Its fine to bring my children up gluten free

[Ironfistfunkymum]

I've been gf for 6+ years, not alergic or anything but feel so much better for it. People seem generally fine with this.

However now I have children people do seem to judge bringing them up gf. But why would if feed them something that I dont think is very healthy (grains hard to digest) and something that I don't think is very ethical (wheat production is causing more deserts due to its growing conditions).

Aibu to expect people to respect my choice and leave it at that?

It's because of people like you that people generally don't believe those who say they have food intolerances.

Love the 'how to be gluten intolerant' video upthread

No they don't believe in them because they are idiots.

what miss Jane doe does fifty miles away should have no bearing on what another person thinks regarding a friends allergy.

That 11 reasons to go gluten free article is full of unsubstantiated and fabricated facts and poor science to back up a subjective view.

There are many more articles with substantiated facts about the fad of cutting out gluten when there is no medical need to do so.

this one is a good basic starting point. Though I doubt it will change how you behave, as like the video I posted earlier, I suspect it's about control.

Sirzy sorry missed the question last night. There isn't a problem with other foods touching, I can just pick them off. So, for instance, if I have a salad and forget to ask for no tomato, I can remove the tomato (although if it is sliced and there are seeds left this can be difficult, but cherry tomatoes are fine). It's called Oral Allergy Syndrome acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergies/types-food-allergy/oral-allergy-syndrome, although it also affects me touching raw fruit and veg (which was great for getting out of peeling potatoes when I was younger!)

BTW I am in no way comparing this to coeliac or other allergies which I know can be far more serious, it was more to a pp who said that food touching is always a problem for genuine allergies, and I wanted to point out that this isn't always the case.

UnbelievableBollocks, I don't think that's a particularly great article either. Take this bit:

Before you switch to a gluten-free diet, you should be evaluated by your family physician, and a specialist who can determine if you have celiac disease. (To be diagnosed with the disease, people should see a gastroenterologist.) Other people who may need to cut back on gluten are individuals who have a wheat allergy — they need to avoid wheat, but not all grains — and people with gluten sensitivity, who may feel better when they eat less gluten, WebMD says.

The bit in bold is just what the OP is doing anyway.

I think you need to be careful about messages that you are giving to your children about gluten.

My brother has a (fairly severe) nut allergy. Several other people in my family also have nut allergies. I do not have a nut allergy.

I have realised recently that I see no difference in "nut" and "deadly poison". It is very deeply embedded in me that nuts are evil.

My dh comes from a family that see nuts as a delicious healthy snack. Both my children have now been given nuts and are fine on them. But it still terrifies me.

Having nuts treated as evil was necessary from my childhood and I gained massively from it (my brother is still alive). But my attitude towards nuts is not healthy. When pregnant I got particularly obsessive and had sleepless nights about the fact that I had accidentally eaten something that contained nuts. (Not sure what the rules are now as they keep changing their bloody minds but at that point people with a family history of nut allergies were advised to avoid nuts in pregnancy.

Be careful - what you put in your children's heads now, you can't get out.

this is interesting and informative. And has a short embedded video that's mildly entertaining in the light of some of the OP's posts!

I also do not understand the fuss about other people's food choices

I don't care about the OP's food choices. I'm not bothered about what she feeds her children, as long as they are fed, and happy, which I'm sure they are.

What troubles me, is the apparent inability of many people, including those with a particular interest in dietary matters, to distinguish between "gluten" and "wheat", and the potential impact of this on my son's ability to purchase and consume food without poisoning himself.

And the OP claiming that she is "raising her children gluten free", which she isn't, at all - and making a smug, pseudohealthy deal of it to boot - is contributing to his potential difficulties in this area.

My son isn't allergic or intolerant to wheat. Strip the gluten out of it, and he can eat it with no problems whatsoever. "Cutting out bread, pasta, cakes and biscuits" isn't "going gluten free". Having an irrational fear of "long named ingredients" in food isn't "going gluten free" either.

"Going gluten free" is what my son has to do, completely and for life, in order to avoid extreme suffering in the short term, and a vastly reduced life expectancy thereafter. "Bringing him up gluten free" is, therefore, what his father and I are doing at the moment. Frankly, the OP could have it, if she liked. But I suspect, given the reality, she'd turn it down.

So, in the meantime, I would really appreciate her picking her words with more care.

That, to me, is really the issue multi. The more people who are vague about their terminology and/or say that they can't eat X, Y or Z and then eat X, Y or Z but in a different form (ie 'can't' drink milk but can down a quart of Haagen Dazs) is actually dangerous for those people who really do have serious food allergies. I have two friends who carry around epipens with them in case their children accidentally ingest eggs/milk/nuts. It's massively stressful for them and not something I would wish on anyone - it's really, really hard work.

I think people like the OP with their pseudo science and inaccurate language put children with genuine allergies/intolerances in real danger.

Ironfist - I have non coeliac gluten intolerance that made me very ill for many years before I was diagnosed and went GF.

My whole family eat a lot of GF food which I make but they also eat food with gluten in.

My wife says she feels much better eating bread in France than in the UK because the wheat is different as is the bread making process. Most people as they age and women in particular become less tolerant to gluten so if it makes you feel better carry on.

A lot of people would be better off cutting down on gluten in their diet because human beings were not designed to eat gluten and it is only a few thousand years since we started eating it.

