Has anyone gone gluten free (non-coeliac) and has found it has eased any health issues?

[RJB73]

I have been tested for coeliac disease many times due to very chronic digestive issues. My gastroenterologist is happy that I don't have it.

Despite working with dietitians and spending many years (and lots of money) adapting my diet and lifestyle in order to achieve some relief from my issues, I still have daily problems 27 years on 😞

I keep a food and symptoms diary, follow a low fodmap diet (as strict as possible but see below), avoid my known triggers, only drink water and exercise etc. I am slim and live a healthy lifestyle.

One thing thought that I think I may have issue with is with wheat/gluten. I know it's most probably the fructans in the wheat rather than gluten that could be upsetting me.
I can only have 40g of bread at any sitting on the low fodmap diet but tbh, that's less than a normal slice so I often exceed that due to the fact I absolutely love bread and have never found a gf alternative which I like. I do eat sourdough which is allowed on the low fodmap and although it's good for toast, I don't enjoy it as a sandwich, it's too chewy and tense for my liking. I love tiger bread but I know it's no good for me (I bloat like a balloon and am so so gassy afterwards).

I don't eat pasta, cake, biscuits etc it's mainly bread I have an addiction to. I would like to give it up for a good 4-6 weeks to see if it helps my health issues (I have a few other things going on too). It will be a huge task for me though because I love toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. I despise cereal, yogurt, etc.

So long story short. Has anyone cut out wheat, gluten, bread etc and found they feel better for it?

Ps, and if you have found a nice gf bread which doesn't contain egg (I definitely have issues with egg), doesn't crumble like it's made from sand and doesn't leave a weird twangy taste in the mouth like all the others I've tried I'd be more than happy to try.

Yes I have due to an autoimmune issue that I think is affected by wheat and dairy. My doctor doesn't agree but we will agree to disagree on that. I cut it out and just don't eat sandwiches now. I will eat soup, salad, jacket potatoes for lunch and have a porridge or cereal for breakfast. It doesn't bother me now and I don't miss it much, what is trickier is when eating at other people's houses so I am not completely strict with it. Sometimes I let it go.

Thanks, good to hear it's helped you.

Sadly doctors have such little training on nutrition, mine knows nothing at all.

I am just going to have to bite the bullet and go cold turkey on my bread addiction. Twenty years ago I was able to give up dairy with no issue and have never craved it as I was never keen to start with but bread is a whole other issue for me lol.

Going gluten and dairy free has saved me from regular episodes of uncontrollable diarrhoea. It's been life-changing.

The NHS had been no help at all over many years

Yes, cutting out dairy and gluten eradicated my severe psoriasis within weeks (I’d had a horrendous flare up that lasted a year in that particulate episode). Prior to this, I’d had really bad flare ups during stressful life events. It was actually a holistic health practitioner that told me to try cutting out chicken, eat more fish and eliminate milk (replace with powder milk). It worked. This was over 30 years ago.

When I told my doctors they didn’t believe me and would’ve rather pumped me full of steroids . I have mostly kept it at bay since that last bad flare up, I slowly reintroduced gluten/wheat and diary over the years. I mostly eat a med diet now with mostly pasta, veg, seafood and organic chicken and loads of fruit. No red meat unless eating out. Oat or Lactose free milk is fine. Love cheese.

I don’t like being restricted with what I can and can’t eat so I eat whatever I feel like, unless a flare up is brewing. Then I always look to my diet/stress levels if my body is screaming out for some tlc.

you’ll get a lot of naysayers, but ultimately you know your body more than anyone and it might be a case of trial and error/ extra reading/research into ancient medicinal practices.

I am in week 5 of eliminating gluten, a bit of an experiment really as I have recently been diagnosed with autoimmune disease and also really struggle with weight loss. I have been losing weight without counting calories for the first time in my life which is great, I won't know if it helps the disease for a while yet though

To add, my nutritionist also recommended going dairy free at least for a period of time but I will see how well gluten free goes first. I am not ready to commit to no cheese

So great to hear others have had success with managing thier health with diet choices :)

OP I found the China study and recipes by Deliciously Ella particularly helpful when I went through a gluten free + plant based phase (it worked- skin was glowing and I felt amazing).

Good luck and promise it gets easier :)

I cut out all gluten and amazingly my eyesight improved quite dramatically. I didn’t suddenly get 20/20 vision, but i noticed that i wasn’t constantly reaching for my specs during meetings etc. My brain also became sharper. Sadly I’m not organized enough to stick to it.
Also look into sourdough, some coeliacs can still eat it depending on how long it sits for (or something like that)

Is 100% rye bread any good?

That;s exactly my situation also, although I was advised by my private GP to avoid gluten to see if it helped with by IBS symptoms and rheumatoid arthritis. Avoiding gluten really works for me- however I am also not strict with it. I can eat gluten about once every few weeks with no ill effects but if I am too lax with avoiding it I can get really sick again.

ETA- i only specified it was a private GP I finally went to one after literally years of being fobbed off by my regular GP who's response to everything was 'lose weight'.

Just be aware that most substitute foods are chock full of UPFs which are known to not be great for intestinal biome, particularly emulsifiers which are increasingly implicated in IBD.

Great about your eyesight! Just a note that no people with coeliac disease can safely eat sourdough (unless a special gluten free version). They might not get any symptoms after it but for actual coeliacs (rather than those with an intolerance) there is no safe level of gluten that can be eaten (well, there is - it's 20 parts per million which sourdough would hugely exceed). For those with an intolerance it's different and sourdough can apparently be easier to digest.

This is interesting as I have autoimmune uveitis and have cut out gluten. Will be very interested to see the results. How quickly did you notice an improvement?

yes I have an autoimmune issue and cut gluten out despite no issues found on coeliac test.

Brain fog and joint pain gone completely. Dont miss it one bit.

Also ditched the GF alternatives which are loaded with junk.

I have coeliac disease OP so can't really help you, but wanted to say you have my sincere sympathy. I hope you get it sorted.

I personally find Asda's own sliced brown GF loaf easy to digest and tasty, it's also good toasted and is egg free.

@neverknowwhatusernametochoose
Thats a shame about the sourdough, it just came up in a random google search I did once and I took it at face value.

@Picklepower
Didnt take long to see results, I’d say i noticed a sharper brain at around 4 days, the eyesight i noticed around a week to 10 days.

I tested negative for coeliac's disease but when I went wheat free I was able to come off all my daily medication for IBS and for asthma.

I still have fairly rare bouts of IBS and use inhalers when I get a cold.

I know 2 people who have. I think what they eventually discovered was that when they cut out gluten (bread, pasta, pastries, cake) they ate more whole foods. It was more the cutting out of the ultra processed carbs that did it rather than the gluten. One is still strictly gluten free just because she found it worked well for her. One is not but eats a very whole foods based diet (protein, nuts, fruit, veg, brown rice, etc). I think for both cutting down on life stress was also big too, and I’ve definitely found that to be the case with my own GI issues.

If you want a gluten free substitute for bread, have a look at keto recipes that use almond flour. It's not the same, but can be a passable substitute. I find I am less tired if I avoid wheat, am less bloated and have less gas!

Thanks everyone, that's given me the drive to go gf for a while and see how it goes.
I'll stick with natural gf foods as so many gf products have high fodmap ingredients.