Gluten and Fibromyalgia Pain

Well, a question that gets asked a lot on my fb page is if going gluten free helps fibro symptoms. There are no rules. For some, yes absolutely it does. For others, not at all. So your best bet is to try being very strict when eliminating gluten and also anything that can be potentially cross reactive) for a period of  60 days just to see what happens. 

• Rye
• Barley
• Spelt
• Polish Wheat
• Oats (2 different cultivars)
• Buckwheat
• Sorghum
• Millet
• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Corn
• Rice
• Potato
• Hemp
• Teff
• Soy
• Milk (Alpha-Casein, Beta-Casein, Casomorphin, Butyrophilin, Whey Protein and whole milk)
• Chocolate
• Yeast
• Coffee (instant, latte, espresso, imported)
• Sesame
• Tapioca (a.k.a. cassava or yucca)
• Eggs

While not all people with gluten sensitivities will also be sensitive to all of these foods, they should be highlighted as high risk for stimulating the immune system.

Gluten sensitivity is NOT a wheat allergy. Some people are gluten sensitive or intolerant without having Celiac disease. And they..you..may not know it because traditional gluten intolerance blood testing looks for only one of SIX polypeptides in wheat, (gliadin). There are FIVE others: wheat germ agglutinin, glteomorphin, glteuinin, prodynorphin and omega gliadin. Any one or combination of these can cause a reaction. Evidence started to show years ago that gluten can promote inflammation even without having an allergy or sensitivity.  

For those people  gluten may cause symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and bloating, irritability and sudden, irrational mood swings. There can be issues such as abdominal cramping, painful or frequent gas, constipation and diarrhea. Also there may be neurological issues including dizziness, difficulty balancing, pain, weakness and tingling or numbness in the extremities.

If these symptoms lessen or some are even eliminated after removing gluten you may have a sensitivity. Your Fibromyalgia and pain symptoms may feel better in general simply because you have less of any or all of the above mentioned symptoms. That does not mean that going gluten free cures Fibromyalgia, but it can certainly effect the severity of your symptoms. 

For some who have given it a honest shot and truly saw no change, reduction in any severity of symptoms, well gluten free is just not the answer. But rest assured there are many other diets out there to try, all proving for some to be very beneficial. Some even say life changing. 

I myself tried gluten free and felt no difference in my pain levels, or much of anything else for that matter. But when I reintroduced it I had severe bloating, constipation and gas immediately. I felt full, heavy and uncomfortable. Without even realizing it there was a difference. And after feeling NOT bloated and crampy...then I noticed. 
So while there is still no real relief directly as far as Fibromyalgia goes, I can now say my GI/IBS issues are not a result of or just "another" symptom of the Fibromyalgia, or CFS or anything else. So I stay gluten free for that. (SSSHHH) Except when I am confronted with the BEST onion rings I have ever had, ever.  Those I will get crampy for and thank heaven what I have in NOT an allergy.

No I am not proud of it

One good thing if you have to or choose to go gluten free is that there are many more options available to you than there were years ago. I still remember when gf was new to me (seems like forever ago) there were very little items on the shelf and what products were there all tasted like "cardboard". And that was real. It all tasted like cardboard. Now years later we have websites, blogs, restaurants and food companies all realizing there is money ..ah hem..I mean to say... they are realizing there is a  NEED. They have stepped up their game and come up with better tasting products, more products, and in more locations. 

The internet, blogs and Pinterest have tons of recipes all your fingertips so you don't have to eat cardboard! 
You can even find gluten free beer! Wait. WHAT!! 

You just need to do a little research, read a lot of labels and enjoy this next step to finding new food, better health and hopefully fewer aches and pains!!

Quick Gluten Free Swaps for Some Pinterest Recipes.

First let me say, I try cooking a lot of things I have found on Pinterest. Most work out and a few have not. If I try something and it's very bad I delete it off my board. No sense in keeping what I know I will never make again. So anything you see I have not tried yet or I have and its good. Here a few of my favorite Pinterest foods that I swapped out ingredients to make them gluten free. Some of them my family didn't even notice at all. They are not against gluten free since I have gone above and beyond to make sure their experience with it has been positive. It helps we have come a long way in creating market foods and recipes that actually taste good. I remember when everything DID taste like cardboard!
Hubby says he prefers the GF pasta over traditional. He feels full longer and not "gross and heavy" (his words) afterwards. Go figure?
 The kids prefer the brown rice over corn. I only get corn if thats thats available and its organic/gmo free because..well..you know...its corn. We all like the quinoa pasta best.
Anyway onto the food!
I make on a regular basis S&S meatballs. Sometimes in a gf sub roll, over black rice, risotto or quinoa.

Yum!!

