No More Bear claws

senior chef

senior chef

Senior Member
During the last few years I have developed a bowel disease called IBS-D. There is no specific cause and it's often extremely difficult to diagnose. After several colonoscopies, camera into the stomach and swallowing a "Horse Pill" that takes photos of the entire system , the specialist could still not give a specific diagnosis.

Finally he gave me a new med called Viberzi and it has been a big help , BUT I am often still confined to the bathroom. It now looks like I have a gluten insensitivity AND a dairy insensitivity.

So, what does that mean ? It means that I lose a lifetime of cooking anything I enjoy, I will now have to give up all gluten and dairy. So, no more bread, cookies, pies, cakes, pastries, pancakes, cereals, French toast or even breaded foods like cutlets, or deep fried shrimp and most gravies. Also, no dairy of any kind : butter, milk, cream, sour cream, chip dips, flan and of course ice cream and any chocolate, etc etc.

How does this affect me ? Well, it's a lot like a pianist losing one hand. Yes, he/she could still play a few easy tunes but no more complex pieces.

It's quite upsetting. I truly don't know how to cope.
 

My sister also had to stop eating dairy and gluten. There are some gluten-free foods that are pretty good. I actually prefer some of them, even though I have no gluten or dairy issues. I found some gluten-free cookies & crackers made with almond flour that are better than regular cookies.
 
I would consider getting assessed by an alternative health care professional.

You can try a Holistic MD. They are regular MDs, but with some focus on natural healing techniques.

You can also try an Integrative Medicine MD...same as above.

Or, an Osteopath.

I have enormous digestive problems.

There are tons of natural therapies. Some will definitely get you some symptom reduction. How much? I don't know.

There is rarely some kind of magic pill. It usually means a range of things that will help you and a range of things to avoid.


the idea that "there is no specific cause" --- that is just something doctors say, when they just don't know more.


but if you take the kind of healing herbs and foods that aid digestive health? Whatever the doctors say, you are going to find a way to less problems.


What I take may not work for you...and I don't advise you doing any of this...unless approved first, by a medical professional. But listing it here to give you an idea of the kinds of things that might help.

So, I do digestive enzymes, sometimes apple cider vinegar (poor protein digestion is sometimes caused by not producing enough acid), you might want to get assessed for food allergies, generally...and not just the gluten issue.

I do ginger, sometimes turmeric (same family of plants), ground whole flax seed. I do some bran..wheat or oat. I take an anti-inflammatory protein powder, I do take prunes and/or prune juice. I take Senna, but not Ex-lax...I take a natural form.

The idea here, is that, over time, you might try 5 or 10 or 15 different things, until your digestive problems come under control.

In my experience, the people who get into those kinds of details with the issue, very very rarely do not get symptom reduction and a good level of it.

And very very simple things...that optimal hydration (which very few of us really do), and optimal sleep (which very few of us also do)...can go a very very very long way towards healing.

On the contrary, if we don't hydrate well, or sleep well, or get a lot of nutrients in our food...then some chronic problem can linger in a way that it would not linger, if we really hit all those basic keys to health, and hit them hard.

And, of course, the proper amount of exercise. And that does not mean, just exercising enough. It also means, not exercising too much. A lot of the Western ideas around exercise are all based on being gung-ho. And that can drain us and make our medical problems worse.

sorry about the problems

Best of luck

take care
 
as far as losing what you love?

My friend is a French jazz guitarist. Got very bad carpal tunnel and had to stop performing. He could still play, but not enough to support a professional performance career. He was devastated.

But that is an emotional reaction. And emotional reactions tend to cloud the response that a deeper, subtle and more profound wisdom can bring to a situation.

I am confident that every single thing you enjoy can have a solution. The field of "digestive friendly" foods is still new and folks are still learning many things.

There is rice flour...and how it is used in Asia. Corn flour and how it is used in Central and South America. Different spice profiles to accompany these other ingredients.

You know, it is like you are an artist, who is being asked to paint with a different color scheme. And the varieties of colors still available to you, are actually quite broad.

