Gluten, stress and digestive issues

[stopmoaningpip]

In spring 2013 I cut down drastically on gluten and wheat in my diet at a locum GP's suggestion after developing chronic diarrhoea, possibly coinciding with a very stressful time at work.
This immediately (within 24 hours) resolved the diarrhoea, as well as one or two other signs I had eg joint pain and I've had limited wheat/gluten ever since, eg I eat gluten free pasta and bread, but still eat normal sausages and burgers.
I have generally been very well since then, including getting pregnant after 4 years of unsuccessful trying, followed by getting pregnant the second time straight away.

However I have had a blood test for coeliac disease/inflammatory bowel disease which was negative.
I have had flare ups of diarrhoea, several times apparently linked to eating bread but also sometimes relating to stress without any obvious dietary trigger.
I have also occasionally eaten high wheat foods without obvious digestive ill effect (poss subtle brain fog type signs).
I find a high fibre diet seems to help.

I'm expecting number two in a few months and don't want to change things just now, but in the longer term I'm not sure whether I should carry on as I'm doing since it seems to be working for me, or whether I should be trying to eat more wheat/gluten as I don't have a proper diagnosis of anything. (Therefore presumed IBS). GP is fairly disparaging 'so you've put yourself on this diet then'.

It would be much more convenient to be able to eat everything, at least from time to time.

Sorry that was a bit long. Anyone else had a similar experience? Has anyone been able to eat more wheat over time and if so did you do anything particular?

It's really interesting to hear everyone's thoughts.
If I get unwell again in future I will push for more tests etc just in case there's anything else going on but as I've been very well for several years I really don't want the hassle of a hospital referral: I don't live near a hospital so it would be an all-day expedition with two small children in tow. Or husband having to take a day off work. Obviously if I'm properly ill then it would be worth it, but as things stand it really doesn't seem justified, esp if the conclusion is likely to be that I have a non-diagnosable problem such as IBS or wheat intolerance.

(I am already panicking about what to do with my toddler when I go into labour as I have no local family.)

"He's made a huge effort lately to balance his gut bacteria too. Actimel drinks/ yoghurts etc. Bananas and avoiding tap water and he can now tolerate small amounts of gluten. He has now actively promoting not drinking tap water to everyone he meets."

Actimel & yoghurt doesn't balance gut flora. There are supplements that do, but you shouldn't take them unless you have reason to believe good bacteria is decimated, like with diarrhea while taking antibiotics.

Tap water doesn't make people gluten intolerant.

This is why people need to read scientific research & get properly tested by a doctor for intolerances, rather than go with anecdotes.

There are no tests for intolerances.

OP I suggest you do some reading around this or consult someone like this www.wisediet.co.uk

The only way to test intolerance is by leaving out the food then reintroducing it.

Being gluten-free is not that hard. I started over 20 years ago (gluten affects my skin and bowels) when it was very hard to buy products. I had to buy some things by mail order. Now, there is so much choice it's not really an issue. If you feel better gluten-free then just do it!

You can easily work it into family meals; I'd boil 2 pans of pasta- one gluten-free for me and DD and one ordinary pasta for DH and DS.
Same with bread- buy 2 sorts. You can easily make cakes and biscuits using gluten free flour (I even made the family Xmas cake with gluten free flour and no one could tell the difference.)

I have IBS the GP suggested cutting out wheat-which is easy enough to do but that means most of the products I buy to do so cut out Rye and Barley so are GF.
I do not do it religiously-Still eat bread/pasta/pizza etc when out and sometimes at home-simply because although my symptoms do seem to have settled down since cutting it out I do not really get any worsening symptoms by then eating it again?!
The main thing I have done is to use de-caf t bags(I drink A LOT of cups of tea,and caffeine is thought to make IBS worse)
I wanted to come on here to write that just yesterday I read in a mag an article by a Doc that going Gluten free when you are not Celiac is not needed-That you therefore miss out on vital fibre and this increases your risks of strokes etc........
Hard to know what to do?
Seems cutting down on some things works for me but I have not cut it out.

I read in a mag an article by a Doc that going Gluten free when you are not Celiac is not needed-That you therefore miss out on vital fibre and this increases your risks of strokes etc........

I don't know who this Dr is but they sound mad! It's rubbish!
You can get fibre from all sorts of foods inc fruit, veg, oats, pulses.

Strokes are not caused by lack of fibre. Strokes are caused by blocked arteries. The way to stop this is to eat a healthy diet with fibre and good fats, and take exercise.

