Yeah my sister was diagnosed with Celiac sprue two years ago, and since she moved out, we've slowly crept back to wheat products and I've gained like 20 lbs!! Of course, I had been doing great because I was exercising a lot more, and now I have been lazy and eating terribly...I need to do better.

She gained weight but that's common for celiacs when they feel deprived of one thing, they often make up for it with other food, and the same problems with regular food is that the junk food is not very nutritious and ready to eat, and cheaper than the good stuff.

We met a really nice doctor at an Erie, PA convention for Celiac disease named Rodney Ford. He is currently writing an E-book and you can look him up on Gluten-Free Planet on Facebook. He wants the world to go gluten-free, and he also wrote a book on children and gluten sensitivity. It's worth checking out! (We went with him on a tour of Erie, and he and his wife had the most awesome accents! They live in New Zealand!)

Oh, I definitely hear you about the nutrient density! That's why I switched to all organics where possible. I need as much nutrients in a small amount of food as I can get. If it won't nourish me, I won't eat it.

I now exclusively eat protein rich foods, (some low fat meats, cheeses, occasionally some beans) and organic fruits and vegetables. But, again, that is easier for me to do now... especially since I don't have cravings like I used to. And with illnesses to scare me to stay straight, I might stand a better chance of sticking to it!

My daughter - she's 4 - has really gotten on the band wagon too - she helps me make protein ice cream (soy milk, protein powder, sugar free Torani syrup, fruits for flavours, into an ice cream maker)... she refuses to eat the regular stuff from the store. Everything is homemade now - from ice cream, to popsicles (blended fruit, no sugar). She even gobbles up zucchini like it's candy - we made pastaless "zucchini manicotti" one night. It's her new favourite.

She tells her kindergarten teacher she only likes "healthy things"... and "we can't eat junk!" whenever she's offered candy. It's kind of cute!

If you are looking to really cut down on gluten, what names do you have to look for on the label?

I don't eat meat or fish, so that makes things tricky for me, but I feel so much better when I am lower than normal on carbs (even whole grains).

I did find black bean pasta (no filler, just black beans and water!) that is amazing!

I am just SO addicted and its something shared by me and all the females on my mother's side of the family.

Thanks for the tip, crossingfingers! I'll look for the book.

Yes!! That definitely counts!!

Thanks so much for bringing this up. The hard thing will be weaning my son. He is so dang picky. Is there anyway maybe we can post recipes here or links to great foods. That would be so awesome. I would love to know where to get blackbean pasta!

e.tayloe will have a better answer than me, I am sure, as we are just new to GF eating. But anything with whey, malt, modified...starch. There are more, but in order to keep my dd safe, I have taken to making everything at home with whole foods that I know, or just shopping at the gluten free store.

That is very interesting to know. I don't eat many grains, mostly steel cut oats and quinoa, and my sources of carbs come mostly from sweet potatoes, potatoes, and all kinds of squash. We don't do much bread in my house either, and this article makes me very, very happy about that. People are always surprised that I don't have cravings for stuff, but nearly my entire diet is whole foods or food I make from scratch.

You know, I would be one of those people willing to spend $7 on a loaf of bread made with the old, truly whole grains rather than the $3 loaf, but really, most store bought bread just seems like fluff to me, not the dense hearty stuff like grandma used to make.

My mother found out last year she had Celiac, and my entire life she'd always felt kind of sickly, or in general "just not good." She's been off gluten for nearly a year now, and she's so much happier, healthier, and it's amazing to see her with energy.

Thanks so much for the article, very informative and it's interesting, especially when coupled with Food, Inc, which is on Netflix if anyone else has that and wants to watch it!

I love quinoa, too, MissCassie. I make it ahead and refridge it so it's ready. This morning I heated a portion of it and put a beeeautiful basted egg on top, for breakie. Lots of protein, no drowsiness from wheat. Love it!

I also love squashes, sweet potatoes, etc., and will have those for breakfast, too, rather than toast. Also love using hemp seeds sprinkled on salads or hot food, or in smoothies.

MMMMMM!!! Smoothies for breakfast!

ETA: Thanks for the Netflix tip!

One aspect of this article that really does intrigue me is this (my bold):



In the other article I posted ( Another fascinating article --- on alcoholism , the same drug, naltrexone, is used for people with alcohol addiction. I wonder if this drug might also be used for tobacco addiction? I'm going to go google that, right now!

really, it will work on anything that involves opioid receptor sites. tobacco doesn't work directly on the opioid receptors, but rather on the opioid pathways. There are trials, but my understanding is the results are equivocal (which makes sense.)

Here's a bit from the Cochrane Review:
http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003086.html

and an additional abstract:
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1999-13679-004

and here:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/166/6/667