Having Celiac I cannot tolerate any gluten at all. (Gluten is in wheat, so it is in bread, pasta, etc). I'll spend the next 3 days curled up in the bathroom, then another 2 days feeling run over.

More and more I'm running into overt claims of GF on menus or things that should inherently be GF (like french fries), and when I ask the waiter/waitress for confirmation they say "yes" it is GF. Then I dig deeper and ask, for example, if the fries are fried in the same oil as breaded items (fried chicken, fried fish). And then they so "Oh yes, they're all cooked in the same fryer".

So no, it ISN'T gluten free is it?

I expect exactly the same applies to allergens that other people may have problems with.

My buddy is also a celiac. Like you a real celiac not just one of the ones who like to say they are until the chocolate cake comes out. That separates the men from the boys. lol

He has a devil of a time because he eats on the road 12 days a month. Restaurants rarely understand that gluten free means everything, separate cutting boards, knives, everything.

He ends up eating a lot of salads on the road.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
My buddy is also a celiac. Like you a real celiac not just one of the ones who like to say they are until the chocolate cake comes out. That separates the men from the boys. lol

He has a devil of a time because he eats on the road 12 days a month. Restaurants rarely understand that gluten free means everything, separate cutting boards, knives, everything.

He ends up eating a lot of salads on the road.

Yeah, I really dislike eating out but the wife really enjoys it. Some of the GF is about as good as the non-GF, to the point where I frequently doubt I've been served the correct food, which leaves me uneasy the entire meal. It used to be the GF burger bun was dry and crumbly, or the GF pasta would disintegrate easily.

It is a real treat to go to a truly GF restaurant. We have one in town here that is owned by a celiac, so he makes sure to keep it GF. We went to an Italian restaurant in Manhattan a few months ago that has a separate GF kitchen, also owned by a celiac.

My daughter used to work for a small health food restaurant chain and had to ensure their ingredients were GF, non-GMO, organic, etc. She says it is really nearly impossible because the suppliers can't keep tight control of all the raw suppliers.

Before I retired I carried all my own food for the entire trip. 3-day trips were possible but 4-days becomes really difficult. And then there are the times the hotel fridge fails (or doesn't exist) and my food has to be trashed. I routinely spent much of the day before a trip prepping food.

Yea, he has told me spends many trips hungry. I feel for you guys. He is looking forward to retiring from the airline world partly because eating at home on the farm is much better for him and his guts.

My friend of 50+ years developed Celiac and like you, is sensitive enough to any gluten that cross contamination is enough to ruin her week (or 2). Because she stays with us a week or 2 at a time I have had to learn all about gluten free cooking. I was amazed at what they put gluten in. I understood the stuff it is naturally in but the stuff were they add it is just crazy. Mustard and ketchup, well it depends on what brand you get. Sausage, are the casings natural or artificial? The seasoning I use for low country boils is gluten free EXCEPT the equipment they use to process it is also use on products containing gluten so they can’t guarantee it. FYI, Old Bay seasoning is good to go. I even researched the sunscreen we use to make sure she can use it.

As a matter of pride, I feed her very well when she visits, but we went through all my recipes together to make sure everything is safe for her and modified a few. We were going to a restaurant one night for dinner that should have been ok but we stopped by it that afternoon so she could talk with the manager to find out for sure. It was and the manger insisted on taking her back into the kitchen and showing her around.

I really feel for those who have to deal with it every day.

I don't know much about this disease and don't really know anyone who suffers from it. How prevalent is it?

It used to be very rare, but celiac is increasing significantly. It is so far a mystery exactly why. One theory is that we are exposed to much higher concentrations now. The wheat in the US is very different than it was 50 years ago. It has been modified to be much higher in gluten, and gluten is added to many foods. Another theory is that for many it isn't actually the gluten but it is the Roundup sprayed on wheat at harvest.

Being an auto-immune condition, some think it may be caused by all the injections we now get. Kids especially receive an incredible number of immune system provoking shots (with all kinds of stuff in them beyond just a deactivated virus). This ties into allergies as well, like peanut, which is exploding in kids. The theory is an exposure to a food during the body's response to a jab could generate a big over reaction to that food.