I despair when I read of 'doctors' spouting rubbish.

OP, google "leaky gut".

Take a good quality probiotic like Biokult.

Reduce carbs drastically (I know it's counter intuitive, but low carb can be really good for IBS). Reduce fruit and sugar drastically.

If you do, stop eating gluten free substitutes (gluten free bread, pasta etc). Eat real food, eat eggs, fish, pastured meat, lots of greens, lots of good fats like butter, olive oil, nuts, avocado etc.

There is nothing wrong in eating small amounts of gluten-free substitutes.

I eat around 1 slice gluten-free bread a day; it's made with potato, rice and tapioca flour.

You can get gluten free pasta that is made from corn, but the better ones are made from brown rice, Waitrose now do one made from red lentils or peas.

I'd never buy gluten free biscuits or cakes as they have too many additives, but I do make my own using Dove's Farm gluten free flour.

You need to look for gluten free foods that have a low Glycaemic index.This means there is a slower release of energy.Corn pasta is metabolised very quickly as are rice and potatoes incidentally.In fact a baked potato is one of the highest Gi foods that is normally thought to be healthy.Buckwheat flour is a good one and makes delicious pancakes.I've just ordered some Sorghum flour as it's meant to make good flat breads and has a low Gi.Resistant starch can also be used to cook with ( and forms in cooled potatoes and pasta) and this markedly reduces the Gi value.

I'm sure a lot of general healthy eating/less processed food etc principles are useful and I agree about gluten free biscuits and cakes having rubbish ingredients. Tesco GF pasta has a very short ingredient list so I'm happy with that but more dubious about some of the GF breads. (Haven't had much success making my own).
I can't afford to spend a fortune on free range meat etc as I don't earn much. A low carb diet is expensive!
I do agree there is a lot of confusion out there not helped by certain advertising campaigns. For example, 'has your immune system had breakfast' is ridiculous as it was based on the vitamin D in the product and it's present in such small quantities relative to RDA I can't believe it really has any effect.
However there was a study possibly linking type 2 diabetes to a low gluten diet (in the absence of coeliac disease).

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170309120626.htm
It wasn't about strokes but maybe this is what the article in the magazine was referring to.

PS apart from cost it's also tricky trying to find things that husband and toddler are willing to eat as well. Husband really prefers ready made/processed foods to anything home made which doesn't help...

I've just read that briefly.I'm wondering if it was sponsored by Kelloggs!
The point is if you exclude Gluten it doesn't mean your diet is healthy.It doesn't mean you eat a lot of fruit and vegetables or Whole grains.Also this study was anecdotal and done before GF diets were so popular.There was probably a very limited number of Gf products available.Most would have been highly processed and unhealthy.
Non- Coeliac Gluten sensitivity has been shown clinically to be a causative link to quite a few medical conditions and can cause chronic ill health in some.Hence it's very important to get your facts right.

The article about linking diabetes and gluten-free diets was very inaccurate. What is was saying in fact, but maybe not clearly enough, was that people who go gluten-free often fill their diets with substitutes which are full of sugar and refined carbs, by buying ready-made gluten-free substitute food.

I lost a good few pounds when I first went gluten free simply because I wasn't buying and eating cakes, biscuits etc. This was over 20 years ago and getting hold of plain gluten free flour was hard.

I still rarely eat any refined carbs or sugar. I fill up on Greek yoghurt, fruit, nuts and avocados. If I do bake, I make choc brownies and reduce the sugar in the recipe by 30%, substitute ground almonds for half of the gluten free flour.

I make crumble toppings by blitzing porridge oats, walnuts, ground almonds, butter and a tiny bit of sugar in the food processor.

OP I think your biggest issue is getting your DH off ready meals and making him like Real Food.

Low carb is not that expensive. It is more expensive than rubbish food, but I would always prioritise good food over most things (I shop in charity shops, I don't drink much etc).

I eat smaller amounts of meat, as on low carb you also monitor your protein intake. Fat is quite dense nutrition wise, you get more bang for your buck, I am more satiated and I no longer crave carbs including sweets.

I don't think GPs are best places to advice on nutrition, OP. Not unless they are personally interested in it.

Going gluten free transformed my life but I don't eat gluten free processed foods as they are really not healthy.

Lots of fruit and veg and rice/potato for carbs. Good quality protein.

