Gluten free and dairy free diet

[Dallyw]

I ate pizza two days ago and am going to the doctors tomorrow and asking to be tested for coeliac, lactose intolerant. I know I have this, I hate going to the docs. My question is Aibu to feel like I'm going to be totally restricted going out to eat? From what I have read it's just vegetables rice and meat anything else (unless packaged and saying "gluten free") is a no go area. Crumpets, pita bread, white/brown bread, cheese and ice cream are they all gone now? Obviously health is the most important. How do people manage with dietary restrictions when going out to eat? Is it just a case of getting used to it? I'm sitting here and my stomach looks like I'm going to give birth to a 12" pizza. I need to make the change, just wondering how bad it is. Will I be the one ordering salad with no dressing next time I go out with friends? Whilst they go by flavour?

It honestly isn't that restrictive when you get your head around it. Restaurants are very clued up on allergies and very rarely have any issues eating out.

Base your meals round rice or potatoes instead of pasta or bread and your halfway there with the gluten free. Gluten free bread generally tastes horrible compared to the real thing. Gluten free labelled food generally costs £££, tastes awful and Is probably packed with things bad for you. Maybe that's what the increased risk of diabetes from eating a gf diet comes from. Read all the food labels and where ever possible cook from scratch. If you do turn out to be coeliac, you need to be aware of cross contamination as a risk for you.

Steak, baked potatoes and salad dressed with oil and vinegar. Should be a fairly easy meal choice for you. Careful with chips, some are coated in flour so no good for you.

I'm dairy free, Tesco's free from range is miles better than it used to be. Your best bet is to label read through not just stick to the free from stuff, as you'll find things that aren't in the free from range but are dairy free, like oreos and bourbon biscuits. Other things like gravy granules or whatever sometimes have hidden milk proteins in though, so check everything if not free from.

Eating out as dairy free can be hard as its not as widely catered for yet, but there is usually one or 2 meals that will be ok, just check the allergen menu online before you go. I usually just go with it when we eat out though, Est what I enjoy, but still try to be careful, then be strict at home, making my lunch for work etc.

I've never been officially been diagnosed, but when I cut it out I instantly felt better....

That's a very good point. Once you have been tested by the GP, and results come back, you may have more of an idea of your sensitivities, and therefore avoidance, levels.

It may be that you aren't coeliac, but are intolerant. This may mean that you can't eat pizza, but don't need to be super careful about cross contamination, or that you might be able to tolerate traces of dairy / gluten in foods. That will make a big difference to things like eating out.

Good luck with the GP.

Sorry to be negative but I really hate the diet. I find it very socially isolating at times. Eating out isn't the same anymore and I miss so much. Also don't feel that much better! (Have more autoimmune conditions though). Also in my 30s my bones are already quite weak, bad joints etc. It's not all doom and gloom and yes could be worse but I really wish I didn't have it.

Zizzi does GF base and GF pasta. They also do vegan cheese, so you can have a pizza there!

In the shops you will find that loads of free from dairy products are also GF. I'm vegan but happily eat gluten - yet a lot of the products made for vegans are also GF. There must be a market for it.

I'm dairy free and tried gluten free for a while and I eat out tonnes. It's pretty easy as most chains now have an allergen menu if you ask for it. All the chain Italians do gluten free pizza bases and pasta. Pizza without cheese is surprisingly nice.

You get used to asking restaurants to make adjustments to dishes and 95% of the time they can make the changes you ask for.

Japanese is an easy option :)

Tons of chain restaurants now have a dairy free / gluten free menu! All have dietary requirements folders. You'll be fine.

When dd2 was little she was CMPA (cows milk protein allergy), egg, soy and fish allergic - so in paper quite restrictive - these things are in some surprising places - she was bf so I had to restrict these from my diet (all dairy for the CMPA - not just cows milk) and after a couple of weeks of getting my head around what I could and couldn't have it was fine - as was eating out - it is just a case of getting used to what are safe foods.

I an wheat, gluten and dairy intolerant and have been for over 4years. You say you had a pizza 2 days ago, is that all the dairy and gluten you've had since then? If so then you have already excluded a lot from your diet already. If not then chances are it's not solely the pizza, rather a build up/overload in your system. I strictly excluded from my diet for 6months then reintroduced slowly until I found my limit (ie when the symptoms began) and now I recognise my symptoms I can allow a small amount as a 'treat'. Having said that I can have a small amount sometimes and have adverse affects. Tbh there are a lot of products on the market now to help, and lots of alternatives available, but I tend to avoid them as can be expensive and not that nice either! I just eat fresh unprocessed foods, and raw ingredients x

Have you looked into leaky gut syndrome? You sound a lot like me and this was my problem!

I was gluten and dairy free for ages but you can heal leaky gut. I'm so much better now!

Leaky gut isn't a real thing, its got no diagnostic criteria or legitimate medical basis. Its usually "diagnosed" by woo practitioners like homeopaths or the like.