My ex was a pastry chef at the Union Square Cafe in NYC. I have some familiarity with the field.

I would not lose hope...just get ready for a new adventure.

take care...
 
Sorry to hear it @senior chef , it has to be frustrating. However as you know health has to be your first priority, good that you are doing that.

This doesn't mean giving up cooking things, just eating them. If that helps...

My favorite chef, Paul Prudhomme, gave up many of the rich and calorie laden foods he loved to help him lose weight. He was morbidly obese. He took advantage of that to develop new more healthy recipes, even wrote a healthy recipe book, a Fork in the Road https://www.amazon.com/Chef-Paul-Prudhommes-Fork-Road/dp/0688121659

Paul's story does not end well, he was not able to maintain the diet he needed, gained much of the weight back, and probably died as a result. You can do better than Paul!

FYI, I also love bear claws but cannot eat them anymore, for the same reason Paul shouldn't have.
 
Oh heck, I love glazed donuts. But I'm diabetic, and I control my blood sugar with what I eat because I do NOT want to take drugs or insulin or whatever. (My doctor referred to it as "diet-controlled diabetes".)

I can only occasionally eat something like chocolate, and it would have to be organic at that, as we eat only organic/natural food. But I do treat myself on occasion.
 
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My husband reminded me that conventionally-grown GMO foods can really upset the intestinal tract. It's something to know.

I think that as we grow <cough> older, we can no longer go hog-wild with some of the foods we were able to eat/tolerate when we were younger.
 
I'm sorry this is happening...it has to be so upsetting for you. Like losing part of who you are. But as human beings, we are nothing if not adaptable. Perhaps you can use your chef skills in creating wonderful gluten/dairy free recipes for all of the people with those dietary problems.

I agree with Alligatorob who said "This doesn't mean giving up cooking things, just eating them. If that helps...". For as long as I can remember, my mom never once tasted anything she cooked, even when cooking for company!
 
senior chef said:
During the last few years I have developed a bowel disease called IBS-D. There is no specific cause and it's often extremely difficult to diagnose. After several colonoscopies, camera into the stomach and swallowing a "Horse Pill" that takes photos of the entire system , the specialist could still not give a specific diagnosis.

Finally he gave me a new med called Viberzi and it has been a big help , BUT I am often still confined to the bathroom. It now looks like I have a gluten insensitivity AND a dairy insensitivity.

So, what does that mean ? It means that I lose a lifetime of cooking anything I enjoy, I will now have to give up all gluten and dairy. So, no more bread, cookies, pies, cakes, pastries, pancakes, cereals, French toast or even breaded foods like cutlets, or deep fried shrimp and most gravies. Also, no dairy of any kind : butter, milk, cream, sour cream, chip dips, flan and of course ice cream and any chocolate, etc etc.

How does this affect me ? Well, it's a lot like a pianist losing one hand. Yes, he/she could still play a few easy tunes but no more complex pieces.

It's quite upsetting. I truly don't know how to cope.
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We used to manufacture vegan and Atkin's diet - low carb foods. I'd check out the new recipes you can learn to make using almond flours and gluten free flours combined with gums and vegan egg and butter substitutes. They are surprisingly
good tasting. I learned a lot and still do enjoy some of the foods.

A favorite daily treat I make is unbaked chocolate clusters using Baker's unsweetened chocolate, extra virgin olive oil, dried cranberries, coconut almond meal and Erythritol ( an all natural sugar replacer).

Found that extra virgin olive oil can often replace butter in baking. Who would have thought of making cookies with olive oil...lol.

Enjoy your new "excellent baking adventure"...lol.
 
After hearing (and being told face-to-face by at least one medical professional) for years that gluten sensitivity is very uncommon, I finally tried a gluten-free diet and am feeling better than I've felt in my entire life. At least a couple of the stores around here carry a good amount of gluten-free products, including flours made out of things other than wheat, such as rice flour, corn flour, almond flour even (which would even work for those with celiac disease whose sufferers can't eat anything kind of grain). If there are no stores near you which carry such products, I bet they can be obtained online. I'm planning to try tortillas made out of cassava flour next. (Even though since I'm on the new diet, I seem to be able to digest a little bit of corn products, it's still a little bit of an issue so the cassava might work even better.) Good luck.
 
