No, I have not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
Celiac is another autoimmune disease that occurs in about one half of one percent of the general population. However, according to JDRF, about 1 in 10 people with Type 1 Diabetes is eventually diagnosed with Celiac. According to ADA standards just released, as many as 16 percent of Type 1s could be living with Celiac. During this week, I’ll be living and writing about the gluten-fee life from the perspective of someone newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
Thanks to Nikki at Celiabetes for her very valuable information and feedback for this series.
Since I’ve made it to the midweek point, I thought I’d answer a couple of questions that came up in the comments this week.
From Scott at Rolling in the D: “Maybe you’ll discuss this in a future post, but I seriously wonder how much more all of this is costing you versus your regular shopping trip. I always find healthier foods to be more expensive — which is the main reason I generally don’t eat them.”
Well Scott, I can tell you that when it comes to food, I’m not spending any more to eat gluten free than I was before this week. The grocery bills, the individual items, they seem to come to about the same at the checkout.
I think the extra costs that occur come with buying extra stuff, like new cooking utensils and new saucepans, new skillets. Basically outfitting your kitchen all over again with new items so you can avoid any possible cross-contamination. Also, there’s an extra cost of just having to think about everything you put into your mouth, but in a different way than you do as a Person With Diabetes. I can admit to feeling some of that extra whatever-it-is this week. In a word, it’s burdensome. It feels like an extra burden. And yes, there’s a cost to that.
From Jen at SeeJenDance: “Out of curiousity, how have your blood sugars been running since you’ve cut out grains? Since I’ve cut back on floury substances to stop spiking, I’ve been running lower than normal.”
Jen, I am indeed running lower than normal. I won’t bore everyone by leaving all of my BG readings from the meter, but I can tell you that only once have I had a reading above 140. I’ve almost always been below 100. And here’s my daily insulin usage for the three days before and the three days after going gluten free:
January 17: 61 units
January 18: 54 units
January 19: 62 units
January 20: 46 units
January 21: 45 units
January 22: 46 units
Not too bad, eh?
On to today’s menu:
Breakfast: I did the Trader Joe’s Cranberry Maple Nut Granola again. This time, I got the bolus right at a .Total Carb Count: 55g
Lunch: Leftovers today. A little of the turkey soup that was left from Sunday, and a slice of pizza left over from Monday. Total Carb Count: 32g
Dinner: A great big friggin’ salad. Actually, it was pretty good. I cooked a skinless, boneless chicken breast with a little kosher salt, pepper, and oregano that I got from the herb garden before it got bone-chilling cold outside. Threw that on top with some Wish Bone Blue Cheese dressing (yes, it’s gluten free and delicious, if fat-laden). Also had some gluten free lentil chips I found at the store with some hummus. Total Carb Count: 22g
It’s been an interesting week so far. Can’t believe I’m already four days in. Keep those questions coming.
Carb counts are estimates only. Check with a registered dietician to find out what a healthy carb count is for you.
Diabetes Blog - Happy-Medium.net 
Comments
there are two ways (in my mind) to go gluten-free. Avoid things or replace them. Avoiding things like bread and pasta are great because you end up eating more of the things that don’t wreck havoc on the beeg. But replacing things like bread, pasta and crackers I find is almost worse in the carb department.
I have to pay really close attention that I don’t eat GF pasta or bread very often or my insulin usage goes up. I do better when I just try and avoid the products and instead eat more fruits, veggies and legumes. Beans are a wonderful replacement!
Not sure if I have a question or not… meh. I’m loving your experiment! It’s really eye-opening. (as I’m sure it is for you too)
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