Gluten-Free

Where do I start? For someone who has battled often mysterious medical issues for years now, it is so strange to me that something so simple could make all the difference in the world. I went gluten free a little over two weeks ago. Cold turkey, cut it out of my diet and aside from a few small temptations, I haven't looked back.

Rewind. For most of my life there were so many foods that would make me sick. But it was hard to pinpoint what it was. Almost every meal had some effect on my stomach/digestion. In some ways it was so expected that food would make me sick that it became somewhat comical. It was like clock work, input, and then output. In spite of the humor of the situation, it made enjoying food so difficult and I clung to my favorite foods often convincing myself that bread and pasta couldn't be the problem. I tried cutting out dairy, sugar, fast food, and a variety of other things only to come up with empty solutions.

That all changed when a friend suggested that gluten might be the problem. Gluten, whats that I thought to myself? And that, may just be the problem. No blood tests have been done yet to reveal what the conclusive problem is, but needless to say, if gluten wasn't the problem I don't know what was. I have been able to digest food the way you are supposed to, I have had more energy than I have ever had, and I haven't gone to bed feeling bloated and lethargic since I made the dietary change.

It's a good test for me, I love pizza, french fries, pasta, and ice cream. But I wouldn't trade them for anything now that I have tasted how good life feels without them. And as I have done more research on the topic I have learned that it is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions there is out there and it is on the rise. In a world of processed food choices and chemically produced products/ingredients it really doesn't surprise me. And I was one of them.

So what do I eat now? More fruit, vegetables, beans, meat, and lots of brown rice and corn. It's been a mix of refreshing and challenging at the same time. All my long researched/favorite recipes are being tossed and I have been on the hunt for good tasting gluten free meals. (If you know of any send them my way!)