Having a disease that is diet controlled is a blessing- but it can also be a curse.
If only gluten was neon pink🤔… then it would be obvious if we are consuming something with even a trace of gluten in it. Sadly, that is not the way it is… we have to be OH SO CAREFUL about what we eat and where we eat it.
What if gluten was hot pink??? We would be able to spot cross contamination so much easier!💁🏼♀️ Just Sayin!
Even when you take all precautions or maybe you let your guard down for a snack or a meal… you can suffer major consequences. I get messages daily asking about this very topic so I thought I would write about it here. These tips I share below are things that we literally do in our home to help when we have been contaminated with gluten.
1. Drink plenty of water A good rule of thumb is to drink at least half your weight in ounces of water per day. Yes I said at least… that is the amount of water everyone should drink daily… so up that amount a bit when you have been glutened.
Drink at least half of your weight in ounces of WATER
2. Drink Herbal Teas and/or Bone Broth. We have implemented this for the last 6 months, and it has made all the difference in the world. I feel like it helps recharge your system faster than anything else I have tried. Even when we aren’t necessarily ‘glutened’ it’s such a good way to cleanse your system… as celiacs we tend to deal with a lot of gut issues.
Here is my go-to tea:
Here is my favorite Bone Broth:
3. Essential Oils: Now, I have to be fully honest, I wasn’t a ‘believer’ of essential oils until I tried Clove oil on my teething baby’s gums… it was like magic. But I honestly thought that was a fluke… that one oil was really all you needed. Until one night I watched my daughter Chanelle toss and turn for hours on my bedroom floor, in her sleep, because she was glutened just hours before. Now she was in a deep sleep, she had no idea that she was doing that. It literally broke my heart and I was desperate- so I decided to give another oil a try, a digestive blend that was deep in the back of a junk drawer.
I pulled it out and applied a few drops to her stomach… I kid you not, within a few minutes she stopped rolling around and laid peacefully through the rest of the night. You guys, that was crazy to me… My mind was blown and yes I am an oil believer now. I saw it with my own eyes. She literally was out of that pain or at least it toned it down immensely! Now, I am no expert but I know that not all essential oils are created equally. I know that the ones you grab at a grocery store are not always as potent and don’t do the trick as quickly or effectively from my experience.
This is the oil that I used that restless night:
4. Foods:
💡The BRAT diet is not just for the stomach flu… it can be helpful when you are trying to calm an upset stomach after being ‘Glutenend’.
💡Going along with the brat diet you can choose other foods that are known to be ‘anti-inflammatory’ on the body. When you have celiac diease and you eat even a trace amount of gluten your intestines begin to be inflamed. It is helpful to eat foods that will help calm that inflammation. See below the tasty options you can start implementing into your diet to stop inflamation.
💡Eliminating dairy for a time may also help to calm your gut. There are plenty of dairy free alternatives out there now that makes this doable as you can still enjoy each meal! Below are different dairy free milk alternatives. You can find dairy free cheese, yogurts, sour cream, you name it- you can find a substitute now!
5. Sleep: Rest, rest and more rest! It is often hard to function or focus when you have been glutened. Your body is on attack mode, so it is important that you do your part and allow your body to rest as much as possible.
6. Hope: Hope for a brighter day tomorrow! Okay, this may sound near impossible in the midst of feeling like you were in a train wreck… cause gluten can have that effect on some😫. But know that
‘One bad day- does not mean you have a bad life… it’s just a bad day!’ -Celiac Cutie
This is so true… tomorrow is another day and whatever got you down today- whether cross contamination or pure choice of an indulgence… don’t let it get you down again! You got this!
There are other things that have helped others such a charcoal pills or other remedies. But the above 6 things are what we implement in our home. I hope this helps you on your journey to feeling better.
Every time we are sick in our home and I start to get frustrated and depressed, I think about my several family members and friends who have gone through so much more… even chemo treatments and I quickly become grateful for my own trials. I know that it is hard to be positive when you feel so crappy, but perspective is everything. I am rooting for YOU. You are not alone in this Celiac Journey!
