Gluten Free Diets

[Anony555]

Hi all
I posted a thread on here sometime ago, but now I need a bit of dietary advice or opinions here.
It's a bit of a long story so here goes:
I was diagnosed with autism when I was around 2 or 3. My diet was very limited as a kid and it only got a lot better when I was older. By the time I was 17, I was eating foods of all sorts but after leaving school found out I was anaemic due to extreme tiredness i was feeling. Afterwards I was free from it for 4 years, and ended up getting anaemic again in 2020 after doing lots of gym workouts during lockdown, along with my period also affecting the iron. Fastforwarding to now, I'm doing well but my mum notices that I'm lethargic.

She's considering that I try going on a gluten free diet. I don't have coelic or anything but was tested for it in 2016 and came back negative. I am a bit unsure about this as it'll mean I'll have to give up having a lot of foods I may like. However on another side, I started having more foods with B vitamins in and am seeing an improvement but my mum still wants me to try the gluten free diet.

Do you guys have any suggestions about this? Also what are your experiences with gluten free diets and were they successful?

@haba I can cook a few things here and there for myself. I'm 22, in my final year of university and am living at home with my mum. I do eat plenty of fruit and vegetables plus iron rich foods. I also take iron supplements too so I'm good on that. I did however come across something online that perhaps it's better to increase fiber than go on a gluten free diet. maybe i should consider investing on more fiber?

@Boph I've never had any eating disorders or gluten intolerance. So you're saying that once i go down the route of a gluten free diet there's no going back?

If you're not a coeliac, there's no point. I'm a coeliac and certain gf products are not only more expensive, but have a higher sugar content. Plus (selfishly), it's so annoying as a coeliac when the last loaf of bread is nabbed by a none coeliac/gluten intolerant person (I've witnessed this as I overheard the conversation in the supermarket. Woman was telling her friend all about her "health kick". I just wanted toast for my dinner. So frustrating.).

If you're genuinely worried then I'd get tested again and push for an endoscopy - blood tests can be wrong. But you have to be eating gluten before this otherwise your results will be messed up.

Plus, as an aside, some coeliacs still actually have problems with the gf processed foods like bread and pasta. I'm in a coeliac group on FB and a lot of them have cut certain products out because of the xanthan gum and sugar causing gut complaints. Gf food isn't the cure to all ills!

@Anony555 I wouldn't have thought so! Gluten is in most complex carbs (other than rice and potatoes) and over loading on carbs can make us feel bloated, tired etc sometimes. Basically it's not gluten that's causes lethargy but rather over doing it on food that happens to have gluten in.

Iron, vit d, vit c, folic acid, plenty of water, dark green veg, oily fish, good nights sleep, fresh air everyday are the best things to tackle lethargy but it's important to not get too hung up on it all too!

[quote Anony555]@Boph I've never had any eating disorders or gluten intolerance. So you're saying that once i go down the route of a gluten free diet there's no going back?[/quote]
No not at all!
I would echo what miltonj says iron, vit d, vit c, folic acid, plenty of water, dark green veg, oily fish, good nights sleep, fresh air everyday are the best things to tackle lethargy but it's important to not get too hung up on it all too!

Thank you all for your lovely replies. I decided I'm gonna comtinue investing on vitamins B6, B9 and B12. I'm already on an iron rich diet and am taking vitamin D supplements.

As for the gluten free diet, my mum still wants me to do it as she researched that it's beneficial for autistic people like myself. She will also be going on the diet too. However, it would be at a gradual process and would only be for a while to see any differences

There s no health benefit to it at all unless you’re coeliac. It won’t help with energy levels. Medics are quite clear about this which is why the coeliac tests are so rigorous, bloods and endoscopy, to ensure it’s a correct diagnosis as cutting out gluten properly is very hard. So should only be done as necessary. There’s also the risk that by limiting your diet you make yourself worse.

Talk to your gp for advice, see if they want to check thyroid, b12, vit d.

By all means take some vitamin tablets, berroca, etc.

@Anony555

Thank you all for your lovely replies. I decided I'm gonna comtinue investing on vitamins B6, B9 and B12. I'm already on an iron rich diet and am taking vitamin D supplements.

As for the gluten free diet, my mum still wants me to do it as she researched that it's beneficial for autistic people like myself. She will also be going on the diet too. However, it would be at a gradual process and would only be for a while to see any differences

Your mum needs to stop pressuring you and you need to stop listening to her so much. I’m sure she has your best interests at heart but she is wrong.