# Help! What to eat?



## 21249 (Feb 28, 2006)

I have had IBS for years and within the last couple of years I have gotten the spasms. So my doctor said to cut out dairy and wheat products and see if that makes a difference. Plus I have acid reflux. So my question is what is left to eat??I am having a hard time with this. I mean does wheat include everything? like wheat flour?I hate it already and it has only been 3 days!!


----------



## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

Wheat is found in so many things. I've done the wheat free and dairy free diet. I found the dairy was relatively easy to replace although not so much cause I can't handle soy but you can use soy milk, soy cheese, soy cream cheese and soy sour cream to substitute for dairy. I liked the fresh soy milks the best and I've read that a lot of people seem to like Silk brand soy milk (although we don't get that here). If you can't tolerate soy rice products are another alternative although there aren't as many. But you can get rice milk or oat milk and I think rice cheese in the US.As for wheat contact your local coeliac society. I did and they sent me quite a bit of information as to what I could and couldn't eat. They were really wonderful. Mostly you will be eating things like gluten free bread, although spelt bread is another and I think nicer alternative. Umm rice cakes, rice products, I ate a lot of rice, especially for lunch cause I didn't like the gluten free bread. It is hard but if you see results worth it! You can also try googling wheat free diets and that should give you some idea's too.For pasta you can get rice pasta and corn pasta which I eat sometimes anyway as they are yummy.Your best bet is to go to a place like trader joes where they sell this type of stuff and also get used to making things yourself as pretty much all breads, cakes, biscuits and a lot of drinks and anything processed contains wheat product.Good luck. I hope I've helped at least a little bit and I hope you feel a bit better on the diet.


----------



## 22518 (Jun 15, 2006)

Hi littletina22, Yes, if it says "wheat flour" then stay away from it. Like Screamer said, wheat is in many things, so you are going to have to READ, read, and read any food labels. The good part is that the new food labeling laws now have to warn if the food contains any of the 8 major foods that people can be allergic to and wheat and milk are two of the 8. Go to your local grocery store and ask if they have a wheat free/gluten free section, many are starting to have a designated "health food" section. Also, go to your local health food store (if there is one in your area), they should carry wheat and milk free products. Screamer mentioned soy milk. I also think almond milk tastes really good - you will just have to try some different ones and see what you like. Be careful with rice milk (some contain gluten) if you are trying to avoid gluten. If you Google wheat-free diet or gluten-free diet you can find many foods to avoid. Celiac.com is a good site. Also, if going out to eat, Google the restaurant along with the words "gluten-free." Some restaurants such as Outback, PF Changs, Wendy's, McDonalds, Chipoltle, and others tell which foods are gluten-free. There are also stores online that sell gluten-free foods that you can order. One that I know off hand is:http://glutenfreepantry.com/online-store.htmit also tells if the product is lactose/casein (milk) free. Namesta makes a delicious brownie that is gluten and (I think) milk free - in fact NOBODY at my Christmas party knew that they were "special" brownies until everyone had devoured them. Pamela's wheat free cookies are soooo good and some of Amy's products are gluten free and good. The big drawback will be the increased cost. Wheat free products cost more, BUT worth it if you feel better! At my local grocery store (Kroger) they also carry lactose free/gluten-free "ice creams." I think they are made with soy.If you have any more ???, just ask, and I'll help if I can. Take care.


----------

