getting glutened
It happened to me.
I got glutened. By accident, of course, but I definitely ate gluten. Lately I’ve been wondering if I could bring gluten back into my diet and now I know the answer, it’s a big fat no. I spent most of the next two days in the bathroom with urgent and painful diarrhea. Read on to find out what you can do if this happens to you.
Did you get glutened?
First, take care of yourself. If you’re having diarrhea, drink lots of water and herbal teas to rehydrate. Diarrhea makes us lose a lot of water and most of us don’t drink enough to start with. Peppermint tea or ginger tea will help if you’re having cramping or bloating. Go easy on coffee – it’s acidic and may irritate your stomach more. Drink herbal teas or just plain water, with some electrolytes added (I like LMNT) to replenish what you’ve lost.
Be careful what you eat while you’re recovering. If you’re still having diarrhea, try the BRAT diet – bananas, rice, applesauce (unsweetened), and toast (if you eat gluten free bread). You’ll just do this for a day, maybe two, because it’s not a nutrient-dense diet long-term, but the BRAT diet is said to help with diarrhea. Next, try pureed soups (not chunky soups) or broth soups that will be easy on the digestion. It’s not very interesting, but you want to give your digestion a rest (and stop the symptoms that you’re having).
If things are going the other way and you’re constipated, try slippery elm powder or capsules, and diluted aloe vera juice to help move things through. I like Lily of the Desert inner filet aloe vera juice. Staying hydrated with teas and soups will help constipation too.
If you can, get some rest to recover. Gluten doesn’t just affect our digestive system. It can also cause joint pain, headaches, skin issues and a bunch of other symptoms. You might know or suspect you got glutened because, like me, you were having painful cramping and had to keep running to the bathroom, but you might also feel extra tired or have joint or muscle pain. If you can take time to rest – in between trips to the bathroom – this will help your body recover.
Digestive enzymes may help your body move the food through and process it. You can keep something like Enzymedica’s Gluten Ease on hand to use in these cases, though you hope that it’s like insurance and you never actually need it.
If your bum is sore from all the time spent in the bathroom, sooth it with wipes like the ones by Tucks. Go easy and gentle here – to be honest, I was bleeding from so much wiping, and it hurt. A bath in warm water may help soothe this delicate area.
When things have settled down, do your best to figure out the source of the gluten so that you don’t get exposed again. Review what you ate and drank over the last two days. Was there anything you’d never had before? Did you go to a restaurant that claimed it was celiac-safe, but maybe wasn’t? Give them a call and ask questions for your peace of mind.
When I reviewed what I’d eaten, I remembered that I had a greens drink powder yesterday. I checked the ingredients and found that it contained barley grass, and under allergens was listed “Contains wheat.” Crap. I’d forgotten to check the ingredients list before buying it – who’d have thought that a greens drink powder would have gluten in it? Not me. It shows how careful we have to be, even though it sucks to have to read the ingredients on EVERYTHING.
And now I know that, even after being gluten free for almost ten years, I still can’t bring gluten back in.
At least I know. If you need support on your digestive journey, book a free call with me to find out how I can help you.