Helpful Tips for Celiac Warriors
As a woman who has been diagnosed with celiac disease, I am finding that with time I am looking for ways to not only maintain a gluten free diet, but also to find my way back to live a more natural and healthier lifestyle. Any of us that have celiac disease knows how much this disease can actually impact our daily lives. From having to read labels to knowing what and where we can eat, it’s fair game. It can be overwhelming and frustrating. With this being said, I want to share a few tips I use that I feel can help those who struggle with finding a balance with this disease.
A healthy gut is a happy gut. Every morning, I drink eight ounces of celery juice. I started following Medical Medium’s advice on juicing, especially celery, and how it helps with many autoimmune diseases, including celiac. Do not add water or artificial sugar. Pure celery juice is what you would need to drink, even as bad as it may taste at first. It took an average of two weeks for me to tolerate the taste. Now, I drink it like if it was water. As Medical Medium indicates in his book Medical Medium Celery Juice, people who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease are struggling with endocrine system issues as a result and the plant hormones from celery juice are critical to help remedy this. Those also diagnosed are usually suffering with a viral infection. The sodium cluster salts found in celery help fight the virus, which in turn, relieves inflammation. So, when you can, go buy some celery, start juicing, and drink up!
Find yourself a good collagen supplement for joints, hair, skin, and nails. Since I have been diagnosed, not only do I suffer from joint pain from time to time, I have also struggled with my skin and nails. I started developing acne a couple of years before I was diagnosed, not to mention how brittle my nails had become. I stumbled across Danielle Walker’s Instagram account, which I now follow, and she advertised collagen peptides from Vital Proteins. Since she was also diagnosed with celiac, I decided to give it a try. I am starting to see a huge difference! Vital Proteins Collagen is number three of the top five collagen supplements found in Smarter Reviews. It is rated B+. A good source of collagen supplement should contain the following:
Diverse Amino Acid Profile – our bodies need about 20 different amino acids
Hydrolyzed Bovine Collagen – found to be the most potent and effective sources
Types I & III – supports the primary areas of concern and are the most potent
It may not be the cure for all but it’s definitely helping.
Cross contamination is real. Unfortunately, I have experienced it first hand so many times. Besides drinking a ton of water to flush it out and getting plenty of rest (that one is kind of difficult for me to do), what I have found to help me remedy the symptoms that I experience when I get cross contaminated is consuming what we Gluten Free gurus call the “Golden Milk”. I combine gluten free Califia Farms Oat Milk (you can substitute any milk you prefer) with a pinch of ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and raw honey in a pot and bring it to a boil. Some add apple vinegar to it. I’m not too fond of vinegar in my Golden Milk so I leave it out. Turmeric is a powerful source when it comes to relieving inflammation. Give it a try the next time you get crossed contaminated and are dealing with an achy gut.
Probiotics is essential. It truly helps build your immune system and highly recommended for those diagnosed with celiac. You can find it as a pill supplement or even in yogurt and smoothies. I prefer it in yogurt. Whichever way you prefer it, it is essential even for when cross contamination takes place. But make sure it is labeled gluten free before consuming it.
Reading labels is a chore itself. And damn is it hard! You have to become so knowledgeable when it comes to ingredients and what to look for that is classified as “hidden” gluten. It’s a learning process and I find myself learning something new almost every day. I’ve even missed ingredients on the label that actually are classified as gluten and I had thought they were safe. As you can imagine, I’m constantly researching ingredients online. Besides Google, I have found that Pinterest has a lot of information you can pull to help you read labels properly. Read, read, read! If you don’t know whether it’s safe to eat or not, don’t eat it. It’s not worth the risk. If all else fails, always look for foods that are labeled certified gluten free.
And what about those social gatherings? Those can be frustrating to say the least. Not everyone is going to understand it and you will get a lot of push back on this because those that do not have celiac disease will never understand the impact that it causes our health and mental state. Unfortunately, that is out of our control. You can educate your family and your friends until you’re blue in the face. Unless they are truly aware of the damage it can cause and become engaged, they won’t take the necessary steps to insure that the ingredients found in the appetizers they have laid out on the table do not contain gluten. My family and dearest friends are very aware of my condition and do everything possible to insure that there are gluten free items when we have a gathering. I, too, bring a gluten free dish as well as regular appetizers that my girls can enjoy. Spread the love.
Living with celiac is not easy, to say the very least. Everyone experiences different symptoms when being exposed. You need to find what works best for you. In the meantime, you can utilize these and see how you can incorporate them into your daily lifestyle.
