Celiacs + Sugar = No Bueno.

I haven't posted much about my diet and my newly diagnosed disease since March. I thought four months later I'd at least be on the verge of feeling awesome. And in some ways I do feel a lot better. But I'm still struggling with headaches, feeling tired, and sharp stomach pains. Kudos to those of you who actually go on an elimination diet. That really is the best way to figure out what foods you are sensitive to. After cutting out gluten, dairy, and recently red meat, I'm starting to see a pattern when I eat sugar. Ahhh sugar. The glorious ingredient that makes food taste good. Especially gluten-free food. Well SURPRISE, many celiacs suffer from fructose malabsorption. Am I surprised? At this point my body is having a hard time digesting air.

Here are some foods you should avoid if you are experiencing fructose malabsorption:

• Fruit — apple, pear, guava, honeydew melon, nashi fruit, pawpaw, papaya, quince, star fruit, watermelon;
• Dried fruit — apple, currant, date, fig, pear, raisin, sultana;
• Fortified wines
• Foods containing added sugars, such as agave nectar, some corn syrups, honey, and fruit juice concentrates.

Yup, apples just about do me in. And agave? Shit. Here I sit sipping on an Oogave root beer. Wine?? God must hate me. I can have foods that contain equal parts glucose and fructose, but it might be easier at this point to just cut out sugar altogether.

So... no dairy... no gluten... no red meat... and no sugar. Somebody heal my gut pronto.

Leave me a comment. Have any of you gone off sugar? Am I insane for even considering it?

Gluten Free, Dairy Free: What I Miss Eating

Lately I've been mourning all the foods I can no longer eat. For me, it's not necessarily the flavor that I really miss, but the social experience of eating whatever food it is.

I miss:

• Pizza benders from Italian Village (a family tradition)
• Pizza in general (though I had some killer pizza last week in Berkeley here.)
• Sandwiches from Village Baker.
• Sandwiches from Toasters.
• Being able to get french toast, waffles, or pancakes when going out for breakfast/brunch.
• Robb's killer homemade french toast. Hopefully we can find some GF bread so he can make it for me.
• My sister's homemade banana bread. Especially when she brings it over freshly baked.
• Donuts. Especially from Banbury Cross. Especially when my dad makes a random trip and brings some home on the weekend.
• Ice Cream. I had some coconut milk ice cream but it just wasn't the same. 
• In general, being able to eat anything at a restaurant. These days I'm limited to a couple items on the menu, and even then I'm not always 100% sure that the sauces don't contain gluten, or that the preparers did all they could to avoid cross contamination. 

It's surprising the things I don't miss as much as others. I thought I'd really miss regular bread, and sometimes I do, but usually it's because I want a sandwich. I thought I'd miss milk a ton but I've adjusted to my almond milk and like the flavor. One perk of going gluten free is that the food that is made to replace regular items like muffins (unlike bread) is soooo good because recipes are tried and retried to get the flavor just right. So muffins, cake, cookies, and some other sweets taste great to me. There are some really good GF breakfast cereals that I enjoy more than regular ones.

Looking pregnant but nope, I just ate wheat or dairy

Other things I don't miss:

• Never knowing when I'd be stuck sick in a bathroom- at a restaurant, at a store, with my toddler.
• Feeling bloated (and looking pregnant) and sick after every meal.
• The ten pounds I said goodbye to.
• The unhealthy eating habits I was making. (Much easier to avoid fast food now)
• How tired I always was.
• How moody I always was. (still have my moments. ;)

So I try to count my blessings and appreciate the good when I'm crying over not being able to eat something I really want to. It really is a lifestyle change, and I'm still in the learning phase. I'm looking forward to a future that includes me being more prepared, more knowledgable, and more in control of the food I eat.