hope you find a similar result and start to feel better.
Oh and in regards how long, from the forums I am on, the general conclusion is about 8 weeks for both wheat and dairy to get out of your system. And Withdrawel can occur anywhere between about 48hours and 5 weeks. Withdrawel is good! It means you have taken out the right thing. So be aware that you could have a few really hard weeks as your body eliminates the wheat from your system.
As to what to eat, I think Wendy has hit it on the head, rice, and more rice. LOL. That and potato’s. Potato’s can make a nice pastry, and be used instead of pasta nicely. Good Luck xoxox
My inlaws are dairy and wheat free… they seem to have adapted most recipes quite well and without too much cost.
Our neighbours changed their diet because their little boy had severe excema and he said that it helped tremendously with the excema and also their food bill dropped a lot because they were not eating as much processed food.
You have to be willing to cook from scratch a lot more but think you already do a lot of this..
Most of the folk above keep a stock of raw nuts, rice crackers, rice cookies and cut up fruit and veg on hand for snacks.. i think having high protein really takes away the stravation feeling too. like having bacon and egg breakkys, baked beans, omelettes etc..
My inlaws use real butter (no lactose), KI cream, lactose free milk from frig section of shop, and she uses an all purpose flour from Laucke foods..
If you ever want me to buy and send stuff over i can help you out.
I reccomend you work out some of your fav recipes and how you can adapt them…
All in all, my inlaws lost heaps of weight, have lovely skin again adn renewed energy, no reflux, no IBS, and are happier all round.
Sorry this is full of snippets.. just writing on the run as usual..
L
Hi,
Thought you might like to look in to Leanne Ely’s Break free eating plan. From what I know it slowly eliminates items so you can get an idea of what the problem food actually is.
Good luck!
Good advice from everybody above, especially the length of time needed to do a proper trial. 2-3 months gives you plenty of time for the wheat to exit your system and then for your body to start feeling better.
One of my health books has bits here and there about how many nutrients, such as iron, for instance, can’t be properly utilised within the body because the “triggers” of certain trace elements are missing. I’ll look it up and get back to you.
Basing your diet on rice, fruit and veg sounds like a good idea, just be sure you get enough protein.
Direct quote from book:-
“talking of Iron brings me to Copper, without which iron cannot be properly utilised by the body. It needs only a minute trigger of copper to fire off the iron assimilation process, but without itmuch of any iron present would pass through unused.”
“Foods containg this copper catalyst are, leeks, garlic, parsley, broccoli.”
Phosphorus is needed to combine with calcium in the metabolism of foods.
Foods containing phosphorus are, wheatgerm, wheatbran, oats, pumpkin seeds and wholegrains, brazil nuts and almonds being among the highest in content.
Did you also know that cabbage has about three times more calcium than milk?
If you’re planning a milk free diet, see if you can still have a small amount of cheese. Many people who can’t take milk can still have cheese and yoghurt, for their calcium. Parmesan cheese has the highest calcium content of all the cheeses. Buy it in block form and slice, shave or grate as needed. Don’t buy that awful smelly stuff pregrated and packaged.
I’m quoting from a book called The Natural Health Book by Dorothy Hall. You could probably find a copy through the library system in your area, or have your bookshop order one in if you want to read more.
I could even send you my copy which you could read (take notes, photocopy)and then send back to me. There isn’t anything in it for people who need to be on specific diets because of allergies, but still an interseting read.
Hey,
). My body has since decided that if I accidentally have wheat product that it will revolt and liquify anything I have eaten in the last 24 hours - not fun! Esp if I don’t realise I have done so.
