Ep 144 Vitamin and Mineral Answers on a Gluten Free Diet – A Conversation with Selena De Vries RD

October 21, 2020 /

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

On this episode I endeavour to answer a few questions sent to me by a listener.  I enlisted the help of Registered Dietitian Selena De Vries to get the right answers to these common questions and concerns.  First, we tackle vitamin and mineral supplements – how to choose, what are we looking for on the label, what supplements do we on a gluten free diet need and how much do we need.  Next we go beyond multi-vitamins to look at other supplements and what they offer to those of us on a gluten free diet.  Lastly, we talk about being “glutened” and if there is anything we can take to ease the pain and other issues, which commonly last for days.  Selena has an answer for everything.  I encourage you to follow Selena online at –

Her website –  www.healthbean.ca 

And on Instagram at celiac_dietitian

Or on a computer access her Instagram at – https://www.instagram.com/celiac_dietitian/?hl=en

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast

Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

Something I brought up in my conversation with Selena got me thinking.

When I started the gluten free diet, it was a slow start until 5 months later my young daughter was also diagnosed.  I, like many newly diagnosed searched for gluten free equivalents or substitutions for the food I had been eating on my gluten diet.  I had eaten oreos, so I searched out and found KinniToos cookies from Kinnikinnick.  I enjoyed pasta on a regular basis, so I found a relatively plain white rice pasta to fill the void.  I enjoyed bread and buns and after trying many brands, eventually made my own.  I enjoyed pancakes and waffles and found those as well, both mixes and frozen.  I thought I was set.

As time went on, I got older and wiser(?).  Something happens over time when you read the labels on everything you buy.  You start noticing the words you can’t pronounce.  You know a particular ingredient is gluten free, but it still seems foreign from what I might have in my kitchen.  Over the years, I have gravitated away from overly processed gluten free foods, in favour of my own baking, or simpler single ingredients.  For a very long time, I tried to re-create some of my “gluten favourites”, usually high in carbs – stuffed pastas, fancy buns, rich pastries, rich sauces.  I did okay, and was happy with the results, but eventually I realized there was a viable healthy alternative to food substitution.

I’ve been the first contact for many newly diagnosed celiacs.  One thing I always said to them was “You can have any meat, fish, fruit or vegetable, it all depends how it’s prepared, and it’s only a few grains that you have to avoid.”  It took me years, but eventually those words sunk in with me.  I was already eating gluten free, but I was eating a lot of processed foods.  These weren’t the best choices for my waistline, or my health.  I’ve switched my diet to a mostly simple foods diet.  I eat lots of different meats, some fish, more fresh vegetables than ever before and most of my grains come in the form of my own baked goods.  Simple.

I wish I’d realized earlier how simple food, can make me satisfied and happy and it’s better for my body and health than my processed food diet was.  I have always enjoyed cooking, now I make it a priority.  I start with good single ingredient foods and create something basic but wonderful.  I have a friend who is an amazing chef, and so is her husband.  When we would visit them for dinner (before covid), we would enjoy spectacular dinners with simple ingredients, they didn’t even go out of their way to make it gluten free, it just naturally was.  I’ll keep learning to be a better cook, but for now, for me, simple is satisfying and healthy and gluten free – something I wish I’d realized when I was first diagnosed.