gluten free at work?

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I had a somewhat tangential, but somewhat pressing question.

Having recently found out I am intolerant of wheat and milk, I am

wondering how I can work together with people at my work place on food

issues.

You see, I work in an office where people seem to prefer pizza,

chocolate, and other goodies that are full of wheat, dairy, and

refined sugar- all the things I can't have. (I'm starting to feel this

is typical for people in the health care industry!)

Over the past couple of holidays- Christmas and New Years- we had

company sponsored meals for everyone. One was all pizza, another was

all pasta with a side salad (that had cheese on it). The Christmas

meal is typically part of an all-staff meeting that they encourage

everyone to attend.

I made a request to the person who is now in charge of floor

operations, that maybe we could have some variety in our food choices

so that myself and the other people on our floor who have gluten

intolerance don't feel left out. She responded by saying, basically,

that " if I changed things for you I'd have to check in with every

single person about their dietary needs and that's not feasible. "

Her interpretation of variety extends to, if we are getting pizza, she

will get several different kinds of pizza so vegetarian people can eat

it too.

There are varying levels of sensitivity regarding the rest of the

staff here.

Has anyone had to deal with these issues at work? If so, how did you

handle them? What kind of outcome was there? Is there any point on

trying to advocate about these things?

-Serena

[Guest guest]

I don't have the gluten intolerance, but I do have several allergies

that cause my food choices to be very limited.

My personal experience is I have 3 choices 1) don't attend any function

of any kind where I know going in I should not eat the foods [not very

practical]. 2) eat the food and suffer the consequences later or 3) take

my own food and don't eat any of the " public " food.

If anyone else has better options, I'd love to hear them. FWIW, I don't

think it is rude fro someone to say if they changed a menu for one

they'd soon be going nuts having to accomodate all possible

intolerances. It really is the reality, and I understand it can't really

be done unless there are only two people going to be there, LOL.

sol

chaosflowers wrote:

> I had a somewhat tangential, but somewhat pressing question.

>

> Having recently found out I am intolerant of wheat and milk, I am

> wondering how I can work together with people at my work place on food

> issues.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Serena,

I can relate to this problem on many levels. I have a very limited

diet, which may be the same as yours - no soy, gluten, dairy, sugar

or processed foods. The bottom line is you have to take care of

yourself by making your own food choices and preparing and having

foods ready that you can eat; which is often an inconvenience unless

you continuously plan ahead.

I can't get my mom, sisters, and brothers etc. to accommodate me

after four years at family gatherings so how can I expect that to

happen at work or at other social gatherings. It would be so much

easier if others could see that eating organically would solve so

many of their health problems. It's just *not " going to happen, or

at least not any time soon.

It reminds me of Ralph Emerson's story, *Self-Reliance* where he

immaculately says: **to be great is to be misunderstood.**

I am sure this is not what you wanted to hear, but I have learned

that people don't care or pay attention unless you have a death

threatening allergy.

Unless there are many people who share your philosophy in the

workplace on food, I'd just bag it for now; and *always* be prepared

to eat healthy and bring your own food to work. I see people all the

time at pot lucks that won't eat food prepared by others. At least

you know what you're putting into your body when you buy and prepare

it.

To good health,

Bj

> > I had a somewhat tangential, but somewhat pressing question.

> >

> > Having recently found out I am intolerant of wheat and milk, I am

> > wondering how I can work together with people at my work place on

food

> > issues.

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

I guess I have gotten somewhat spoiled, as I tend to attend social

events where people DO make accomodations for their guests, and ask

people ahead of time if they have any special needs. (crazy weather

changes aside, that's one of the reasons I like living here). I find

it becoming more common, as more and more people develop food

sensitivities.

I can empathize with you about your limitations (worse than mine!) and

not getting supported by family. That's gotta be a really tough place.

There are indeed several people at my job who also have problems with

gluten. I guess my beef is that the management bends over backwards in

so many OTHER ways to accomodate the needs of their employees, but

food is just something they won't or can't bend on. Plus our new call

center manager appears to really like things like pizza and pasta.

When you try to explain these things, it's like people stop hearing

what you're saying, and get a defensive glaze over their eyes. Other

people at work have not gotten much further on this than me.

Food is just a really personal thing for a lot of folks, and elicit

many deep-rooted emotions. It's hard to combat if you happen to be at

odds about it with someone else.

My thinking is, that with things they way they are now, we will

eventually see enough of a rise in population that have autoimmune

disorders that it will shift the social and cultural paradigm. I

wouldn't wish my symptoms on anybody, but it's the same as any other

illness or handicap: Numbers and visibility mean clout, and clout

means you get the research, funding and better level of treatment and

care.

-Serena

> Hi Serena,

>

> I can relate to this problem on many levels. I have a very limited

> diet, which may be the same as yours - no soy, gluten, dairy, sugar

> or processed foods. The bottom line is you have to take care of

> yourself by making your own food choices and preparing and having

> foods ready that you can eat; which is often an inconvenience unless

> you continuously plan ahead.

>

> I can't get my mom, sisters, and brothers etc. to accommodate me

> after four years at family gatherings so how can I expect that to

> happen at work or at other social gatherings. It would be so much

> easier if others could see that eating organically would solve so

> many of their health problems. It's just *not " going to happen, or

> at least not any time soon.

>

> It reminds me of Ralph Emerson's story, *Self-Reliance* where he

> immaculately says: **to be great is to be misunderstood.**

>

> I am sure this is not what you wanted to hear, but I have learned

> that people don't care or pay attention unless you have a death

> threatening allergy.