Senior Chef. I'm sorry. This has to be very hard. It sounds like you love to cook. Don't give up. As other's have mentioned there are gluten free and dairy free alternatives. It may take some reading, researching and experimenting but you may find you can still make some of the things you like. You will have to start reading labels like crazy.

But there are many more alternatives out there than even a few years ago.

I've been plant based over 15 years. I still think about pastries, custard eclairs and milk chocolate sometimes.
 
Devi said:
My husband reminded me that conventionally-grown GMO foods can really upset the intestinal tract. It's something to know.

I think that as we grow <cough> older, we can no longer go hog-wild with some of the foods we were able to eat/tolerate when we were younger.
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I used to like the WINCO Foods bakery french bread years ago. Then I tried it and it upset my stomach and the second time, same thing. So I knew something was wrong there. I don't buy anything from their bakery or brand name anymore.

I'm not all into organic but I buy organic bread and corn products.
 
Michael Z said:
There is something strange with breads these days. Bread can sit in your pantry for a month without molding! Used to be after 3 or 4 days it was starting to mold. Carageenan is added to most breads and perhaps that is one culprit. Effects of genetic modification that allow use of herbicides may be another. See https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/carrageenan
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If you seek out online the Italian breads and you may find you can enjoy them.
Here's an article pointing out the differences between the American bread flours and
the European:

https://blog.publicgoods.com/why-european-bread-might-be-better-for-your-stomach/
 
This is very hard for me to deal with. The one great love of my life has been cooking/baking and that has been lost to me. I just feel numb and I've been doing little except sleeping.
 
Geezer Garage said:
On the other hand, you may live longer because of it, and you can still have the joy of cooking/baking for others.
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Why do you think I'll live longer because of gluten/dairy insensitivity ? It seems to me that without breads, pasta etc I'll be eating much more meats/fats/eggs and we all know that is not the best for arteries/heart.
 
senior chef said:
This is very hard for me to deal with. The one great love of my life has been cooking/baking and that has been lost to me. I just feel numb and I've been doing little except sleeping.
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When you've gotten over the shock, I'll help if you like. I'm a dietitian, have celiac disease and love to cook. Is your dairy intolerance casein, lactose or other? Asking because once my gut healed with zero gluten (and for celiac, it does have to be zero), I was able to start eating casein again. That's fairly common for celiac patients.
 
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Devi said:
My husband reminded me that conventionally-grown GMO foods can really upset the intestinal tract. It's something to know.

I think that as we grow <cough> older, we can no longer go hog-wild with some of the foods we were able to eat/tolerate when we were younger.
Click to expand...

Michael Z said:
There is something strange with breads these days. Bread can sit in your pantry for a month without molding! Used to be after 3 or 4 days it was starting to mold. Carageenan is added to most breads and perhaps that is one culprit. Effects of genetic modification that allow use of herbicides may be another. See https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/carrageenan
Click to expand...

Wheat has been hybridized for higher gluten, longer shelf-life flour. That's the culprit for a lot of people that don't have celiac disease but are gluten intolerant.
 
No BUTTER? No CHOCOLATE? Oh, I'm SO SORRY!!!! You can do this! You can develop a taste for lean, healthy foods.
Just think of how much better you will feel!
But it issad because your recipes will all have to change! So sorry Senior Chef!
 
Gaer said:
No BUTTER? No CHOCOLATE? Oh, I'm SO SORRY!!!! You can do this! You can develop a taste for lean, healthy foods.
Just think of how much better you will feel!
But it issad because your recipes will all have to change! So sorry Senior Chef!
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Yes ! I have been creating and collecting my recipes since I was 17 years old, 58 years ago.
I'll lose perhaps 80% of them. Goodness knows how many i may have. Perhaps 450 recipes. It just breaks my heart.
 

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