Go strictly gluten free for a few weeks and see if the diarrhoea stops. Try to heal your gut (another thing your GP will scoff at) by taking a good quality probiotic and things like gently cooked apple. Slippery elm
powder (check gluten free!) is great for tummy issues.

Teta, do you have any links to solid evidence about non-coeliac gluten sensitivity and its links to ill health?

It's such a tricky one as if there's no specific test for it, there's no real way of knowing whether you've got it or not beyond ruling out other things, trial and error, food diaries etc.
Polly - he does eat some homemade things I make, I have eventually persuaded him to eat homemade spaghetti bolognese, for example. I don't think I'm going to change his underlying preferences at this point in his life though... (been together a long time).

Wormy - I actually agree about GPs and nutrition, mainly because they don't have the time in a 10 minute or shorter appointment to discuss diet in any depth. If they had 30 minute appointments no doubt they would be very useful people to talk to about it.

I don't have diarrhoea any more, it resolved when I cut down wheat/gluten, although it recurred when my son was 4-5 months, poss due to hormonal changes I suspect.

Food intolerance can cause all kinds of health issues. If you google the ideas you are asking about you should find plenty of stuff but look for real science, not websites promoting foods and supplements.

You might even find info on the celiac support society website.

Being blunt about your DH- if he buys the ready meals I can see how it's tricky but if you buy and cook, just stop buying ready meals. if nothing else, you should try to encourage him to swap for health benefits as most ready meals are full of salt, sugar, cheap meat etc, and cost a fortune. He needs to set an example to your children by having a healthier diet.

OP Read this.
celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity-2/

Easily found with a few words into google.

Coeliac test isn't that reliable (even if you eat a lot of gluten beforehand). It throws up a lot of false negatives and isn't conclusive.

Op I haven't eaten gluten for nearly 16 years or so now. Also no positive text for coeliac but I had stopped eating it so wouldn't show anyway. I don't think you are wrong to keep it up if you know it makes you better. I like you try and keep it slightly in my diet in case accidentally eat something. So I use oxo cubes etc. I know how bad I felt before so I'm not willing to go back to it.

Thank you Polly - I'm sure I have looked at the Celiac.org website before but don't remember that information so maybe it's a new page.
Interesting that they mention anxiety because when my digestive problems were bad anxiety was also an issue. But then my whole family are anxious stressy people, but they don't have digestive problems, so it may not be directly related.
This is the problem really isn't it - I could probably blame almost any vagueish health issue on a food intolerance, but it's hard to be certain.

I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and views, thank you. Since I've generally been very well I think I will carry on as I'm doing for now at least until the major hormone changes after the baby arrives, and then perhaps try a more significant re-introduction of wheat and see what happens, since as far as I can tell this is the only way of diagnosing non-coeliac gluten sensitivity or a wheat intolerance. If I get ill again then I know I need to keep my wheat intake under control, while bearing in mind the general principles of healthy eating.

This thread has been so eye-opening to read! I've had digestive issues my whole life (diarrhoea) and was diagnosed with candida in my 20s. I went sugar and processed food free (and alcohol) for a year and felt amazing (lost 30lb too!) but still had digestive problems because I was eating sprouted wheat bread. When I cut out gluten my digestion instantly improved as did my immune system. I went for years without a cold after having chronic sinusitis. I stopped wearing make-up after having to cake it on over my spots. I was gluten free for ten years until I got married and my DH thought I should get tested for coeliac disease (because he thought it was all in my head) . So I ate gluten for 6 weeks and got tested and it came out negative. At this point I was having some mental health problems and got pregnant so eating gluten along with dh was easier as I was unable to cook. FF 7 years and I'm addicted to sugar and carbs, eat bread and pasta daily, weigh 92kg and have all sorts of niggly health problems (tennis elbow, wind, low libido, depression, acne rosacea, migraine). Your post has made me realise that going back to gluten free will probably help with these and that I was so much happier when gluten free.
I would say to keep it up, especially during post-partum when you're healing from the birth and your hormones are all,over the place. I think you'll be thankful that you did.

Losing weight will probably help with all your symptoms.

I had chronic sinusitis, too. And I haven't had a cold in years now, just like you. Meanwhile I have been eating everything.

Correlation is not causation. See a medical specialist. Don't diagnose yourself.

The thing is Cote a medical specialist will suggest an elimination diet :)

Blood tests don't work for intolerance and the only test for coeliac is a biopsy of the intestines after a blood test. The rest is trial and error of eating / not eating.