Wheat free diet and info for the in denial.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

For ages there has always been 'something' wrong that I can't put my finger on to do with my digestion and general sluggishness.

Now at 20 weeks pregnant it is in the extreme and my mw has suggested I cut out wheat for a month and see if things improve.

I don't even really know what wheat is, let alone what it is in. Would cutting out things like bread and pasta etc help even if I am unwittingly eating it in other ways that I don't know about?

Can anyone give me any clues as to how to go about it?

Many tia

ameliagrey is spot on - too many refined carbs and not enough protein. Plus it really is important to 'breakfast like a king' etc. No wonder you feel knackered!
I love cheese/salami or eggs for breakfast as I don't have much of a sweet tooth either (except for Danish pastries!). Could you try similar?

"Short grain brown rice (only from healthfood shops) is a godsend for IBS."

It used to be thought that high fibre food was good for IBS. It is good if you get constipation. If you get diarrhoea it makes it a lot worse.

Starlight - I am afraid I agree with amelia and others. You really have a very poor diet. I am not having a go at you either because I do totally understand that you feel awful and have no energy and being pregnant has made that a lot worse.

I am a coeliac I too think you should at least try going gluten and possibly lactose free. The distended stomach and lack of energy (not from just being pregnant I assume) is a strong sign of some form of immune reaction to what you are eating.

You in all probability are not coeliac but you need testing and in any case up to 25% of people have some gluten sensitivity and that tends to increase with age. I think you may well feel a lot different when you cut out gluten and feel more able to eat regularly throughout the day and with much more protein and fruit and veg in your diet.

Starlight - feeling cold is often a symptom of B12 and other nutrient deficiency, again possibly poor diet or malabsorption from damaged gut.

LOL. I'm going to have to show this thread to my mum. She is always rolling her eyes and tutting at me and accusing me of being an obsessive health freak with what I eat.

But I am confused. Surely toast for first meal, sandwich and fruit for second, meat, carb and two veg for main meal is fairly normal thoughout history.

Bunbaker I can't find any hard evidence I'm afraid, but ahem I do know that short grain brown rice is beneficial for the 'loose' version of IBS. It was recommended to me by the same nutritionist I consulted over my problems.

And Starlight the feeling tired after food is the sensation of blood sugar levels dropping - you haven't eaten for probably 15 hours, your body is screaming for nourishment. It gets a portion of carbs - no ballast to slow down progress, so the sugar levels shoot up, but just as quickly there is a corresponding drop. That's when you get shattered, dizzy, headachey, spaced out.

If you spread a dollop of peanut butter on the toast you might not need to dip i to the jar later!

Can I recommend a book by my old dr- Prof. Brostoff on Food Allergy & Intolerance? You ca n buy off ebay/Amazon.

The point is that humans are not designed to eat lots of grains.

This is a "modern" way of eating- cave man ate meat, veg, fruit and berrries. Grains came much later. In many people there is an intolerance to grains ( cereals in other words) as our bodies have not adjusted to the onslaught of wheat etc 3 x a day.

I am wheat free 90% of the time, and dairy free.

My normal food day is an egg or two for breccie with oat cakes/gluten free toast. Lunch is a salad with lettuce, watercress, red or yellow pepper, beetroot, sometimes grated carrot, small amount of avocado, with sardines, chicken or hummous, or homemade soup- usually carrot, lentil and sweet potato, or homemade chicken and vegetable broth, and dinner is fresh fish or chicken with veg etc. I also eat gluten free pasta and have rissoto/ rice dishes maybe once a week.

I also eat some fruit but can't eat citrus fruits or tomatoes.

Shotgun there is some much more recent evidence about diet for IBS- I interviewed a nutritionist yesterday on this- it does not say eat brown rice- in fact many carbs are bad for IBS especially wheat.

Maybe you should visit your GP and ask for a blood test for coeliac disease? Before you cut out gluten (the test doesn't work if you are on a gluten-free diet)?

Have a look at the coeliac society website and their info about getting diagnosed.

if you are coeliac, there is various support available.

I rememember well in the 1970s on my Dads farm he was incentivised to grow wheat with the highest possible gluten content. It became the be all and end all of wheat growing. Farmers were paid a lot more to grow high gluten wheats and they responded.

I know before that we imported a lot of very high gluten wheat from US/Canada but am convinced that the general rise of IBS/Gluten intolerance in the UK population coincides with that trend of growing high gluten wheat in the UK. My DW gets mild IBS eating bread but not when she in Continental Europe where local bread is made with lower gluten wheat.

As amelia says the human body simply has not evolved fast enough to tolerate the large amount of high gluten grains we now eat.

"but ahem I do know that short grain brown rice is beneficial for the 'loose' version of IBS."

Not for me it ain't. The current advice is that for people with IBS-D should avoid insoluble fibre - wheat bran, whole grains, brown rice. It is a logical conclusion to come to, but doctors also agree. They advise to eat soluble fibre which is found in oats, barley, fruit, vegetables.

