Calling on glutten free experts!!!

Hi ladies,

I've been having some food allergies/intolerances tests done, and the lady said that wheat and rye are not my friends. I am devastated as I really enjoy my rye bread. Could someone please tell me if this bread that I bought today which has organic pharaoh flour and soya flour and sourdough culture is OK to eat as a GF bread? I was told to get glutten free bread but have tasted some ages ago and didn't like it. Back then I didn't know I would be eating it someday as part of my diet!

tia

hi Miss B

i just googled pharaoh flour and it's a form of wheat flour, so no, it's not gluten free.

The best GF bread I have made is a recipe from "Bread in 5" called Gluten-Free crusty Boule. There's a Thermomix version on the Quirky Cooking blog.

You may still be able to eat gluten without wheat and rye. Barley and oats have gluten.

If you do need to go gluten free, it takes some adjustments, but there's some fantastic alternatives.

Ahhh, thanks Tash. I knew the bread tasted too good (AND it cost me $8!!!). She did say to avoid wheat, rye, spelt and oats. I'll have a lookie at that GF crusty boule.....so not happy about my rye bread :(

Miss B, the range and availability of GF products has gone through the roof in the last 10 years or so - 30 years ago, there was absolutely nothing available, and even the GF recipes out there were truly disgusting. What you tried ages ago is probably not representative of the best that's available now, so don't write it all off yet!

Hey there,

I'm not sure what tests you had done and whether or not you have actually received a proper diagnosis yet, but can I just advise against cutting food out, if you have not actually been diagnosed?

A friend of mine was told years ago to eliminate gluten from her diet as she was "most likely" coeliac, but wasn't tested for it. She is now in the process of being tested and has to go onto a high-gluten diet for a month to see how her system processes it.

Unless the lady specifically said "Do not eat these substances", which I can't quite see whether she did or not, best to wait until you've had your full diagnosis.

Just a suggestion.

And if you have had the diagnosis, then ignore everything I have said :)

Hi OP and thanks for your input hun :) Well, the lady that did the diagnosis is my acupuncture lady, and she did say that if she can't diagnose anything she'll send me to a naturapath. I do get quite bloated after eating bread (loooooooooove my bread) and I'm often constipated and feeling tired most of the time even after a good night's sleep. I know it's probably partly due to me running around after an energizer bunny aka my 2 yo DS, but I can't help but feel there is more to it. I'll give it a go for a couple of weeks, ie eat GF bread, cut out most of the diary, and see how I feel. Lucklily most of the foods she told me to avoid I don't like/eat anyway (except my bread).

I'm a recently diagnosed Coeliac (about 14 months). To be medically diagnosed you need to be eating gluten or you may get a false negative. Your GP can do a blood test which is reasonably accurate and if positive you would be referred to a gstroenterologist for an endoscopy and you also need to be still consuming gluten for this as well. I didn't have any "classic" symptoms but my bowel was extremely damaged and I was very ill. It is also the unconfirmed but likely cause of my missed miscarriage, as well as my anxiety and depression. There are some fairly serious health repercussions of being an undiagnosed coeliac and I highly recommend you seek further advice. Having been gluten free for 14 months, I feel amazing, my anxiety is at an all time low and my depression is gone. My overall health is better than I can ever remember :)

Sorry for the sermon ;) as for GF foods etc, there is a great iPhone app from the Coeliac society to help with reading labels etc
I like the "naturally gluten free" brand of bread (toasted) as well as the white bread rolls you can get a Coles. Other than bread there are great substitutes for most other things :)

Wow, thanks Amaunet! I'm so glad you're feeling so much better now (and I'm sorry to hear about your m/c hun :hug:). I always thought that people with coeliac disease got pretty sick when eating foods with glutten :dunno: I've always eaten lots of bread (that's the Polska in me! haha) and never had an issue, apart from the bloating but even that is not that bad. I wonder if the glutten is making me sluggish but not sick???? I might have a chat to my GP hun, thanks for the advice.

We have been gluten free for about three months now and by far the best bread is the quirky cooking one mentioned! I think all gf bread needs to be microwaved or toasted to taste better as well?

It is also a lot more cost effective! $7 a loaf is insane isn't it?! I couldnt believe it when I first went looking!

We also started DD on gluten free after a positive blood test and now may have to do a gluten challenge to get a concrete diagnosis. Not fun. I would def say get all the tests before starting gluten free because once you stop, if you start to feel better it will be torture to eat it again!

My SIL uses the bread mix from Coles and says it is the best one. I think it is in a packet and very easy to make.

Years ago DD1 had to go off wheat for a few months and we used buckwheat flour for zucchini slice and pancakes and for these I have never gone back to normal flour as they taste better.

I have found white bread makes me feel ill, I was brought up on it, but now only eat grain bread. It made me feel sick and I felt bloated. I also try and only eat two slices a day and haven't eaten any this week.