Posted Jan 19, 2010
Just ate a burger in a big, fat bun and now feel pretty “blah.” That doesn’t sound so unusual, but I’m also thinking how my appetite has fluctuated over the past few years, how my belly seems unsettled after a bowl of Shredded Wheat.
Do I need to go gluten-free?
Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley. If you have celiac disease, gluten in your diet sets off an autoimmune response that destroys villi in the small intestine, leading to gastrointestinal nightmares or worse. Left untreated, its malnutrition effects have been linked to intestinal cancer and liver disease.
There’s a lot of digestive discomfort out there. According to a 2003 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of every 133 Americans has celiac disease.
I skim over some celiac disease symptoms listed in a pamphlet from the Celiac Sprue Association and wonder if I’m turning into a hypochondriac or truly need a screening:
Appetite changes
Inability to concentrate
Dehydration
Abdominal cramping
… and some other discomforts that qualify as TMI (too much information)
In fact, about 300 symptoms are linked to celiac disease, making it tricky to diagnose. In some cases there may be no symptoms at all.
I wonder how those who’ve gone gluten-free knew when it was time to make the change. I start by calling Elana Amsterdam, a former Davis resident who wrote “The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.” She tells me:
“I had really bad digestion. I couldn’t absorb anything, and I was losing weight. I was 30 years old, and this is classic in the medical literature: The onset of symptoms was triggered from a stressful event. I was pregnant, and that can be an autoimmune event. This is a nasty disease, not some little thing.”
Resources available
I’ve always been curious about the Gluten Free Specialty shop at 26th and J streets in midtown Sacramento — I bought a suit and a few shirts at the location when it was a boutique called DV8. But all that Ben Sherman and Hugo Boss gear has been replaced by gluten-free goods: pizza crusts, pasta, breads, cookies, cinnamon rolls from Azna Gluten Free bakery in Cameron Park, and more.
Melanie Weir runs the shop. She’s embraced the gluten-free life for more than seven years and remembers when celiac stomach issues landed her in the emergency room. Her dermatitis, a skin manifestation of celiac disease, was once so bad that she took antihistamines daily. Going gluten-free helped Weir, and she hopes her shop will do the same for others.
It’s the first time in the store for Molly Frazier. She’s from Reno, visiting Sacramento on this day to renew her paramedic license. Before her trip, she searched the Web for “gluten-free and Sacramento” and learned of the store. Now she’s carrying two bags of gluten-free goods, including bagels and soy sauce.
I ask her why she went gluten-free:
“I’d had abdominal pain for about five years. I was tired, felt bloated and fatigued. I even had exploratory surgery. About a year and a half ago, I eliminated gluten from my diet, and within two weeks I was feeling better. It was amazing.
“I’m a vegetarian, so I’m used to eliminating things from my plate and seeing what else is available. At home, it was about making little changes, like having fruit or yogurt instead of toast or a bagel. The biggest change was going out to restaurants.”
Hard habits to break
As someone who eats out at least three times a week, I realize going gluten-free would be tricky. So much for gnocchi at OneSpeed or even a Round Table pizza.
No question about it, cooking gluten-free has reached the mainstream. According to a survey from the National Restaurant Association, gluten-free/food allergy-conscious cooking ranked No. 9 in a listing of 214 current food trends.
But what if you were a chef with celiac disease? Being surrounded by so much off-limits food could be tough. I get a tip that Peter Toomey, a chef at Mulvaney’s Building & Loan, lives gluten-free:
“I’m 44 and have been ‘cheffing’ for 20-something years. Two years ago, I got cursed. For years, I’d felt kind of down and out, like ‘Ugh, not feeling good.’ My wife was watching ‘Oprah,’ and she did a whole show on celiac disease. They had a whole list of symptoms, and of the 10, I had eight or nine of them.
“Initially, changing my diet was tough because I like sandwiches, and burgers with buns, and pizza and pasta. But it turned out to be the best thing for me. I eat better now and live with a more natural diet. It can get tough when I’m cooking and have to taste foods. I get a stomachache now and then, but luckily I’m not that bad off.”
Tough for youngsters
It must be trying for parents whose kids have celiac disease. It’s hard enough just to get a 7-year-old to eat his veggies or anything not in nugget form.
Out of curiosity, I offer my son some gluten-free after-school snacks. Can he tell the difference? He chomps both the gluten-free pretzels and the sour candies and asks for more.
Having a child with celiac disease can be heartbreaking and can lead to drastic changes in family life. I understand this after talking with Amanda Shaffer, a Sacramento mother of two.
“My 4-year-old daughter, Kira, has celiac disease. She was diagnosed at 18 months. At 12 months, she went from walking and happy to not walking and not wanting to be held, to not getting off the floor.