Comments on: Tips for Gluten-Free, Soy-Free Living: Challenge #1 SF DF GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 03:11:00 +0000

I am gluten free as well as soy free and have been for the past 1 1/2 years and I find it extremely difficult, my family gets together every Sunday and I am never able to eat the same as everyone else and they have to wait for me to fix my food as they generally do roasts and crock-pot meals or potluck. One of my brothers and his wife really struggle with the concept and are constantly saying “there has to be something you can eat”. I have an app on my phone that allows me to scan a barcode of an item and see if I can have it. I just had to put my restrictions into it (this works for most items but if it is something new or non name brand it doesn’t always work).

By: yum

yum — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:53:09 +0000

Hi Tracey,
Gluten has no special nutritional value, so it is more a question of what vitamins might be in the whole grain gluten ingredients vs. the gluten-free versions. Gluten products are often “enriched” with things like thiamin and folate, but a healthy gluten-free diet with whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, sorghum etc.) can be very nutritious. Any nutritional issues from removing eggs and soy would be mostly relevant to a vegetarian diet- many soy products are highly processed and not a huge loss to the nutrition of your overall diet. If your son consumes meat and fish he shouldn’t have issues with low iron. The main issue with a dairy free diet would be calcium deficiency, so make sure he is consuming lots of other ingredients high in calcium- fortified orange juice, almonds, dark greens.

I’m not a vitamin specialist but go to your best health food store around and find a salesperson to help you find a good, high quality vitamin preferably made from real ingredients and not just synthetics, which aren’t absorbed by the body well. Centrum etc. is a waste of time.

Triumph Dining Guide has lists of restaurants with gluten-free menus and lists some menus- you might do a search for their gluten-free dining guide online.

Natural flavors can be derived from any “natural” ingredient. Wheat must be disclosed on the label but it is possible that the flavor could be derived from barley. When in doubt, contact the company. That being said, I rarely run into issues from natural flavors and very rarely contact companies. If you are having trouble with hidden gluten in his diet, you might want to pursue this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t worry too much.

You might consider making sure that your son’s gluten-free diet is as nutritious as possible. If he is eating a lot of processed gluten-free products he might not be feeling well because his diet is not ideal. Also, absorption can be an issue for recovering Celiac patients. He may simply not be absorbing enough nutrition from the food he is consuming if his villi have not healed enough. You might have a doctor’s office check his levels for iron etc. to see if there are any specific nutrients you need to target. It is also possible that he may have developed a new sensitivity to something he is eating.

BTW celiac patients can often tolerate dairy protein after they heal, so you could try reintroducing dairy into his diet and see how it goes.

Hope this helps! Remember, I’m not a doctor, just a long-time Celiac veteran, so definitely talk to your doctor about these questions as well. ;)

-Sea

By: tracey

tracey — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:27:12 +0000

I was wondering if there are any vitamins missing when you go on a gluten, soy, diary, egg free diet? My son felt great when we took the offending foods out of his diet. 2 years later he seems to be having more trouble concentrating, fatigued and harder time learning. Just the opposite effect from changing his diet. He has always been a great student. We have been giving him a multi-vitamin that seems to be tolerable and vitamin D drops. Is there a vitamin made specifically for teenagers with a diet restricitions?

We have found the most chain restaurants are listing food allergens on the internet. So when he has to travel he knows the “best” choices to make at these restaurants. It isn’t always 100% but it helps lessen the reaction.
It would be helpful to have a single website or app for his ipod that listed choices available.

I have always wondered what it means when products list natural flavours on their ingredients list?

Thank you for the cooking tips. Even though I have cooked my whole life. Learning to use these new ingredients is learning to cook all over again. What a great cooking show that would make.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 28 May 2011 03:39:45 +0000

I was just diagnosed with gluten, soy, & egg allergies. And was recommended not to eat dairy as well. This is very overwhelming, but sites like this are so very helpful. Thank you for this website & everyone’s posts.

By: Carrole

Carrole — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:07:02 +0000

Earth Balance makes a soy-free buttery spread that is quite good.

By: Jo Jo

Jo Jo — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:31:26 +0000

I have just been diagnosed with allergies to Almonds, wheat, barley, the whole dairy thing, cranberry, eggs, soy, and other things. I was at a lost of what to eat. It is good to see there are others dealing with the same problems. I feel less alone. It is good to see the support out there. Keep this site going.

By: Little Debbie

Little Debbie — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:09:09 +0000

I’m very new with this gluten, soy, egg, shellfish, potatoe free diet….I have been a junk food junky but have notice alot of problems health wise going on.Finally I have answers and found this website is going to be my new best friend. Thank-you for all your posts, VERY HELPFUL.