Gluten Free

Becoming Gluten Intolerant : My Story

It started with a virus like cold when my immune system was at a weakened state(not that gluten intolerance is contagious, but it will sometimes finally show itself  from hiding after your body is weak) Anyhow I was working a lot this week, and progressively I noticed even though my sore throat symptoms were waning I still had a violent stomach cramps and was finding myself in the bathroom more often than the usual. My stomach was upset for what seemed like a week and a half...that's when I knew something was not right. 

I made an appointment to go to the doctor and get tests done to see what was wrong. At this point my dog had contracted Giardia(a parasite found in bad drinking water) and I was pretty convinced that it could be what I had since my stomach was so ill. They administered the tests and it came back negative for any parasites...good news but still did not answer my questions to why I felt so sick every day. My doctor then told me to start keeping a food journal to narrow down a possible allergen to anything I could be eating.

It took forever for me to finally narrow it down to wheat, mostly because I'm horrible at keeping a food journal(or any journal for that matter). The days went on and I just kept feeling more lethargic, achy, and sick to my stomach. So sick that I had to be excused from work because I could not stop running to the restroom(as embarrassing as that is to say its the truth). It was like I contracted some super-flu.

Finally there was one underlying food that I kept noticing on my food diary: bagels. I looooove bagels so much, I use to get them all the time for my morning meal before work. Immediately I thought dairy was the problem, that I was sick from the cream cheese that I had every day. I then decided to eliminate dairy from my diet. To no avail my symptoms were the same. Finally I pinned it down to breads and let my doctor know.

Being told your intolerant to gluten is not the end of the world, its a huge shock, but you'll live(I promise). At first I was very adamant in not accepting that I was intolerant to a food that I had ate my whole life. After I spent most of my time not eating wheat, and then I would test my body by sneaking soy sauce in my food. I was in gluten-denial for a long time, in disbelief that it had happened to me. I thought it was just a coincidence...oh was I wrong. And every single time I tried to get my body and gluten to coincide it was a world of hurt for me.

That was then, and this is now. Here I am, I haven't felt sick in over a month(there is the occasional accidental gluten-ing) but I feel so much better off without it in my life.

Snacks that helped me cope/transition into a gluten-free life:

1. Pirates Booty(naturally gluten free rice puffs)

2. Rice Cakes that I put gluten free PBandJ on

3. Wow Baking Company Cookies(the best cookies I've had in my life period)

4. Udi's Gluten Free Bread & Bagels

5. Krave Beef Jerky(a lot of normal jerky contains wheat/soy sauce)

6. Glutenfreeda Oatmeal(since normal oatmeal gets cross-contaminated)

These snacks are not what I ate constantly, but it was little things that helped me through the transition. Pirates Booty helped me get a low calorie snack in, as well as the Krave jerky. I use Udi's bread for my sandwiches, and rice cakes for my pb&j. The WOW cookies are a lovely treat every once and a while, and it helps me not crave cookies when I go to the supermarket and see the baked goods staring at me.

My oatmeal is my favorite though, it has flax in it and its just a great meal for my stomach. By eating this almost daily for a long period(along with a probiotic) it helped get my gut back into a better state and made me feel sooooo much better.

Stay tuned, and I'll be posting some gluten free recipes that I'm infatuated with.