In Europe they aren't having the same kinds of increase we are. They don't use Roundup, their wheat is not as modified as ours, and they don't inject their kids as much as we do.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:

I don't know much about this disease and don't really know anyone who suffers from it. How prevalent is it?

I have only known one person who claimed to have had it, but he complained whined about everything and anything, so his "disease" might or might not have been real.

I've been Celiac since 1999, my sister since pre-1990s. It's much better now than it was when I started. Many service staff don't think about cross-contamination of fryers, toasters, grills, griddles, pasta cookers, even pans.
The latest menu craze I love to see is "Gluten-Friendly". Either it has gluten or not. I've also had to ask mgmt. "Can your kitchen a celiac diet?" Most say yes, others give can't or won't answer and I leave. I've made a lot of use of the "Find Me GF" app for my phone while traveling for work or vacation. I still carry a lot of my own breakfast food while traveling.

My wife has the same issue and with the same results. Being Italian, this does not go well with pasta and my homemade apple pie.

However...

She has found there is a specific semolina flour imported from Italy (she buys from Amazon) which does not effect her.

We use that flour to make pasta but, she's on her own on the pie eating.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:

I don't know much about this disease and don't really know anyone who suffers from it. How prevalent is it?

I have only known one person who claimed to have had it, but he complained whined about everything and anything, so his "disease" might or might not have been real.

He probably had a disease…just not the one he thought he had.

I dunno man I have celiac and I think it’s not really the restaurants job to cater to my needs. Having celiac I understand it’s virtually impossible to have GF food in a shared kitchen anyway. I also know it’s not feasible to have cooks/servers trained to accommodate my needs. When traveling I can always swing by a supermarket and grab some boars head and Swiss cheese if I need to eat on the run.

A restaurant doesn't have to cater to anyone's needs although it's generally in their best interest to keep their customers happy.

But if they indicate GF or shrimp free or nut free, it better be just that. Repercussions otherwise can be serious. Do it or don't do it - their choice. But if they say they'll do it, they better fully do it.

People I know with celiac just get severely ill. But I know people with shrimp, nuts and even peach allergies. They don't carry epi pens around for fun. Do it or don't do it, there is no try. Anaphylaxis is no joke.

As a side drift, not related to allergens but still food avoidance. There is something called Jain where the diet is basically vegan but excludes root veggies as well (my impression, not an expert). Mighty difficult finding a common dinner place with a Jain person. I have this experience once, and only once. All future meetings with a Jain person is decoupled from food and drink.

Our 8 and 10 year old can’t have gluten.
Let me tell you how much of a treat that is!!

My wife has sjogrens and it includes her being gluten free. The doctors yanked out her gall bladder and appendix until they figured out it was the gluten in her diet. Much like the OP described,we will come home from eating out from a restaurant offering gluten free menu items and she has to head directly to the bathroom with pain and discomfort.

BUT, gluten free options are dramatically better than they were 10 to 15 years ago. We are fortunate to have a gluten free bakery close by which is a godsend.

Also, I've gotten so used to eating gluten free pizzas that when I eat the real thing I feel bloated and miserable.

It sucks that gluten free became a fad diet, and many restaurants appeased the fad dieters but didn't really implement gluten free fully for people with Celiac's.

Good friends of mine only daughter has Celiac's. This was all before celiac's or gluten was ever mainstream. Prior to diagnosis, she was always sick and had a weird body shape with an obese torso and bird legs. She saw countless doctors and specialists. After diagnosis, Mom meticulously took all of the gluten out of the house and her immune system stopped attacking her digestive tract. Once that happened, the bloating went away and everyone was shocked at her anorexic appearance because she previously, unknowingly experiencing malabsorption. After a few months of very strict diet, she gained enough weight to be at a healthy level, felt great, and had tons of energy. The last time I saw the daughter (I don't live in that state any more) she had been doing great for years.

My wife has a wheat allergy and both her and my daughter are allergic (not sensitive to- allergic) to eggs and dairy.

Wife eats GF Vegan (but eats meat) and daughter eats Vegan plus meat. I make alot of meat and veg and potato dishes!