I absolutely understand the desire to find *something* that will make you feel better! The problems with water supply sound horrific; perhaps fortunately, I have been drinking strictly bottled water for over 10 years now.
I should clarify about the weight loss/gain issues: I've been overweight essentially all of my life - there is some speculation by my doctors that I have consistently overeaten in an effort to get the vitamins and minerals that my guts weren't absorbing. I've never been a huge wheat-eater, because of the bloating and discomfort that I associated with things like bread, but in 2002 I quit working for two years, and as a result, ate even less of the stuff. When I started working again in '04, I started back on the "office diet" - the occasional pizza party, treats brought in by coworkers, a bagel for breakfast most days. The sudden overload broke my system somehow, and changed the celiac from a constant, low-grade issue into a constant, acute one. It had been going on for nearly 3 months before I saw the GI.
I didn't have any idea what was wrong, so I tried to stick to a classic bland diet - which meant bread & saltines, among other things- so I made it much, much worse. By the end of the 3 months I had lost over 40 lbs.
Since I've learned what the problem is, and made the appropriate changes in diet, and found all sorts of tasty, gluten-free substitutes...I've gained back that 40, and then some. Sometimes I consider (only half-jokingly) going back on a wheatfull diet just to lose some weight...it doesn't seem to be budging otherwise.
So I guess what I'm saying is that it might still be worth your while to try an elimation diet for a week or two - just because your issues aren't acute at the moment doesn't mean you're not dealing with the same problem.
Another note: though there are some people who have actual wheat allergies, celiac is NOT an allergy. It's an auto-immune disorder that causes your body to try to eat itself, basically. So it wouldn't show up in most sorts of allergy tests.
no subject
I should clarify about the weight loss/gain issues: I've been overweight essentially all of my life - there is some speculation by my doctors that I have consistently overeaten in an effort to get the vitamins and minerals that my guts weren't absorbing. I've never been a huge wheat-eater, because of the bloating and discomfort that I associated with things like bread, but in 2002 I quit working for two years, and as a result, ate even less of the stuff. When I started working again in '04, I started back on the "office diet" - the occasional pizza party, treats brought in by coworkers, a bagel for breakfast most days. The sudden overload broke my system somehow, and changed the celiac from a constant, low-grade issue into a constant, acute one. It had been going on for nearly 3 months before I saw the GI.
I didn't have any idea what was wrong, so I tried to stick to a classic bland diet - which meant bread & saltines, among other things- so I made it much, much worse. By the end of the 3 months I had lost over 40 lbs.
Since I've learned what the problem is, and made the appropriate changes in diet, and found all sorts of tasty, gluten-free substitutes...I've gained back that 40, and then some. Sometimes I consider (only half-jokingly) going back on a wheatfull diet just to lose some weight...it doesn't seem to be budging otherwise.
So I guess what I'm saying is that it might still be worth your while to try an elimation diet for a week or two - just because your issues aren't acute at the moment doesn't mean you're not dealing with the same problem.
Another note: though there are some people who have actual wheat allergies, celiac is NOT an allergy. It's an auto-immune disorder that causes your body to try to eat itself, basically. So it wouldn't show up in most sorts of allergy tests.
You might get some use out of the Specific Carb Diet info, here:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com/