I just use

I recently started making this with blackberry jelly/jam instead and we think it tastes EVEN better. We really wanted meatballs and it was the only jelly we had in the house at the time. Win. It may not necessarily be "sweet & sour" anymore but its very good anyway.

I make this lasagna and it is delish. I've also made it with kale and spinach together and the entire family  likes it.

I just swap out the pasts with this

THIS is my FAV pizza at this moment. My gf pizza crust comes in a package with 2 crust so I always have the pizza again the next day for lunch alone while the kids are in school. Also I usually double the amount of kale. One time I roasted the sweet potatoes first, cut into small chunks in the oven. The  smell of sweet potatoes in the oven is amazing! One of my favorite smells. I put them in the Ninja after they cooled a bit. I do this every time now. It is twice as flavorful so that's the way to go if you don't mind the extra time and step. And trust me I was hesitant on this pizza, with these ingredients. It could have been very bad...but it works!! Its on my top 5 list for sure. Yummo!

recipe

Easy swap (any gf crust will do obviously)

Mine

Goldfish!! We used hearts and other cutters.

Recipe

Swapped with 

 

Follow the directions for correct flour to xanthan gum ratios.

MY (fish)  CRACKERS! These I didn't bother to tell anyone they were gf, and no one knew. They loved them and the first time they were gone in 3 days. Next time...double batch!

Mine

Okay now this was already gluten free: Green Bean Casserole, BUT I put in here because of the crunchy onion recipe. Although they are gf, you can absolutely substitute this for onion rings anytime you want them. They are hat good. So omgosh, you can just make onions and eat them as is. And she was not kidding about the addition of just a little sugar. Make sure you do not skip that step!! These were the best "homemade" onion rings I have ever made. And I have tried a lot of onion rings over the years!! A LOT! 

Hers

Mine

Oh me oh my..dare I say this again? Yummeeee! Pull Apart "Bread"

The recipe 

Make your own gf biscuit mix (whatever you normally use), I swapped for this and follow all directions the same. Well, not "exactly". I actually doubled the bacon and it worked for us. We are a "no such thing as too much bacon" family! 

Mine

Now this here has no swapping involved, again, it's already gluten free. But I had to include it because it is the very best Banana Bread I have tried to date and everyone should know about it! This is no joke. Its moist, delicious and easily made dairy free if you need that too. I have tried about 15-20 (lost track!) recipes for banana bread and we finally hit the jackpot.

Hers

Mine

We have resorted to making a double batch because everyone swipes a piece every time they pass through the kitchen. They have it wih or for breakfast, and bring it to school. Even my parents who try to never eat anything healthy if they can possibly help it, gave it 2 thumbs up! That's saying a lot!

Chocolate chip cookies!!! Another favorite of mine! The reason I am doing workout dvds in the living room! The reason I have to have a late night snack even when I'm not hungry. Oh chocolate chip cookies, why oh why do I love thee so???

No Pinterest recipe here. This may be a no brainer to some, but I spent quite a bit if time looking for gf choc chip recipes and after a few failed attempts...

DUUUUUUUU OH EM GEEEEEEEEEE!?!?!?!

I decided to just use the original recipe off the back of Nestle Tollhouse bag, just swap the flour. ~BIG SIGH~  I only feel half bad I didn't think of it sooner because I am always on the search for "new" recipes,  not thinking about what to do to tweek the old ones. Also, any one who suffers from chronic illness or pain knows that the memory is not always the most reliable weapon we have in our arsenal any given moment...So..now I am just going to blame the "fibro-fog" for that one!!

I was in my 30 day AIP when making these according to the Nestle bag the first time, so I went for the allergy free chips (we of course will ignore that fact that there's still chocolate in there!), Now we have made them again and again with Nestle chips when only GF. Again, just swap out the flour. 

ATTN: I do have ONE small caveat! When using the Xanthum gum, according to the directions for cookies its 1/4 tsp per cup of flour. I have done that 2 times and the dough tastes a tad bit metallic. I recently started doing 1/4 tsp per cup and a half..much better taste wise and I saw no difference in results as far as texture, or baking. They just lost the metallic taste. You do not need to try this obviously, and results may be different using a different flour. Remember I am using Bobs Red Mill. Feel free to come back and tell me how it worked out!!

 Again with the double batches! I never thought a year ago my fam would be devouring gf cookies to the point where I had to make enough to feed an entire army! A friend who has had Celiac for 7 years now, said she's had trouble making gf cookies so I sent my daughter to school with some for her daughter to take home to her...and she loved them. Wish I could take all the credit, but it goes to Nestle company :)

I will be adding to this list as I try more things. There have been many already but I did not take pictures or keep track up until this point, but there will be more to come!

Enjoy!

You can follow me on Pinterest if you like!!