>

> Unless there are many people who share your philosophy in the

> workplace on food, I'd just bag it for now; and *always* be prepared

> to eat healthy and bring your own food to work. I see people all the

> time at pot lucks that won't eat food prepared by others. At least

> you know what you're putting into your body when you buy and prepare

> it.

>

> To good health,

> Bj

>

>

>> > I had a somewhat tangential, but somewhat pressing question.

>> >

>> > Having recently found out I am intolerant of wheat and milk, I am

>> > wondering how I can work together with people at my work place on

> food

>> > issues.

>> >

>> >

>>

>

>

--

" And... we are now and already " post-modern " . The world of Descartes,

Newton, and Kant no longer works. "

Bamford, Foreword, " Mystics After Modernism "

[Guest guest]

Serena,

There are already massive health issues in America. The mindset may

change if Obama keeps stressing that Americans must clean up their

diets and use a more natural way to treat their health conditions -

rather prevent them. I have never heard a president talk about this

before. At least more people will hear the message.

I do have one gathering that everyone is aware of the various health

issues and prepare food for all of us accordingly, which is nice.

When I speak of my family, I was referring to family gatherings. In

my household everyone is already trained and my kids eat what I do.

I know they fudge when they go to their friend's house. But they

understand by eating that way there are consequences. My oldest ate

some protein bars (with soy protein aka unfermented soy - the bad soy

that all hypO's should stay away from) and had a gut ache for two

days. After several times doing that he learned to make a conscience

choice to say no thanks.

I'll take inconvenience any day compared to being bedridden ill.

Bj

> >> > I had a somewhat tangential, but somewhat pressing question.

> >> >

> >> > Having recently found out I am intolerant of wheat and milk, I

am

> >> > wondering how I can work together with people at my work place

on

> > food

> >> > issues.

> >> >

> >> >

> >>

> >

> >

>

>

>

> --

> " And... we are now and already " post-modern " . The world of

Descartes,

> Newton, and Kant no longer works. "

>

> Bamford, Foreword, " Mystics After Modernism "

>

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

Can you tell me more about this soy thing? I haven't heard about that before.

-SBA

> Serena,

>

> There are already massive health issues in America. The mindset may

> change if Obama keeps stressing that Americans must clean up their

> diets and use a more natural way to treat their health conditions -

> rather prevent them. I have never heard a president talk about this

> before. At least more people will hear the message.

>

> I do have one gathering that everyone is aware of the various health

> issues and prepare food for all of us accordingly, which is nice.

>

> When I speak of my family, I was referring to family gatherings. In

> my household everyone is already trained and my kids eat what I do.

> I know they fudge when they go to their friend's house. But they

> understand by eating that way there are consequences. My oldest ate

> some protein bars (with soy protein aka unfermented soy - the bad soy

> that all hypO's should stay away from) and had a gut ache for two

> days. After several times doing that he learned to make a conscience

> choice to say no thanks.

>

> I'll take inconvenience any day compared to being bedridden ill.

>

> Bj

>

--

" And... we are now and already " post-modern " . The world of Descartes,

Newton, and Kant no longer works. "

Bamford, Foreword, " Mystics After Modernism "

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi BJ,

>

> Can you tell me more about this soy thing? I haven't heard about

that before.

>

> -SBA

Hi,

Soy is a goitrogen that has the ability to reduce hormone production.

and aid in goiter growth. Stay away from highly concentrated soy

products. Also, soy can bind to T4 - Levothyroxine, so you should

not take your thyroid replacement hormone before or after eating

soy foods. Soy is a filler in many packaged products, much like

gluten.

As you may well already know, soybeans contain proteins called

isoflavones, which have many of the same properties as estrogens,

phytoestrogens. The big question appears to be whether women who

regularly consume isoflavones could be inadvertently encouraging the

growth of breast cancer cells. Ever notice that the amount of

isoflavones isn't listed under the nutritional info on products. To

find out multiply the amount of soy protein listed by three. For

example, if a serving of soy protein is 10 grams you are getting 30

mg of isoflavones.

Over 90% of soy is genetically modified, plus most alarming is that

soy has the highest level of pesticides contamination of any consumed

food. The anti-nutrients in soy protein isolate, genetically modified

soy, the key ingredient in most soy foods, imitate or act like other

foods like dairy. Almost all brands of soy milk contain soy protein

isolate as does canned meat and baby formulas.

A neighbor thought soy would help slow down her aging and make her

healthier after she read it's supposed to be good for peri-menopausal

women. It did quite the opposite and made her almost incapacitated.

When she eliminated soy entirely she quickly got back to being her

old-self again. I know three other people that had similar reactions.

I couldn't figure out why my son would come home with sharp pains in

his tummy – his coach was giving him energy bars loaded with soy

protein isolate.

The anti-nutrients in soy are - soy protein isolate -or- genetically

modified soy. This is the main ingredient in most soy foods. It (soy

protein isolate, also known as genetically modified soy and vise

versa) imitates other foods. Most brands of soy milk are made with

soy protein isolate. Metabolites of the isoflavones are secreted in

the urine, which can take up to and often over 24 hours. The longer

it stays in the body the stronger cumulative estrogenic effect it

will have on one's well being. In addition, studies reported better

absorption of isoflavones from fermented food sources (such as miso)

vs. non-fermented sources (such as soymilk and protein bars).

If you consume soy – *only* consume fermented soy.

Bj