There is loads of info on the net that backs this up.

So is white rice okay then, - provided it is eaten with protien?

By "okay" do you mean it is okay for anyone with IBS?

The discussion over brown rice was about it being "good" for anyone with IBS- this is not thought to be so now.

I think you need to decide if you are having symptoms of IBS or food inolerance.

White rice is fine but it just pure refined carbs- very little vitamins or minerals in it. If you do not have IBS then it is better to eat brown rice.

I mean in terms of wheat or gluten.

I think refined is better for me actually. I feel better with refined generally as it doesn't sit in my stomach so long and make me feel so awful.

But are we saying if the OP does have IBS, she should avoid wheat and rice?
< Boggles >
See a doctor or a dietician, OP - save the self-diagnosing or asking Dr Google for when you're not pg.

I don't think I have IBS. I imagined the uncomfortableness with that is below your belly button. Mine is all higher.

Is this feeling of fullness something that has just come with being PG? Is it heartburn?

If you are having pain or constant discomfort in your stomach then you should see a dr.

If your baby is pressing on your stomach then what you need to do is eat little and often- maybe every hour or certainly every 2 hours.

No, it isn't caused by the pg as have had it for yonks, but the pg has definately made it worse.

I had a stomach ulcer last June. Dunno if that has anything to do with it.

Dr has already prescribed omeprozole (for heartburn) which hasn't made any difference to the feeling. I think it will be impossible to get taken seriously whilst pregnant though as everything will be blamed on the pregnancy and Drs would be reluctant to prescribe anyway won't they?

I think that is why mw simply said try without wheat.

"I had a stomach ulcer last June. Dunno if that has anything to do with it."

It probably does. Back to the GP pronto.

OP I too get the symptoms you describe. I know from being diagnosed this has been caused by gluten & lactose in the past. It resolved by eliminating these pre-pregnancy, then reappear when I fell pregnant (im currently 32 weeks).

I suspect from experience it's lactose intolerance as a yogurt fills me up for hours & make me uncomfortable. I saw my GI doc at 20 weeks who v kindly told me it could be lactose, gluten, pregnancy, another underlying condition - he couldn't say & won't investigate in pregnancy. I'm to see him post-natally for a review, where he will do an endoscopy if necessary.

I am also a nurse & while I may suspect some of my patients would benefit from cutting x,y & z from their diet I don't go around recommending it because a) I'm not qualified to do so, b) I don't have a comprehensive insight into their diet & ability to supplement sufficiently & c) I don't have the means to monitor & evaluate this properly & neither does your midwife.

If I have concerns about a patient I will a) speak to a doctor about it b) get the patient to see the GP (repeatedly if necessary) or c) refer them to the dietician myself. I would then document this in the notes. This is what your midwife should be doing. Has she written the wheat free suggestion in your maternity notes?

I know I have said it before but cutting out any part of a major food group in pregnancy should be done under proper supervision. Wheat products are fortified with folate & B12, essential for your baby's development. Cutting out lactose puts you at risk of calcium deficiency. The baby will take what it needs & you could end the bones l if am 85 year old. Calcium supplements can't be taken with certain things (iron) & a good pharmacist would not sell them to you in pregnancy without a prescription anyway.

The best thing you can do is go back to your GP or get a referral to a dietician. You are uncomfortable & struggling to eat a sufficient diet, this should be taken seriously.

rodeo, at last - a professional to add the voice of reason. You have explained so much better what I first said at the beginning of this thread.

Hope the OP listens to you more than her ill-informed midwife.

Shotgun and rodeo
whilst it is true that it is no a good idea to cut out a major food grou, wheat does not constitue a major gfood group.

The major groups are protein, carbs and dairy.

If you omit wheat, you can still get all your essential vits and minerals from other carbs- such as brown rice, millet, oats, etc.

I was dairy free during both pregnancies and both my DCs and I are fine.

Again, you just have to be sensible- you can easily supplement with calcium, and eat other foods that are high in calcium.

However, OP as you say you had a stomach ulcer - presumably it was diagnosed and you were treated with ABs for heliobacter ?- then you should go back to your GP because the problem may be nothing to do with your diet.

No Amelia, no abs, just omesprozole and some scary opiate pain killers that I have dreams about having a ride on again. At the time I thought I was going to be admitted to hospital with the pain, but it went.

'If you omit wheat, you can still get all your essential vits and minerals from other carbs- such as brown rice, millet, oats, etc.'

amelia - you are making the same mistake as the midwife and assuming the OP has your knowledge. Something a HCP should never do.

The fact is the OP has come to an internet forum saying she is not sure what wheat is or what's it's in (nothing wrong with this btw).

'you just have to be sensible' - couldn't agree more.

The sensible thing to do here is recognise this is poor practice from the MW, not waffle on about how you did it therefore it's doable, especially when it could have detrimental effects in pregnancy.

Hope you get it resolved OP.