Heartburn and Cholesterol

[Terrilyn]

Has anyone had problems with heartburn.  Now that I am starting to feel better I am getting heartburn.  Any suggestions.  Also, has anyone had a problem with cholesterol since going on a gluten free diet.  A lot of these foods have trans fats.
Terrilyn

[esnyder105]

Can't say my cholesterol has gone up since becoming GF in May 2005.  My numbers have always been on the low side.  Heartburn and acid reflux was the reason I was DX.  My heartburn has improved over the past year and I rarely have troubles now.  I am 99% GF, sometimes I have an ocassional beer - according to Foster Lager (on their Austrailia website) - their beer is very low in gluten, so what the heck.  A beer or two a month has not caused me any noticable harm. 

Whole Foods stores has the best GF breads.  I watch my fat intake and did not see a lot of products with trans fat.  Good luck.

[lizdance87]

Often people going gluten-free try to replace everything in their diet with pricey gluten-free "substitutes," rather than focusing on what they CAN eat and experiment with different grains and other foods. These substitutes are often heavy-laden with preservatives and artificial fillers, taking away from your health rather than boosting it. How has your diet changed since going gluten-free? Have you added more of one food to replace the missing gluten products? You may want to keep a food journal for a week or so to see if there are any correlations between your symptoms and a certain food that you are eating. As for experimenting with new foods, there are so many great grains that you can try: quinoa, buckwheat, corn, amaranth, rice, teff, millet, etc. If you can find a reliable bulk source of these grains, it is very inexpensive. There are many little tricks like soaking your grains overnight so that they cook up quickly in the morning for a great tasting breakfast, that take the hassle out of cooking. Toss in some dried or fresh fruit and nuts and you are good to go! As for bread, there are many quick and easy gluten-free recipes out there. Check out http://www.innatehealthfoundation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page for some great recipes, as well as links to wonderful GF cookbooks, information on various food products and restaurants, and further resources and support. I have found this wiki-based site to be very helpful, as well as user-friendly. When I switched over my diet, I found that getting a couple of new GF-friendly cookbooks and committing to trying a few new recipes each week really helped to get me excited about cooking GF and feeling less anxious about the new diet.