Gluten Intolerance

I’ve had an issue for years.  Some would be embarrassed to talk about it but I’ve always worried – worried that my vegan behavior would catch the blame.  My digestive system seems to rebel against me at the worst times.  A huge pitch at a client’s office?  Check.  A too-few-date night with hot husband?  Check.  I’ve been to countless doctors (well I can count them but that’ll just piss me off) and have paid really good money to be told:

K  I’m stressed

K  I’m depressed

K  I have IBS, IBD, BBD (last one is a joke – OLD SCHOOL!)

K  I have fibromyalgia

K  I could have Crohn’s Disease

The last point got me a first class ticket with a gastro guy and a tube up my rear.  It was awesome and by awesome I mean terrible but that’s another story…

Nothing the doctors ordered or prescribed helped so I tried a lot of herbs, minerals and vitamins without much luck.  Finally, I started keeping a food diary and, by chance, switched jobs and landed a client starting a gluten-free website. 

Gluten-what?

Gluten, or as I would like to say, “The Devil”, is a little protein that hangs out in most grains like cereal, oatmeal, and bread and is responsible for making dough stick together.  It’s also responsible for making 3 million Celiac disease suffers sick.  Celiac disease is hard to diagnose and the only treatment is eliminating all foods that contain gluten. 

Although I was given a blood test for Celiac disease and it came back negative, I started a gluten-free (and still vegan) diet anyway.  It’s been over 2 months and I feel fabulous.  The stomach issues are almost gone and I’ve had no aches or pains.  No doctor can explain it and when I asked if I could be gluten-intolerant I was told there really isn’t’ such a thing.  Try telling that to my once again flat stomach! 

I’m not a doctor but I would like to be.  I can’t diagnose your symptoms but I can tell you that being a vegan, avoiding processed foods and eating only foods that only have 2 or less ingredients has made me feel brand new and I think it would help you too.  The human body is amazing and if you give it the fuel it desires, it will run like a Mercedes and not a Yugo.  The main question I get asked the most, “What do you eat?”  This question annoyed me to no end but I know now it’s a genuine question.   I’ll be blogging about that question in the future and showing you that being healthy, fit and vibrant is possible and not as hard as you think.*

*Disclaimer – this blog isn’t about my health issues, it’s just 1 of the many things I’d like to chat about.