# gluten free diet



## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Apologies for starting yet another thread on this topic, but I just have a quick question:For those of you who have gone gluten-free, about how long did it take for you to notice a change (if any) in your GI symptoms?I'm planning on starting this up in the next month or so (going out of the country in mid-February, so may wait until after that trip) and I just want to get an idea of what to expect. Of course I realize everybody's body is different...


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Not positive I'll be going ahead with this diet, at least not immediately. I saw my GI doctor on Monday and he wasn't a big supporter of the gluten free diet (although he wasn't really opposed to me trying it). He seemed to feel it really wouldn't be a good indicator as to whether or not I have a gluten intolerance (my celiac test was negative), based on the prevalance of at least one of the alleles (HLA) in the general population w/o CD. At the very least I'm going to drastically reduce my consumption of carbs (bread, pasta, cerals, etc). I couple of years ago I did this for two months and I noticed a decrease in my symptoms (and this was while I still had full-blown SIBO, unbeknownst to me at the time).


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

For people who do not have celiac I think a more general carb restriction makes more sense that just limiting a couple of carbs that happen to have gluten in them.Usually it is more of a starch issue and so going nuts to get rid of every last trace of wheat, barley and rye when you are still eating bunches of potatoes and other non-gluten containing grains probably isn't all that helpful. Lower carb diets do seem to help some people with diarrhea so I'd do a more general carb limitation (so less starch and sugar and more cooked vegetables as side dishes) than limiting a couple of specific grains.It may not help, but eating less starchy foods may be something for people to try to see if it helps them.


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## SneakerPimp (Jan 14, 2008)

About a week.I think going gluten-free or at least restricting it is a GREAT idea.I was tested for Celiacs and came back negative. But I saw a naturopath and she told me to go gluten free and man, did it help. From what I've read some people can have what is called Non-Celiacs Gluten Intolerance. Celiacs is really just an auto-immune disease. So if you have NCGI, it just means that gluten affects your tummy but your body doesn't attack itself, basically. You're just really uncomfortable.And I agree with Kathleen; reducing carbs in general might help. But for sure cut down on the gluten. I feel a million times better.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

SneakerPimp said:


> About a week.I think going gluten-free or at least restricting it is a GREAT idea.I was tested for Celiacs and came back negative. But I saw a naturopath and she told me to go gluten free and man, did it help. From what I've read some people can have what is called Non-Celiacs Gluten Intolerance. Celiacs is really just an auto-immune disease. So if you have NCGI, it just means that gluten affects your tummy but your body doesn't attack itself, basically. You're just really uncomfortable.And I agree with Kathleen; reducing carbs in general might help. But for sure cut down on the gluten. I feel a million times better.


Thanks for responding.I actually went gluten free for one week at the beginning of February and I noticed an improvement in my symptoms after only 48 hours. I was fine for the rest of that week and then reverted to my normal diet as I was on out of the country and knew it would be more difficult to remain GF. I suspect I probably am intolerant to gluten, but Im going to continue to eat it until I get an endoscopy and biopsy (just to be on the safe side)...


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## Patman75 (Mar 9, 2008)

It helped but until cut back all the starches did I really see improvement in about 2 weeks. But I dont have IBS, I have colitis


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## PCatsos (Mar 10, 2010)

There is more to wheat than just gluten! Sometimes it is a particular kind of carbohydrate call "fructans" in wheat that causes symptoms, not the gluten, especially if you've tested negative for celiac disease. Wheat is the biggest source of fructans most people's diet, onions are second. The good news is if you are having a problem with fructans you will feel better within a few days of reducing them in your diet, and its not necessary to cut them out completely. (Fructans is one of five carbs in the FODMAPS family, all can cause IBS symptoms).


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