I cut gluten out of my diet about 18 months ago (Easter) after about 4 months of feeling sick no matter what I ate. I had also begun to have pain every month for about 12 months (which I had never had before). After an ultrasound and cameras up and down (such fun, esp the preparation I had to drink) which didn’t find anything, I told my doc that I was going of gluten as it didn’t matter what I ate, but bread and pasta were the worst. He told me that if gluten was the problem, I would feel a lot better after two weeks. And I did. (I also took my son of gluten as he complained of a sore stomach quite often, but had his appendix out in an emergency surgery and has been fine since. Why, no, I don’t feel guilty at all
Anyways, Lowan’s make a rice porridge with fruit which is quite nice for breakfast (or any other meal whenever we do a ‘whatever you want’ night. You can get gf flours in the health food section. I make my own bread. Coles (in Vic) have ‘The Real Bread Mix’ which is made by a company in Ballarat - Springhill Farms. I have used this to make scrolls as well (just use 400ml water instead and follow rising time, knead out, put ingred in - sweet chilli and cheese, vegemite and cheese, etc.; roll, cut into scrolls and bake for 20 mins, very yummy). They also do gf biscuits etc. The website is http://www.springhillfarm.com.au. They will post to you.
You can buy gf pasta, I just cook my amount gf and give the others normal pasta. Use rice, rice crackers, rice thins with toppings instead of sandwiches (my fave topping is sweet chilli philli with slice of tomato and avocado if I have it), etc.
But, basically, we eat fresh un-processed food like meat and veg/fruit. The supermarkets tend to have gf sausages, and I make my own hamburgers w/out bread mix, sometimes adding rice crumbs if I have them. It takes a bit of time to get your head around reading labels, but wheat is usually in bold on them. A lot of foods are starting to use maize instead of wheat, which is good.
Good luck. And it can be hard to get your head around it, but I sleep better now, and have more energy and no monthly pain. So it is worth it.
Didn’t realise I had written so much. Hope some of it helps.
I agree with Amy on Sue Dengates website - it has lots of info and you may well be able to get some help there. We did her elimination diet quite a few years ago as my eldest had behaviour issues. It is tough, but I now can recognise some food triggers in him.
To tired to read what everyone else has written but have you considered actually being properly tested to find out what you’re allergic or intollerant to?
You’re amazing!!! I’m sure you’ll find some new ways to be creative.
Are the family following you with your wheat-free diet?
Jeanine - It’s actually surprising once you put your mind to doing something how “doable” it is. Of course, it’s still early days yet. Will do an update post soon.
Kirsten - do you have a web address for that blog? I too, have toyed with cutting out refined sugars. Will see how I go with this first.
Libby - the good thing about this is it’s not quite as restrictive as gluten free. I have had days where I haven’t felt well but it’s passed. However, I do have meat to fall back on. You’d have been particularly limited in what you could eat dairy and gluten free wouldn’t you?
Wendy - Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of Thai. I do eat rice though so will be trying other rice products to see how I like them. The tricky thing is my mother can’t tolerate rice so I’m a bit mindful of that.
Amy - so glad to hear you’ve found a working solution for you. I’ve looked into failsafe before and found it a bit overwhelming. Will have to do some research into Amines and see what I can find out.
Lynette - thanks for the offer. Will let you know. Interesting the experience your in laws have had. I’d prefer not to have to go off dairy as well but I do have very little milk so most of my dairy is in the form of “processed dairy” like cheese, yoghurt and chocolate (I would not have survived so far without the chocolate!!!!). The cooking from scratch bit is kinda hard. Particularly things like church luncheons where I have to plan something I can take to eat.
Lisa - I’ll have to google Leanne Ely. Is she one of flylady’s team?
River - I might see if my library can inter-library loan that book. No postage costs that way. Thanks for the offer though. It does sound good.
Michelle - thanks for taking the time to share all of that. Will check out that website. Interestingly enough, the other day I had the smallest amount of wheat and ended up with a stomach ache. Kind of a gnawing feeling I used to think was hunger. I generally don’t get it now so it was more obvious when I did get it.
Kelli - thanks. will check it out.
Katrina - the problem is I don’t think they can test for intolerances. Allergies, yes but I’m pretty sure I’m not allergic (although I am allergic to wheat dust).
Katy - thanks.
At this stage the rest of the family are eating as normal. I expect that naturally they’ll have a little less wheat as I’ll tend to avoid wheat in our regular meals.
Summer Tomato’s blog is here: http://summertomato.com/ She also has a free ebook available, and I’d start with that and the tips section.
Thanks for that Kirsten.