Definitely, the hardest part of being on a strict gluten-free diet is the adjustment period you go through as you get used to your new diet. Now, obviously, the gluten-free diet is 100% zero tolerance and even the smallest hint of gluten can cause extreme problems for many Celiacs but could be partially gluten-free be beneficial at all?
At least one person with Celiac disease doesn’t think so:
The answer is a little complicated. You won’t be able to tell if gluten is a problem for you unless you give up gluten 100% for 3 months. This is because it takes a while for gluten to get out of your system. By incorporating some gluten-free food into your diet– cereals, pasta, breads, snacks–you might realize being gluten-free is not only do-able it is is fun. Being partially gluten-free would allow you to change your eating habits gradually and to learn about living gluten-free. But you wouldn’t get the huge benefit of feeling better and having chronic problems potentially disappear.
Dr. Nancy O’Hara, who is an integrated doctor says if you can’t be 100% off gluten (or dairy) then she would rather see you on a different type of healing diet (The Body Ecology Diet, Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet or a low oxalate diet.) People often go on a 85% gluten-free diet and don’t get better and so they decide the GF diet doesn’t work for them, when they might get completely better by removing gluten completely. A gluten-free diet is tricky because so much food contains hidden gluten. Oats, for instant, are not gluten-free unless specially labelled because they rotate crops and often grow oats in the old wheat fields. And soy sauce, rice crispies and Twizzlers all contain gluten. So unless you are reading every label and researching how to do a gluten-free diet, you might think you are doing a gluten-free diet but you really aren’t.
I’d love to hear what our readers think. If you are 100% gluten-free and accidentally get a hint of gluten in your diet, how does your body respond?
Knowledgeable doctors, scientists and Celiacs agree that you must be totally gluten free. The risk of illness and eventually lymphoma (cancer) are too great.
I was diagnosed 6 years ago and I have learned that cheating is not worth it. While I do not get terrible sick – I feel bloated, flu-like and very tired – I know that when I accidentally ingest gluten my body starts and immune response, even if I have only eaten a small crumb of bread! That small crumb causes damage that can take up to 3 months to heal! Why do that to your body?
I won’t lie, the diet is very difficult and I have almost given up eating out, but you just have to make up your mind that this is the way you live now. “Deal with it but don’t dwell on it” is my mantra.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I understand it is often tempting to quit eating in public all together. Even as restaurants become more conscious of what is and isn’t gluten free, I think in many cases it is just to risky due to cross contamination.
Oh I totally disagree!
I went partially gluten/dairy free and my skin totally cleared up, I do not have the itching/stinging/burning I used to get form shaving, and my “allergy” to fragrances and various chemicals disappeared entirely.
I have a beer (or two!) a few times a week. And I don’t mind sneaking in a bit of half n half into my coffee. And I never worry about soy sauce or hidden gluten sources.
Partially gluten free has worked great for me!
I don’t think that I’m celiac, so maybe I shouldn’t comment on this, but I think that being mostly gluten free can be beneficial for some people. I started trying to be gluten free because I was asking my son to do so to see if it resolved some medical issues and I didn’t want him to be the only one in the family to do it. Even though I still occasionally have something with gluten once or twice a week, it’s had a profound effect on the amount of sleep i need. Where I used to need 10 hours a night of sleep to feel fine the next day, and a 5 hour night would be devastating for me, I can now stay up later regularly and get only 7 or 8 hours of sleep. And after an occasional 5 hour night of sleep, I’m still functional the next day, even if a little tired. I’ve gotten back 14 hours a week of my life and they’re highly productive. The kitchen gets cleaned every night now, and the house is cleaner too.
I can certainly understand the concern that if a partial gluten free diet doesn’t do anything for you, you might think a full one won’t, but I think you just have to realize that–partial is just that–partial. But partial for me has been an eye opener, and I’d rather see someone try it than not try anything at all.