Personally I dont think you should tell people your children are GF though. Instead I would suggest you do as I do. Let your children eat GF food as it makes their lives much easier and ensures they get certain B vitamins they might miss but don't feel you have to always give them food with gluten in at home either. Frankly my family cant tell the difference - except for bread. Don't make an issue of it - but it doesn't sound like you have not been strictly GF in your diet anyway. Barley malt is a product of beer making and is sprayed on things like cornflakes to make them taste better. I didn't know this at first when I went GF and wondered why cornflakes made me feel ll. Cornflakes are maize that contain no gluten but barley does.

It sounds to me like you are the same as my wife - you feel better on a low gluten diet and many many people are the same.

Same as Mrs Beta, I feel better on French bread than British, and also much better on breadmaker bread than shop bought.

I find it annoying that so many people on this thread are so ready to dismiss other people's valid experiences as "faddy".

Three people in my family are lactose intolerant and also have problems with random other foods; apples, tomatoes, orange juice to name a few. No it's not going to kill anyone but it's very unpleasant to have an upset digestive system. At a friend's or a restaurant they would mostly just avoid those things without a fuss.

Frankly I couldn't give a toss about the eye rollers and totally fail to see how my family's intolerances have any impact on how society treats someone else's allergies.

they can't eat X, Y or Z and then eat X, Y or Z but in a different form (ie 'can't' drink milk but can down a quart of Haagen Dazs)

so most of the human race then . . . . .

the OP claiming that she is "raising her children gluten free"

And I am! I just mentioned one time when out and about that I didn't worry if the oatcakes were gf as I'd rather they had this with their soup than went hungry. Nothing with g is in the house.

It really is time people stopped dismissing this as a fad when many of us have been doing it for years and now feel and look great on it.

haven't you noticed how many people look and feel great eating a normal amount of gluten? Haven't you noticed how many people are seriously screwed up physically and mentally by this pathetic fad? haven't you noticed actually what the human race depends on? and has depended on since the stone age?

I feel great. I eat gluten. How do you explain me? Am I really one if a tiny group?

Not eating bread, pasta and cake screws you up? Oh do tell me more.

Actually most people look like shit and 70% of adults in the uk are obses or overweight.

Anyway I'll pop down to Greg's with my clipboard to rate peoples skin tone..

Not eating bread, pasta and cake screws you up? Oh do tell me more I suspect this is already abundantly clear to others who know your poor kids

But you dont OP

I do because I am coeliac. So when I got to a restaurant I have to ensure the food is prepared entirely separate, to stop cross contamination. It's obvious from yours posts that you don't. Many foods that appear gluten free are infact not because of processing may happen in a factory where a gluten product is. It may be grown near another food that contains gluten.

Your children are likely ingesting small amounts of gluten a lot. I know this because I have had reactions to things I shouldn't have done, due to cross contamination or not researching a food stuff enough to know it becomes cross contaminated.

Also you haven't answered about the socialising aspect of paleo/ primal lifestyles either. It's an important part of the lifestyle you have chosen. It's not recommended (especially for children) to take it to extremes that thy are excluded. Such as birthday parties, eating with family etc.

OP, are you Gwyenth Paltrow?

I just mentioned one time when out and about that I didn't worry if the oatcakes were gf

You also said you "never said they couldn't have anything". You also routinely use the word "gluten" when you mean "wheat". You also talk about the ethics of food production, but seem unaware of the ethical issues surrounding quinoa, of which - like so many aspirational health gurus, you seem terribly fond. You also have bizarre issues around soy/tamari sauce (we have four different types of the former in our cupboards, along with two of the latter - each used for different purposes; to suggest that tamari is simply a 'better' version of soy is just ignorant).

Do you minutely question everyone who serves food to your children regarding the conditions in the kitchen and the exact nature of every ingredient it contains? Perhaps you never allow something as unwholesome as a chip to pass your children's lips - but if you do, do you insist that it has been cooked in separate oil? If your child is offered a treat that's not fresh fruit or veg, do you make him refuse it if he can't check the label (including something offered to his entire class by a teacher)? Will your children have IHCPs at school? Do you make sure they don't use butter or jam (even home-made, marvellously rustic jam from 'superfoods' like, oh, I dunno, bilberries or blueberries or broccolli ) if there is even the slightest chance that someone might have stuck a knife with crumbs on it in there at some point? Do/will you send your kids to parties with a packed tea? And interrogate every parent who offers to give them a meal? Do your children ever have a bit of a cry about being 'different', and wish that you could fix it for them?

You think you feel better eating less refined wheat - that's fine, many people do (although mostly because it means they are eating less bread, pastry and biscuits as a consequence). You suspect your children might, too. That's up to you. I was big on fresh, home-cooked food as much as possible even before my son's diagnosis made it the natural choice; it's not particularly unusual.

You say, "now I have children people do seem to judge bringing them up gf..."

I would suggest you consider the possibility that "people" - or do you just mean their grandmother? - aren't judging how you choose to feed your children, so much as the way you talk about it.

*But you dont OP

I do because I am coeliac*

Isn't that just semantics? I say we don't eat gluten and you say your allergic?

When a veggie eats out they say they don't eat meat, a trace of it won't kill them but they'd rather not have it. I'm just doing that with gluten, don't get where all the hate is coming from.

seem unaware of the ethical issues surrounding quinoa

Lol Im sure every food in the supply chain could be called unethical if wanted. People certainly did get very pleased with themselves whipping up a story about this seed.

Anyway mines uk grown

www.britishquinoa.co.uk/

The OP chooses to reduce the level of gluten in her kids' diet.

So bloody what. Many of you sound like school ground bullies.