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Gluten allergy

  • Thread starter kahnli
  • Start date
I just discovered that I may have a problem with gluten. I'm an executive chef and am tasting various things throughout the day. I'm a little stressed over this. How am I supposed to sample my fresh bread. Even better, what about my beer after work? Oh dear lord, I'm a southerner and how can I live without biscuits and skillet gravy?
I try to snack at work and everything I pick up has gluten in it... this is impossible.  
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It's overwhelming at first, but you eventually get used to it. There are plenty of resources online, including many livejournal communities (with surprisingly little drama for LJ). One such community deals with recipes that are gluten free, and i suspect you'd both enjoy that and be able to offer many helpful tips.

One thing: it's important to know if you're allergic to gluten, or have coeliac disease. In the case of the former, it's just an allergy, and you can 'cheat' if you're willing to deal with some short term discomfort. If it's the latter, it's an auto-immune disorder, and 'cheating' will lead to serious health problems down the line (and I mean serious like 'bowel cancer' serious).

My fiancee has coeliac, and at first she was overwhelmed and disappointed too, but she's since gotten over that and is managing quite nicely. In fact, better than nicely: now that she knows what to eat and what not to eat, she's in good health for the first time in a long while.

Mokele
 
How odd...talk to Tamlin.  He just recently discovered the same thing.  He is having a hard time with this.  It IS very difficult not to ingest gluten...its in things you wouldn't even think of.  You have to read labels VERY carefully.  And a lot of products don't list gluten specifically...it might be in a flavoring or thickener.

There are many celiacs out there so it would be nice if the govt would require gluten to be labeled on ALL products.  But you even have to be careful about non-gluten food that has been processed through machinery that also processes gluten foods.

Its even recommended that you get your own pots, pans and utensils and keep them separate from other people you might be living with.

There is a good gluten-free pancake mix you can use to make some dessert type things as well as pancakes.  And there's rice flour and other non-gluten products.  Yeah...I know...its not the same but it will not make you sick.

There is a good website and a forum ...I believe its celiac.com.  There are recipes there and all kinds of support.

Mokele is right...its nothing to mess around with.  It can destroy the villii in your small intestines and lead to intestinal cancer.  They usually like to take a biopsy to see if there is damage already. It can also cause dermititis herpetiformis...a skin problem (itching).

I'm really sorry to hear that but there are thousands of people successfully living with this every day.   Hang in there!
 
Ahhh my poor friend, I can relate. Yes, I am having a hard time with it and I try to be religious with my avoidance of gluten containing products. Even a small amount of it makes life hell on earth for weeks. Do you have Dermatitis Herptiformis?...some celiacs do, some don't. If you have the blisters and itch, I can recommend Methyl silicate to relieve the burning.....this is the stuff that smells like wintergreen that athletes use for muscle strains. Specialists have disavowed that I have DH, but my body knows better. I look like I fell in a vat of acid after a particularly unsuccessful knife fight. Feels like it too.

I am on a maintainence dosage of prednisone daily, along with Oscal to offset the bone thinning caused by long term use of the steroid. I have a cortisone cream with aquaphor and erythromycin that is a godsend...if you have the rash you might ask your Dr. about this. I have to apply it 6 x day, head to foot. I also use Hydrocortisone valerate a very powerful steroid cream for the tough spots. I take Allegra 3 times a day, valium and atarax. Without the meds I would probably end up in the hospital. This isn't like hayfever. I am always sick now and probably never will bget better.

As for the beer and ale I was a conniseur! I will never be able to have any again, and it hurts very much. I tried the experiment and suffered for 3 weeks for it. I seem to be most sensitive to the barley malt used. I have since been cultivating a taste for highland Scotch Whiskey, but it just isn't the same. Nothing will ever be the same again. Beware of other beverages like Segrams Coolers....they are flavored beer as i learned the hard way. You gotta read the labels EVERY TIME before you open the package. Never assume that anything is OK because it is made of rice or whatever....

I have heard that it takes decades to heal from the damage the gluten has caused from lifelong use. The DH reaction can happen 15 years after being gluten free. Oh joy.

Food items must now list clearly any possible allergy issues on the packaging, so this helps BUT there are a lot of side issues....non wheat flours are often milled in the same plants where wheat is milled, so there is always the possibility of contamination. I have found the "Gluten Free" products are not completely reliable, especially flour products. They even use gluten in hair care products! Even not "cheating" I still have the DH reaction, and have no way of knowing what or why.

For me, the worst is no restuarant food, no fast food. You want to eat, you cook it yourself every meal. As a Chef, this is probably not too hard for you, but for me it is a PIA to go out with friends and watch them happily dine while I have a cup of tea, and not be able to grab a burger or sandwich as needed. I am sick of cooking, losing weight....

