I think this is a great article on Amy Yoder-Begley diagnosis of Celiac Disease and I think there are many runners out there who go undiagnosed and continue to carbo-load with pasta and bread which basically is poison for a celiac.
Is there gluten in the traditional East African diet?
Is there gluten in the traditional Asian diet?
Maybe gluten isn't good for anyone.
Is there gluten in the traditional East African diet?
Ethiopian injira are made with wheat flour.
Is there gluten in the traditional Asian diet?
Yes. Soy sauce contains gluten. So do wheat noodles -- though admittedly rice noodles are preferred in some places (Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam). But in general, if you are eating Chinese or Japanese food, you are eating lots of gluten.
isn't injera made with teff flour? Is that actually wheat?
Teff is actually a grass. It is gluten free.
Some injera made in the U.S. is made from a combination of teff and wheat.
Man, I can't imagine how difficult that is for an athlete of her caliber to have celiac disease. My aunt has that as well as another disease that affects what she can eat, but she doesn't have to worry about getting a high number of calories as she's not an athlete.
Learn something new every day. Teff is gluten-free. Most Ethiopian restaurants in the US use some wheat flour in their mix, but I suspect that they don't in Ethiopia. I stand corrected.
(Not about Asian food, though.)
teff is also very high in bioavailable (easily absorbed) iron and a lot of other nutrients.
3200guy wrote:
Man, I can\'t imagine how difficult that is for an athlete of her caliber to have celiac disease. My aunt has that as well as another disease that affects what she can eat, but she doesn\'t have to worry about getting a high number of calories as she\'s not an athlete.
Speaking from personal experience, its really not that hard to maintain the restrictive diet. The main thing is being disciplined and knowledgeable about what you put into your body. Professional athletes should be doing this anyways.
Personally, having run with and without the gluten-free diet, its a no-brianer. My 10K dropped from 41 to 34 in two weeks after I stopped eating that crap. Nevermind the batroom stops, and other issues.
Another gluten-free runner in Portland has a blog about celiac disease and related nutrition issues for athletes. The author coaches at the University of Portland and was a successful collegiate runner herself.
Well, that's good to hear I guess. I know celiac disease affects people in different ways. My aunt has severe joint pain instead of digestive issues.
Natasha LaBeaud - Another Celiac.