Cheaper than Heroin

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri May 18, 2012 9:13 am

Dr. Briffa does it again: http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/05/17/whea ... he-masses/

It explains why some people have such a difficult time taking gluten out of their diets. It's not will power, it's chemical addiction.

wonderwoman · Post by **wonderwoman** » Fri May 18, 2012 9:47 am

I also got his e-mail newletter this morning and read the article. Interesting.

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Fri May 18, 2012 7:03 pm

Very interesting. I would fall in that catagory- I found it very difficult to give up gluten. Now I wouldn't ever think of cheating because it's not worth it but if I were able to I would go back to breads, pastas, etc. in a snap. I envy those who feel more energy and health after a few weeks of being GF. I've been GF for about 6 months and still feel like my butt is dragging all the time. The fatigue isn't as severe as it was a year ago but I'm practicing patience thanks to everyone here.

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Fri May 18, 2012 7:26 pm

Deb, same here.

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri May 18, 2012 11:14 pm

Deb and Lesley, it's sounds like you might be missing something else... Iron? A friend was dragging around, sure she was getting all the iron she needed and suddenly discovered that her "mature" vitamins did not have any iron in them.

Deanna in CO · Post by **Deanna in CO** » Sat May 19, 2012 7:22 am

Deb,

I don't have the terrible fatigue, but I agree about going back. I too have been off gluten (and tons of other things) for about 6 months, and I still crave wheat products. Part of that may not be physical, though - I have so many emotional connections to wheat-based foods. Birthdays should have cake, for example; family outings with my kids often included Krispy Kreme donuts or ice cream; "comfort foods" are things like chicken noodle soup, pot roast with soft wheat rolls, spaghetti; even family breakfasts (which we've often eaten together) have often consisted of pancakes, french toast, or cinnamon rolls. No matter how long I am physically off those things, emotionally I think I'm going to miss them, you know?

Deanna

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sat May 19, 2012 6:06 pm

Deanna, I totally agree. It's been a slow, painful adjustment for me. I'm working on attitude now because I know for sure now that this is forever and I need to be more positive about it. I sure can make my own life (and family) miserable if I'm determined to not accept it.

You're right, birthdays should have cake, Sunday mornings should have pancakes, french toast, etc and camping trips should have smores and pudgie pies.......it's really painful to not feel the connection with family I once had at the dinner table. I don't think it will ever be the same but I know with some effort and time dinnertime will be an enjoyable event. I'm slowing working out of getting mildly depressed at every meal- I didn't realize until recently how hard it is on my husband and son and that just isn't right either.

I just got back from a visit to my sister-in-law at the hospital due to a sulfa allergy and a very nasty reaction. Her mother was commenting on a friend dying of breast cancer and dealing with maintenance radiation while living her life for however long it lasts. Sometimes I feel ashamed that I'm complaining about not being able to eat chocolate and cookies. Although there is more to this disease than giving up favorite treats and every person is dealing with some problem that is the center of their world, I am thankful I am not in that situation. I don't like when other people tell me it could be worse because they have no idea what it's like to be in our shoes but sometimes I get reminders to stop feeling sorry for myself and just make the effort and be patient.

Marliss, talking about making an effort, I've been dragging my feet with checking out my thyroid. I've gotten many suggestions here and know I need to talk with my doctor which I thought I'd do at my last GI appointment but was told to go to my family doc. I may find the answer to some of the other ongoing problems I can't seem to beat. My vitamin does have iron in it but I've always been cautious with iron since I tend to get an upset stomach with too much of it. I'll have to keep a closer eye on it. Thanks for the suggestion.

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Sat May 19, 2012 11:48 pm

If y'all can eat other GF grains, I would like to suggest the Ultimate Sticky Monkey Bread recipe I posted in Dee's Kitchen. I have had people who eat gluten tell me they cannot tell the difference between this and wheat pastry.

If you look around Dee's Kitchen, there are lots of wonderful recipes. On the internet, you can find a recipe for most anything. Very talented people have decided they are not going to deprive themselves, and they share their recipes with others.

i'm not a big fan of pancakes and French toast, but I have a recipe somewhere for oatmeal cream cakes like Little Debbie's, which I think are actually paleo except for the maple syrup, and I also have bookmarked in Pinterest (an excellent source) a recipe for Whoopie pies. I haven't made that one, yet. I also have a graham cracker recipe bookmarked that I haven't tried yet. There's at least one marshmallow recipe that doesn't use corn syrup, so if you use dark chocolate that doesn't have soy in it, there's your s'mores.

I would also suggest Annaliese Roberts' cookbooks. Her website is foodphilosopher.com. We make her cakes for birthdays, and they look, taste, and act like wheat, at least the ones we've tried.

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Sun May 20, 2012 12:05 am

Marliss,
I am not lacking in iron as per my last blood tests. Something is still very from right, but I don't know what it is.

When you have tried the recipes please post them. I made muffins yesterday and they were very good. My friends loved them.

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sun May 20, 2012 5:40 am

Marliss- thanks for the suggestions. I looked at the monkey bread recipe and I don't think it would work for me since it has dairy. I've found it difficult to find recipes that are GF, SF, DF, and EF. But I also haven't spent a lot of time looking since I generally get frustrated. I'll have to just designate some time to look a little harder and experiment with substitutions. I'm always hesitant to try a recipe since it is so expensive to end up throwing it out if it flops.

I had a recipe converted to a single size portion for cornmeal pancakes make with rice flour but it may have been tossed when cleaned out my four recipe books of things I wouldn't ever make again. Recently I tried Chi-Chi's cornbread mix and it ended up in the compost bin. It was the only mix that didn't have wheat flour and I substituted olive oil for the butter. I was going to just eat it anyway but it turned my stomach and I realized how dumb that was.

I work in the same building as our library and was able to get stacks of magazines that they put in the recycle bin. I used to spend hours paging through them and ripping out recipes I wanted to try. I'll have to get back into that mode and and substitute my computer for the pages of the magazines. Maybe if I look at it as a treasure hunt I won't get so frustrated. That one recipe could turn out to be an exciting addition to my menu!

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Sun May 20, 2012 12:38 pm

Oh, Deb--I should have mentioned that I posted the monkey bread recipe "as is." One of my girls and I can't do dairy, so we substitute coconut milk. The cream off the top of canned coconut milk is a good substitute for the heavy cream for the gooey part. Sorry about that.

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Mon May 21, 2012 6:06 pm

Thanks Marliss, I'll have to look at it again. It sounds so good and I can't remember the last time I had a real dessert!