Dairy Products and the Newly GF

[the sensible celiac]

Anecdotal evidence supports the idea that people who are newly diagnosed as celiacs, as well as people who start a GF diet without a formal diagnosis, often find that they begin to experience intestinal distress whenever they consume dairy products.

Many celiacs report that they go through a period of time when they must avoid all dairy products, while some others seem to be able to tolerate some products, or small portions.

It is also often reported that after some period of time, 6 months or a year in some cases, some folks initially bothered by dsairy products are able to use them again.

Certainly dairy products are not globally banned from the celiac diet. For the most part, they can be expected to be free of wheat or other gluten-containing ingredients.  Cheese is often a problem, though, so caution is advised around eating cheese.

Some celiacs will experience mild discomfort after eating dairy foods, others report more severe symptoms of the sort that a gluten accident might cause.

I have nothing to report around this issue, since I opt out of dairy products for reasons not related to health.  But what about you?

Have dairy products ever given you trouble?

Were you later able to re-introduce them into your diet?

[cpedrick]

  I was surprised to see that cheese could be a problem.  I am still trying to figure out what my problem is.  First I cut out bread and noodles.  But I didn't know about Soy and other sources of gluten.  Then I went dairy free for six weeks, no change at all in my condition.  So I started drinking milk again without any problems.  I've been making my own vegetable bean soup for several days now and experienced allot of improvement.  Yesterday I bought fresh corn tortillas and cheese.  I almost never buy either one.  Last night I had the tortillas with the cheese melted on top.
  I woke up in the middle of the night with the chills and my heart pounding.  A sure sign I was going to have diarrhea again, with blood.  And I did.
  I was thinking maybe they put some wheat flour in the tortillas or that corn is a problem, but now you've got me rethinking cheese!

[the sensible celiac]

It's unfortunate but true that some people who have celiac disease also are unable to tolerate certain other foods that definitely do not contain gluten.  I have heard of celiacs who also cannot tolerate corn, so that is a possibility.

In my experience, corn tortillas tend to be pure corn with no other grains at all. They certainly never bother me.

Cheese might bother you for several reasons, some types of cheese are processed with rennet that might contain gluten. The other possible reason is that you may have the very common condition among new celiacs of not being able to tolerate dairy products.

My suggestion is that you avoid all dairy for a few days, then see if you start feeling better.

Vegetable soup is a great idea. It is very nutritious, and all the water content will help you if you are being troubled with diarrhea.

Also try some plain white rice if you feel that you need to settle your stomach.  Rice is one of the least allergenic grains.

Stick with it, now that you know you need to watch what you eat, you'll soon be doing much better.

Ask the nice people here if you have questions.

Best wishes
Steve

[pajamas]

Anecdotal evidence supports the idea that people who are newly diagnosed as celiacs, as well as people who start a GF diet without a formal diagnosis, often find that they begin to experience intestinal distress whenever they consume dairy products.

Many celiacs report that they go through a period of time when they must avoid all dairy products, while some others seem to be able to tolerate some products, or small portions.

It is also often reported that after some period of time, 6 months or a year in some cases, some folks initially bothered by dsairy products are able to use them again.

Certainly dairy products are not globally banned from the celiac diet. For the most part, they can be expected to be free of wheat or other gluten-containing ingredients.  Cheese is often a problem, though, so caution is advised around eating cheese.

Some celiacs will experience mild discomfort after eating dairy foods, others report more severe symptoms of the sort that a gluten accident might cause.

I have nothing to report around this issue, since I opt out of dairy products for reasons not related to health.  But what about you?

Have dairy products ever given you trouble?

Were you later able to re-introduce them into your diet?

[kimberlytimbers]

I generally avoid dairy products but if I do get a hankering for cheese I buy goat or sheep's milk cheeses as they are easier to digest than cow's milk! There are goat goudas, goat cheddars, feta of course, and others. Usually markets like Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco or Whole Foods carry these, and they are usually rennet-free.

[mcdesign]

totally agree, i eat only goat and sheep's milk cheeses.

[nomythswanted]

We read that with ciliac you can't have any products containing Whey. If whey is a milk product how is this true?

[the sensible celiac]

Whey is certainly a dairy product.  Whey is the liquid part that remains when curd is settled out of milk.
In its pure state whey is definitely gluten free.

I'd say that this sounds like one of the many myths surrounding celiac disease.

I'm willing to hazard a guess that this one got started when someone with celiac disease ate something that contained whey, felt ill later, and concluded that therefore whey contained gluten.  I'm just guessing, of course.

[nomythswanted]

Thank you

[SunTea]

...soooo I guess anything that tastes like hot chocolate is out of the question?  I've always had problems with milk.  Nonfat dry milk is a little easier to tolerate.  I make my own hot chocolate with nonfat dry milk, cocoa, and Splenda, and I tried replacing the dry milk with Silk soy milk--yuck. 

Is there anything around I can replace nonfat dry milk with in hot chocolate?

Sheila

[the sensible celiac]

Although it does tend to be a lot more watery than real moo or soy milk, you might try a carton of rice milk to see if you like that.

Personally, I do like the Silk brand chocolate soy milk, but there's no accounting for people's tastes.

[kris10]

I'm wondering if anyone has tried any of the the lactaid products or the pills that are supposed to help with lactose intolerance - can celiacs use these products? 

[GwenRN]

The lactaid products may help relieve symptoms caused by lactose intolerance.
I would be stunned if they found a way to add gluten to the Lactaid milk, and the Lactaid tablets are basically supplementing the enzyme needed to break down lactose, so unless they use wheat starch as a binder, they should certainly be safe. Of course, you can read the packages, but I'd say it's worth a try!

Gwen

[tksmom]

My daughters GI told us to try Lactaid if it seemed like the dairy products were bothering her. 

Sometimes dairy products would bother sometimes they wouldn't so we could never say she was lactose tolerant.  As it turns out, she just wasn't 100% GF yet and we never tried them. 

[julevalle]

I started a dairy free diet about 6 or 7 years ago because I was having GI problems and I was diagnosed with lactose Intolerance. While I felt a little better, I was not 100% relieved of my stomach and eating problems. It got to a point where I couldn't tolerate it anymore and was soon diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I, too, personally enjoy soy milk- my favorite is Silk as well. The soy icecream and yogurt is good too. I really don't remember what milk or real icecream and yogurt taste like anymore, so all that soy stuff tastes good to me! The only thing I miss is cheese (there is no replacement for cheese). My GI doctor told me to drink plenty of soy- it's great for you!