What is gluten anyway?

   Usually when I am with people and food is involved I politely decline eating any of it.  If they try to insist I say "no, really, I just ate", or "I had dinner with my family before I came".  Most of the time that is enough.  Sometimes though it isn't and I have to explain that I cannot eat it.  Then the questions start.  I explain that I am gluten intolerant and therefore do not eat anything with gluten in it.  A lot of people say "oh, okay" and leave it at that.  Once in a while I get "oh, you are on that diet kick too?  It seems like everyone is doing that."  Um...no, I just don't feel like eating something that will make me feel miserable for three days.
   What is gluten anyway?  Gluten is a protein found in all forms of wheat. This includes durum, semolina, spelt, einkorn, kamut and faro.  It is also in grains related to wheat like barley, rye and triticale. 
   Gluten is insoluble in water.  When the starch is washed from the wheat grain gluten remains and can be used as additive to other foods in order to increase the protein content. Gluten is what makes bread products have the texture they do.  The higher the gluten content the chewier the finished product is.  Bread flour has more gluten in it than cake flour.  That is why the white bread that kids like so much is so fluffy and chewy.  That bread is made from flour with more gluten in it. 
    Gluten is not only in foods made from flour.  Manufacturers use gluten for many things.  It can be used as the basis for imitation meats.  Why would a wheat protein be found in my vanilla extract?  If the alcohol used to in the extract is made from wheat there will be gluten in it.  Spices can have gluten hidden in it to keep them from clumping. Most soups have gluten in it because they use flour as the thickener.  These are just a few examples of where gluten can be found.
     It is a chore every time I go to the grocery store.  I have to read labels every single time I want to buy something to make sure there is not any gluten in it.  If I am not sure I don't buy it.  If we have cookies or crackers or granola bars in the house it is because I have made them.  I make cupcakes for Hallie if a child in her class is having a birthday so she is not left out of the celebration.  She has to give me any candy she gets so I can make sure it is on the safe list.
   If Hallie accidentally ingests gluten we have a rough couple of days.  Just this week something sneaked into her diet.  I have not figured out what yet but I have an idea.  We had gluten free pizza last night and it probably was handled by someone that had been working with the regular pizza.  Today she was very sensitive.  She was constantly in tears and when asked why she would wail "Caden and Jamie are being mean to me".  We are all in the same house together and they have not been any different than any other time they play together.  She also has had tummy issues  all day. I know from past times that she may not sleep well tonight and tomorrow could be another rough day.  Fortunately after Tuesday we should be back to normal!
     I have printed out lists to have on hand and I visit websites constantly to look up ingredients.  Here are a couple of websites I frequent that may help anyone else that is staying away from gluten.
http://gluteningredients.com/
http://www.celiac.com/
http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/ingredient.php
   I hope this helps families with a starting place to gather information about where gluten can be hiding.  I didn't want to go deep into the science of gluten and make this even harder to understand.  If you do want to research gluten or celiac disease more a good place to start is http://www.celiac.org/. They have a button labeled "Resources" with links to  science reports and experts. 

Favorite Gluten Free Bread

   I have decided to blog about my family's gluten free life.  Six months ago I was diagnosed gluten intolerant by a wonderful doctor.  She started me on my journey, and ultimately my family's journey, of a gluten free life.  With the papers she gave me I went home and started researching gluten and what it meant to be "g-free".  Wow!  I was shocked.  I had so many symptoms I never would have thought could be related to something I ate.  I thought it was all genetics. My symptoms included, fatigue, constipation or diarrhea and other issues dealing with that part of my body, bloating, anxiety (even with medication), chronic nasal allergies, mood swings, cravings for bread and pasta even after I ate them, and an overall sense of feeling like garbage.
    During my discoveries I realized that my oldest daughter had many symptoms as well.  Hallie is a wonderfully energetic, caring, smart, and fun 5 year old girl.  I had been a little concerned, however, because she was moody and at times aggressive. She still had "accidents" daily and we were going through two or more outfit changes a day.  She had hyperkeratosis pilaris (chicken bumps) on her arms, legs and cheeks that we could never get cleared up.  She was also always constipated and had been since she was about a year old.
   After a lot of research I decided to make my house gluten free.  My husband was extremely supportive of this decision.  We threw away or gave away everything in our house that had gluten in it.  The obvious; bread, pasta, cereal, crackers, cookies and the not so obvious; soups, spices, granola bars and everything else that had gluten in it. 
  After about one week on our new way of eating I had lost seven pounds and three inches in my tummy.  This was a wonderful  benefit I had not anticipated.  I was not bloated any more, had what I consider to be normal bathroom habits.  I had more energy too, I was not ready to go to bed at 3:00 in the afternoon.  I was feeling so much better.  Hallie is a happier little girl too.  She stopped having accidents about one week into the change.  Her hyperkeratosis pilaris is better.  She does not have them on her legs or face anymore and the ones on her arms are less. She is not moody or aggressive.  If Hallie does ingest gluten she has a bad couple of days.  She is very moody, weepy, aggressive and hyper.  She now questions everything she puts in her mouth because she told me "mommy, I don't want to have bad days anymore".
   The biggest challenge in our life was bread.  How could I make the favorite pb & j sandwiches without bread?  After trying many recipes and all failing I have settled on Pamela's Products Wheat-Free & Gluten-Free Bread Mix, 19-Ounce Packages (Pack of 6).  Until I have the time to test out bread recipes from scratch I will continue to use this bread mix.  I use a bread machine and once a week make up this bread.  My girls love it for their pb & j sandwiches.  I follow the directions on the bag and use either 2 extra large eggs at room temperature or 3 large eggs.  I also use the rapid white setting on my Breadman Pro.  This is not the least expensive way to make bread but the most convenient. For now this is the bread for us.