Dee Harris is a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, Licensed Dietitian-Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator and an IFM-Certified Practitioner based out of Bonita Springs, Florida. Her practice encompasses a myriad of nutrition, functional medicine, health, and wellness solutions. Dee works closely with clients who are diagnosed with Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity. She generously offered me advice while I was building this website. I recently sat down with her for an interview, which is excerpted below. 

 

Q: What is the best advice you can give to someone who has been diagnosed with Celiac and or has to go on a gluten-free diet? 

 

A: The best advice I can give is to learn from your own experience and how you feel, because if you're really sick, you’ll want to make changes, and that motivates the patient to make changes. Once you go strictly gluten free, your life gets so much better.  So don't be intimidated by making changes because you will become much healthier and it's going to make your life a lot better. 

 

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges people face when starting a gluten-free diet? 

 

A: The biggest challenge, I think, is the reluctance to go gluten free because people think “there's nothing I can eat”. People are understandably afraid they won’t be able to go out with their friends and they’re going to be isolated. It's that fear of being different and being overwhelmed. There’s a shock of having to make what feels like such a dramatic lifestyle change. Once you commit to the change, you start to realize it’s doable and it starts to feel more manageable. You realize that you will not be isolated. You just have to take the first step.

 

Q: In general, what are the long term benefits of a gluten-free diet for people who have Celiac or are sensitive to gluten?

 

A: If you have celiac, you have to eat gluten free in order to heal yourself and achieve remission. If you have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, the same is true. We have found that the flour that's produced in this country is different than it was 50 years ago and it can cause more irritation in the small intestine, which increases the risk for autoimmune reactions, irritation, and inflammation. So whenever we have somebody who's sick with any kind of gut disorder, I take people off gluten, and they quickly start to realize the benefits and start to feel much better.

 

Q: What foods would you recommend to someone with celiac or gluten intolerance other than just gluten-free substitutions for products? 

 

A: I tell people that when you go gluten free, you can eat food from all food groups, you just need to pick the gluten free choices, which are often the healthier choices. Have more vegetables, more fruit, beans and nuts, seeds, and clean proteins. With regard to grains, have gluten-free oatmeal, quinoa, wild rice, and foods like that. Most dairy products are good. There's no gluten in dairy, so an organic yogurt would be really good for somebody with Celiac. I always recommend organic products in order to avoid eating pesticides. There are still so many delicious foods you can eat that are naturally gluten free. Once you realize this, it becomes a lot easier to adapt to the gluten free diet!