Chinese food is often gluten and dairy free. If you're craving some pasta you could make it gluten free by picking up some rice noodles from your local Asian supermarket (they should come in lots of different thicknesses like spaghetti style, tagliatelle style etc). Won't taste exactly like pasta but will go nicely with a bolognese sauce for example.

And puddings - nowadays dairy free ice cream is really good! So there's always that. And meringue is dairy and gluten free right? You could make a pavlova or Eton mess with strawberries and dairy free vanilla ice cream or maybe with mangoes and coconut ice cream - very nice.

I'm coeliac and lactose intolerant. It's got a lot better since i was diagnosed in 2009, and the bigger complication for me these days comes from being allergic to soya, which is in so many things, often without restaurants thinking about it.

Pizza Express are handy, Nandos too if your local branch is still hot on the cross contamination issue. Sushi is available in many places if you need a quick meal, and while GF bread is not fantastic compared to the real thing, M&S have their made without wheat range which is edible and convenient, if not cheap.

GF pasta is so good these days my husband and son happily eat the same as me. In fact, they don't feel hard done by generally eating gluten free with me.

You may or may not be coeliac. It could be gluten intolerance. And lactose intolerance doesn't mean giving up dairy forever, it just means learning how to read a packet and avoid dairy that contains lactose - check the nutritional panel for the carbohydrates and see the 'of which, sugars' bit for the lactose content of cheese, for example.

So personally, I don't feel too hard done by. I feel very sorry for friends on the FODMAP diet because that is massively restrictive, and eating out is truly a nightmare for them. FWIW, I run a food business that is tailored quite exactly to my own dietary requirements, because way back when the choice was either non-existent or unappealing, and it has definitely been more of a challenge trying to make items for the FODMAP diet than for a gluten, lactose and soya free diet.

So by all means ask your GP for a coeliac blood test, assuming you've kept eating gluten up until now, but also consider doing a proper exclusion diet to work out what exactly is triggering your symptoms. Irritable Bowel Solutions by Prof John Hunter has a whole section about this, and it was what really helped me get finally diagnosed, as I'm one of a minority of people who apparently always respond negatively on blood tests for Ig tests of substances to which I have a demonstrable clinical reaction.

I would regularly get requests from diners with special dietary requirements- dairy/gluten/egg/nut and even sugar free desserts. I love the challenge but it is always a good idea to advise a restaurant of your food intolerances at the time of booking so they can prepare something for you.

My ds has a dairy protein allergy which causes him violent gut and skin complaints when not excluded from his diet. I often get people sympathising about what a complete faff it must be to police his diet and cook dairy-free, but my answer is always that it's FAR less of a faff than having a child with the symptoms of a dairy allergy. I will make any number of soaked cashew nut risottos before I'll have him screaming in pain at 3am again. The alternative makes it not remotely a pita to cater for.

On the other hand, I have no allergies but choose to exclude wheat from my diet because it makes me feel bloaty and gross. Sometimes I'm in a situation where either by choice or by social obligation I end up eating wheat, and I do so knowing that it's really not a huge deal to feel a bit bloaty and gross the following day.

No, be very careful of Chinese food. The soy sauce and lots of the other spice blends and pre-made sauces (most housing, oyster sauce etc) contain gluten. Having said which, we've a new Chinese in town that does a good range of gf options so maybe things are changing.

It's a pain in the arse but better than shitting yourself in public.

Not RTFT, but it is quite often that while your gut is being damaged by gluten, it simply can't cope with lactose. Once on a gluten free diet & the gut heals, you may find lactose more easily tolerated.

Chain restaurants are really good at intolerances these days. Small little cafes can be a nightmare. I've often eaten a banana and crisps while everyone else had a panini or whatever.

Yeah, MOIST said it much better than I did.

You need to be eating gluten every day to make sure the blood test and biopsy give accurate results, I was told at least 4 slices of bread a day for minimum of three months, not pleasant as my diet was almost completely GF before I went to GP.
I was diagnosed 6 years ago, mostly got used to the restrictions, apart from celiac I'm also casein intolerant (get painful joints and terrible brain fog if I eat dairy).
I make my own bread, cakes etc with GF flour, try to keep the freezer stocked with snacks so there's always something to grab if I'm starving. I'm trying to gain weight as look a bit skinny (5ft 7 and 8st 4). I avoid all the GF stuff in supermarkets as full of sugar, preservatives and additives and make me feel headachy and ill.
The worst bit is socialising and going on holiday, I watch other people tucking in to lovely food and local specialities and I'm sat there eating plain fish and salad.

im gf. low carb essentially, lots of protein, in great shape with glowing skin.

hardly a disaster, in fact im grateful

avoid the gluten free cakes and such, they're expensive, bad for you and taste like cardboard.

Can I just add that letting restaurants know about your specific dietary requirements means that there is less chance of a mistake being made by a chef under pressure and you'll get a far superior meal than you would just walking in and ordering there and then. Personally speaking, I love getting different requests and put time and thought into dishes once I know what I am dealing with. Most chefs would be the same