To ask what happened when you gave up gluten and dairy?

[benning]

I’m feeling so crap at the moment (perimenopausal too) and remember that when I briefly gave up gluten and dairy I felt much better. I don’t eat huge amounts of gluten but wonder if I should give it all up.

It’s just so hard!

If you’re gf and df, what benefits have you seen?

(weight loss not needed btw)

Gluten free diet is only better for you if you have a gluten intolerance. Same for dairy. You would feel better giving up processed foods and sugar, amd eating more fruit and veg.

Yes, but how do you know if you have a gluten intolerance? There are no tests for non-coeliac gluten intolerance.

Following as I'm in the same boat. So much joint pain atm.

I gave up dairy many many years ago and it was a revelation. No more sore throats, catarrh and mucus. I lost bloating/weight and I wasn’t over weight. I have tried reintroducing tiny amounts and I just feel sick and get very windy.
I gave up gluten about 5 years ago (there is a lot of coeliac in my family) I am not coeliac but I felt better no brain fog, stomach aches, general aches and pains. I used to get ill a fair amount and don’t anymore. I try not to sub with gluten free versions from shops as a lot have rubbish in. Instead we make bread and I cook from scratch. If I eat gluten now I notice red patches on the face and I get a headache/stomachache. Hope you work out what to do for the best. It might be worth cutting one out at a time, so you can establish which if either make you feel better/no different.

Well, I sold my milk quota back in 1998 for £68,000 and then in 2014 I sold the land in my arable cereal business for £9.7m for new houses. I was a farmer, you see.

No longer am I involved in dairy and wheat production, but I never liked the stuff anyway. I liked those Muller Corner Yoghurts (especially the ones with the foldable 'cornflake corners'). For five years now, following my retirement at 44, I have been living in Florida and spend most of my days on the golf course or fishing.

We do occasionally travel up to West Virginia and do the mountain trail. Do that if you can OP.

I felt considerably worse.

[tumbleweed]

🤔anyway...

I am tempted to try this too op. I have a lot of the same symptoms as other people here, bloating, stomach pains, I used to get ill a lot when in an office but don't now that I wfh. I have cut out milk which helped a bit, but my stomach is almost permanently bloated and yet I can feel muscle under it so I don't think it's all fat (some is though).

But I love dairy so much, I eat a lot of cheese and yoghurts, butter on my toast, I'm a nightmare. Too much gluten too. I don't know really how to change easily and properly. Plus I don't like certain foods and can't eat them without actually being sick so that ruins a lot of snacky stuff for me that is available.

It is ten years apart so I know which did what:

1 . Dairy
— unexpected digestive benefit. I wasn’t aware I had any issues prior but my guts just felt much happier! No cramps, bloating, more regular and better no.2s.
— hair and nails had always been slow to grow, hair never beyond shoulders, and growth suddenly sped up massively! Shinier/better condition.
— sense of smell/taste increased up a lot. Noticeably less phlegm and congestion, especially when ill, and only thin clear stuff, not the cloggy opaque gunk.

2.Gluten
— low thyroid and TSH improved from
5 something to 3 something.
— massively reduced brain fog/aching limbs/fatigue/stiffness (if I eat gluten when tempted this all comes back the next day so it’s definitely linked).

After a consultation with a nutritionist I gave up both at the same time & felt amazing (gradually over a couple of wks). Better energy, mood, less bloating- I lost weight but I needed to and it was because I had the energy and motivation to walk more/do more things. My joint pain all but disappeared. I remember saying that to my physio and I thought he'd kill me for just cutting out food groups like that but he said no- it makes sense. If the body doesn't like what it's being fed it will react with an inflammatory response - bloating muscle pain, headaches, mucus etc. So even though I'm not coeliac my body still didn't like dairy.. That said it required iron will but it was worth it. Over the pandemic though it's all crept back in and it's really difficult to know which are peri symptoms and which are food intolerances. I've started hrt & now I'm going to try cutting out dairy & grains again.

When people are talking about giving up dairy, is that milk or ALL dairy even in cooked foods?

When people are talking about giving up dairy, is that milk or ALL dairy even in cooked foods?

Yes. As far as I'm aware, the fact thatthey are cooked makes no difference (probably either in terms of lactose content or cow's milk protein content?).

Some of the things which most bother my stomach are things with cooked dairy products in - like pizza and quiche.

In supermarkets there is usually a whole other section for gluten free products. And these are so much more expensive. For example, regular crackers 70p, in the the gluten free section they are something like £1.98p! Regular pack of spaghetti 75p, in the gluten free section £2 something! And so on. Also, the dairy free alternatives are always way more expensive. Just check it out next time you are in a supermarket. Overall, it’s not cheap.

I hoped this would be the outcome for me too. Unfortunately (well fortunately really) I feel less bloated, no post meal stomach cramps and my bowel seems to thank me as it’s began to function properly instead of severe constipation or horrific alternatives!

But you don’t have to buy these. Just have something else eg potatoes instead of pasta, nuts instead of crackers etc.

I think it's 2/3rds of adults who are lactose intolerant in this country, so definitely worth a try. Turns out I'm in the 1/3rd who aren't lactose intolerant, but I'm gave up dairy for a year in the hope I would have some positive effects. Just didn't work for me. I would always recommend everyone try giving it up at least once, and always if they have any kind of digestive issues. It's worth looking at the milk ladder, because some people are ok up to a certain point with lactose, there are also lots of lactose free versions and you could try taking a lactase enzyme.

Gluten I would only eliminate if you have celiac disease, reducing it can help with other digestive problems. But eliminating it can trigger celiac disease if/ when you return to eating it, and that is not an easy thing to live with as it means no cross contamination.

The thing I have noticed a lot of advantages from is reducing sugar. Personally I have a lot of sweeteners with no ill effects, but one of my children has an intolerance to some sweeteners so they aren't ok for everyone.

I know somebody else who cured their IBS through giving up products with yeast in. But yeast has no negative effects for me, and again cutting out bread I just feel hungry a lot more often. So it really does depend a lot on the person.

One of my kids also had fructose intolerance as a young child and could only eat a very small amount of fruit or would get a major stomach upset. There really is nothing that works for everyone, so it is worth experimenting with what works for you, through doing an elimination diet or similar.

Another friend has an intolerance to things in the nightshade family so cannot eat tomatoes or peppers and some other things. So random how different we all are!