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Oct. 5th, 2009 04:12 pmI've been writing a little about my experiments in not eating gluten, and how much better I feel. It is not 100%, but it is a huge difference. I had gone, in two months, from being able to pick up and ride my bike 30 miles just because I felt like it to exhausting myself completely walking the half mile downhill to the T. Twenty-four hours off gluten, and I had more energy than I'd had in a month. The epic digestive fail stopped. The constant headaches and muscle aches and flu-like feelings stopped. This is the big picture.
I did a test one day, two weeks into not eating gluten. I ate a bowl of whole wheat pasta. It took a few hours, but then I was sick for three days, fluey, no energy to get out of bed, achey, and GI issues like woah. The minor headcold I had spiked into a ridiculous, miserable thing.
Honestly, I haven't felt as good since then as I had in the two weeks leading up to the test. I hope I feel better once I kick the rest of this cold. Not eating gluten is a challenge, especially when out. At home, I'm okay. Most of the food I really like doesn't have gluten in, anyway. It is a challenge, but one I think I can rise to. I went on a gluten-free baking bender last night, and came out of it with four different kinds of treats.
About a month ago, I had an initial appointment with a naturopath, and we sent out some blood for food sensitivity (IgG and IgA) testing. After my pasta test, I was pretty sure it'd come back with gluten or wheat being high on the list of things I shouldn't eat, probably almost the only things. Today I got those results back. Glutens and whole wheat (and spelt and rye, but not barley) had moderate reactions. All dairy products and eggs, however, had high reactions.
Okay, quick quiz. What is my favourite food? What do I snack on most? What do I bring to eat at work in my teeny 15-minute break almost every day? (Ice cream/frozen yogurt, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and yogurt.) Crap. I am at a loss, here. I don't know how to deal with food, especially my favourite foods, not being my friends. Especially when I'm already on a challenging diet, doing the no gluten thing.
The naturopath recommended that I stick with the no gluten, and in two weeks take out eggs or dairy, and then I'll have a followup in another 3 weeks. I've got a supplement to take that is supposed to help heal my GI tract. But what the heck am I supposed to eat? Most of my other frequent foods came up on with low (but not *no*) reaction, so I'm supposed to be careful of many of them, too. Honestly, gluten is something I know how to deal with. I know several people who can't eat it. But... gluten AND dairy AND eggs? (And being careful of soy, almonds, peanuts, yeasts, shellfish, coffee, mushrooms, citrus fruits and asparagus.) My world has suddenly lost all flavor, and I'm hungry but can't think of a damn thing that is tasty that I can eat. (The theory is that I stay off all these things for 6-8 months and then I can start trying to reintroduce them and see how I feel.)
I know there are things. I know I'll come up with something. But man. I feel totally deprived. The gluten free treats I know at least have eggs. It's all just shocking and new, and I kind of want to cry.
I did a test one day, two weeks into not eating gluten. I ate a bowl of whole wheat pasta. It took a few hours, but then I was sick for three days, fluey, no energy to get out of bed, achey, and GI issues like woah. The minor headcold I had spiked into a ridiculous, miserable thing.
Honestly, I haven't felt as good since then as I had in the two weeks leading up to the test. I hope I feel better once I kick the rest of this cold. Not eating gluten is a challenge, especially when out. At home, I'm okay. Most of the food I really like doesn't have gluten in, anyway. It is a challenge, but one I think I can rise to. I went on a gluten-free baking bender last night, and came out of it with four different kinds of treats.
About a month ago, I had an initial appointment with a naturopath, and we sent out some blood for food sensitivity (IgG and IgA) testing. After my pasta test, I was pretty sure it'd come back with gluten or wheat being high on the list of things I shouldn't eat, probably almost the only things. Today I got those results back. Glutens and whole wheat (and spelt and rye, but not barley) had moderate reactions. All dairy products and eggs, however, had high reactions.
Okay, quick quiz. What is my favourite food? What do I snack on most? What do I bring to eat at work in my teeny 15-minute break almost every day? (Ice cream/frozen yogurt, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and yogurt.) Crap. I am at a loss, here. I don't know how to deal with food, especially my favourite foods, not being my friends. Especially when I'm already on a challenging diet, doing the no gluten thing.
The naturopath recommended that I stick with the no gluten, and in two weeks take out eggs or dairy, and then I'll have a followup in another 3 weeks. I've got a supplement to take that is supposed to help heal my GI tract. But what the heck am I supposed to eat? Most of my other frequent foods came up on with low (but not *no*) reaction, so I'm supposed to be careful of many of them, too. Honestly, gluten is something I know how to deal with. I know several people who can't eat it. But... gluten AND dairy AND eggs? (And being careful of soy, almonds, peanuts, yeasts, shellfish, coffee, mushrooms, citrus fruits and asparagus.) My world has suddenly lost all flavor, and I'm hungry but can't think of a damn thing that is tasty that I can eat. (The theory is that I stay off all these things for 6-8 months and then I can start trying to reintroduce them and see how I feel.)
I know there are things. I know I'll come up with something. But man. I feel totally deprived. The gluten free treats I know at least have eggs. It's all just shocking and new, and I kind of want to cry.
