[Nadya]

I think I'm gluten sensitive. I had a bunch of wheat bread a month or so back and felt like crap for the better part of a week. My symptoms lined up pretty well with the symptoms described online and since then I've kind of been wondering if it's why my stomach feels bloated a lot and why my liquid intake seems screwy (I seem to drink more than I you know...). This has left me wondering what all I should be avoiding to remove gluten from my diet and see if it makes a difference.

Does anyone here avoid gluten like the plague? Tips?

[chickybird]

I was diagnosed with a thyroid disease last year and was encouraged to avoid gluten because autoimmune diseases like mine are often comorbid. It's hard, but doable. Don't be tempted to try all the fun gluten free cookies, cakes, pies, etc as soon as you start a GF lifestyle. GF things tend to be higher in calories, sugars, and/or fats. That said, I still eat a sandwich every now and then!
I was surprised to see all the things that gluten hides in: soy sauce, Pringles chips, Barq's root beer, all kinds of things you wouldn't think of. Trying to find GF cream soups like cream of mushroom (to make casseroles) can be tricky.
I'm lucky enough to live near Houston, TX, which has several large health food stores. I also buy some items from amazon--they have a great GF protein bar without any added sugar.
I've also cut down on sugar, and that helped my bloating as well.
Be warned though--once you start doing GF, don't cheat. Each time you do, the pain/discomfort/bloating is more intense. The last time I cheated and ate gluten, I didn't have a BM for 3 weeks...Of course, your mileage may vary.
Wheat Free, Worry Free is a GREAT book to help you get started. You can buy it on amazon pretty cheap. Hope this helps!

[canadianwoman]

I have celiac disease so I must avoid gluten. I feel better for it and unless I accidentally gluten myself I feel great. No bloating either.
There are a lot of additives in foods today that are gluten based. One is xanthan gum. I just found that out a couple of weeks ago so whenever I see that in somethig now that bottle or box goes back on the shelf.

[kuchick]

Xanthan gum does not contain gluten and is actually used to replicate the effects of gluten in gluten-free baked goods. That being said, some with gluten intolerance have found that they have an intolerance to xanthan gum also. Maybe a tendency to have multiple food intolerances? Many online gluten-free bloggers are avoiding xanthan gum in their recipes for that reason (and also that it's derived from mold? haven't checked out that so don't know if that's true).

My ds has Asperger's Syndrome and we are reducing gluten on a trial basis to see if it helps his syptoms. Haven't found any good bread recipes to replace his sandwich bread for pb&j, but found a great pb cookie recipe and muffin recipes - good for him, but not so great for me since I believe in taste-testing before giving it to him!