I wish I could be more encouraging. I don't think most celiacs go through what I am experiencing and I probably have other issue that contribute to my endless misery. There is no respite for me, and I hope your case is easier. I'll be thinking of you. If you need a shoulder to cry on, my number is 315 342 4139, call me anytime and I'll give you a list of what I can eat without problems. Hang in there.
 
thanks Tamlin, I felt so alone in this...
I feel like it's karma... chef's aren't known for being the kindest people and customers come in and want to change your art into something that you feel is a disgrace. Today I made banana bread and couldn't have a fresh warm slab. Very seldom do I have a meal. I just shove things in my face throughout the day and now I have to stop and think.
there are so many frustations that I want to vent... forgive me if I seem scatter brained...
My elbows break out in an itchy mess almost weekly (just my elbows). I always feel tired and drink about a pot of coffee to wake my self up --sometimes I'll put on the second pot.
I spent my first day without gluten yesterday and felt awake, aware and focused. maybe it's psycosomatic.
My hands are in flour EVERYDAY and I feel like this is going to ruin my career. How am I supposed to know the quality of my food.
Wheat is so ingrained (Get it? inGRAINed) in our society that (and I'm just learning) it's impossible to get away from. I'm rethinking all my dishes at work now and wondering if I can pull off a gluten free menu.

upside... I love bourbon and at least I can still have that.

anyhoo, it's friday and it was a late night and I'm rambling.

thanks again Tamlin and I hope to share progress in this horrible condition.
 
I am really sorry you have to face this, but people have to adapt to many things and I know or know of others who are dealing with the same situation.  We ship rice noodles and bean thread to my mother because our neighborhood is full of Asian markets and she can only choose from the pathetic selection at superdupermarkets.

Our food tradition is wheat-based, but plenty of others aren't and they are something to explore.  Your going in the right direction by thinking of becoming a gluten-free cook or at least adding gluten-free options.  Maybe that wouldn't be a recipe for success in a lightly populated place, but there's probably quite a bit of demand in your area.  Even if they don't need it, plenty of people there look for something different.

As for beer, I recently saw "gluten-free" on a label at a Whole Foods store.  It was rice and I forget what other grain (sorghum?) but I don't linger in there and didn't stop long enough to look more closely.  As Marie Antoinette could have also said: the peasants can't drink beer, let them drink wine.
 
Hah!  The definition of beer and ale is very precise, it's made from barley malt...can haved some rice in it but not much, so whatever this stuff is, it ain't beer.

Ahhh yes, the elbows are the worst.  The methyl salilicate burns like the bejeezus when applied, but it will kill the itch for awhile.  I rinse my arms in HOT water about 6 times a day to get the irritating gunk off my skin.  I have been ordered not to scratch, but obviously the Dr's have no idea of how impossible this is.  I buy 3 tubes of Lanacaine max strength a week for the times when I just can't take another min. of it.  LAsts about 30 mins, but hey, I'll take it. For deeper pocks and lesions zinc ointment helps them heal.

As to feeling tired, it doesn't go away for me ever. I spent 6 months essentially bedridden. They wanted me to take antidepressants but I'll be golddanged if I do....I have every right in the world to feel depressed!

It is ironic that you of all people would get hit with this....sorta like Beethovan going deaf.  Be sure you wash your hands and learn to keep them out of your mouth.  Try not to breathe the flour dust...in fact get someone else to do those stages of the prep.  It seems very small amounts trigger a reaction as large as eating a hunk o bread.

Here, Rudy's is celebrating their 60 year anniversary.  I about lived there in summer for their Fish Hots...a part of my life since I can first remember life....and now I will never have another.  Some things like cake and cookies I can live without, but I just about cry over no Rudy's. Or pizza.  I was always a bread man too, and an accomplished baker of the same.

Now I hate to go grocery shopping, and it puts me in a foul mood.  I can't even ask at the Thai resturant here if they use any wheat....they dont have enough English to understand the question.  Anyone out there speak Thai?  Generally, Thai food is ok...I eat a lot of Pad Thai.  It's a break from rice grains. I'm constantly hungry too.

When you make your rice, toast the grain first until light brown, it really improves the flavor....but here I am teaching my grandmother how to suck eggs, you probably already know being a Chef and all.

You also want to avoid iodized salt since the iodine also figures into the DH reaction.  Because of this, corn chips and potato chips are out for me too unless I make them myself and frankly I AM SICK OF COOKING!!!

One of my biggest problems is I can't find any safe flavorings for the stir frys.  I tried making some garlic chili butter but it flopped. I need something like the sauce used in General Tsao's chicken.  Maybe you can experiment along these lines and share the results with me?  I don't mind rice, but without the sauces it all gets pretty boring.  I've fallen back on cheeses and fruit, but the increased dairy isn't all that good for the system either.

Oh, you're certainly not alone...this affects about one in 126 people. Lucky us. It may not show up until later in life, after the damage has been done. There is also a genetic predisposition, so if you have kids they should be made aware.

Ya never know what you had until it's gone.  Food is more than diet....it's comfort and friends and new experiences.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Tamlin Dawnstar @ July 22 2006,1:38)]
Anyone out there speak Thai?
William  -

As fate would have it, yes.
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(Although it's too far to walk, so I really can't help you up there)
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (Tamlin Dawnstar @ July 22 2006,1:38)]
Food is more than diet....it's comfort and friends and new experiences.


I hear ya there! Collectively, food and sex are probably the most intimately entwined with our self-image and comfort-zone boundaries.

I feel for y'all - wish there were something I could do.

Ron
 
  • #10
I was thinking about it, and my Brother's wife's father is allergic to gluten. I don't think he has celiacs, but he seems to have little problem eating. They're a Chinese family, so if you're looking for good gluten free recipes, Asian may be a good way to go.


I feel for you all, I'm sure it must be difficult to have to be so vigilant for something that we're all used to being so simple. And sure recipes are great and all, but sometimes you just don't want to cook. My love to all you guys, and if there's ever anything I can do, let me know.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]As fate would have it, yes.
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(Although it's too far to walk, so I really can't help you up there)

lol, maybe you could supply a few lines that they might need to find out of the food has gluten? Easier said than done, I'm sure.
 
  • #11
I've been drinking Magners (hard cider) it's good but not beer. I also made a slammin' eggplant pasta with rice pasta. I almost like the rice pasta better than the wheat (it absorbs flavors more --not to mention I got 800 lbs for 2 cents at the local asian market).:p
I never realized but I have a lot of gluten free items on my menu.
Mussels
Seared Salmon and coconut rice
Ribeye with molasses bourbon butter
all salads are GF
and I also have a housemade flourless chocolate cupcake
and a hot banana split.

I wanted to open a vegan restaurant (with carnivorous plants as decor) but I think I may lean toward this instead.
It's only been 5 days but I already feel better (with the exception of the constant hunger).
 
  • #12
Any chance of getting that flourless cupcake recipe? I realize this is like asking a dentist to fill a tooth for free, but I'm desperate! BTW Scotch whiskey is ok, in case you tire of the bourbon. Thanks for the idea of the cider, not sure if we have this here where god burys his old socks but I'll be asking.

Glad to hear that you are feeling better. I hear this is often the case, which is hy I'm convinced there is more going on with my own condition that simple celiac disease.
 
  • #13
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Thanks for the idea of the cider, not sure if we have this here where god burys his old socks but I'll be asking.

You can actually make some pretty decent hard cider yourself. It's just a matter of buying some juice you like, adding some (good) yeast and letting it ferment. It's nice doing it yourself because you can adjust the level of alcohol; you can let it set long enough only such that it becomes carbonated, or you can add more sugar in and let it sit longer for a real kick.
 
  • #14
I have an aunt who is Celiacs. They say it runs in the family and comes in varying degrees. This makes me shudder.

I bought a S. "Tarnok" at Whole Foods for 9.99. They had "Judith Hindle" and "Dixie Lace". Keep a look out for the plants while you're looking for the gluten free beer.
 
  • #15
Being a southerner I don't think i'll tire of bourbon
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not quite like asking a dentist... the days of chefs keeping their ingredients secret are long gone. Mainly, for the reason of the topic of this thread. So many people have so many different allergies that you have to list just about everything that goes into your dish. Now if you asked me to cook it for you then I'd have to charge you a 100 bucks plus food cost.

The cupcake recipe is a little bit of a process but desperate times...

16 oz bittersweet chocolate
8 oz butter

6 eggs
4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler (a microwave will work also just don't burn your chocolate). Mix well and let cool to room temp.

Whip the eggs and sugar to 3X their volume. fold in chocolate. Fold in heavy cream and vanilla
Spray two muffin tins well with pam and fill 3/4 of the way full. Cover the pans with foil and put ino a 400 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
(sidenote... I sometimes put the muffin tins onto a sheet pan that has some water in it... it keeps them from cooking to fast on the bottom.)

I cut the cupcakes in half and fill them with fresh whipped cream and chocolate ganache (8 oz of chocolate mixed with 8 oz heavy cream and 2 oz of your favorite liquere) drizzled over the top. It gives hostess a run for its money.
 
  • #16
Tamlin, is corn starch GF? I am chinese and if you want recipes for starchy/sticky sauces I'll have them. Thai ones too 'cos I love thai food.
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  • #17
Hey THANKS for the recipe....but there goes my cholesterolm, LOL. Who wants to live forever anyways!

Cindy, please send the sauce recipe(s). Corn starch is gluten free. I love Thai food too, but the prepackaged products are getting rather boring, but better than going hungry. Thanks for thinking of me!
 
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