I am currently on day 17 of my gluten free diet. If I would have known that I would have felt this much better just by eliminating a single ingredient from my diet, I would have done this as soon as I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.I talked about the little difference in just a week in my last post (The trouble with my husband is...) and I am blown away by what another week is like.
More about the amazing difference in a bit. I had the pleasure of talking to Wendy Semyck of Ozark Organics last week when I was ordering my organic box of fruits and veggies. A friend referred me to the co-op when she found out I was going gluten free and thought it might be a great resource for me since she goes to market and has access to gluten free breads and pizza crusts and other baking supplies. I learned more applicable information in that 30 minute conversation than in any of my research that I have been doing. I want to pass this info onto my lovely blog readers because it was great stuff. So here goes:
1. Did you know that gluten is the sticky stuff that makes food stick together? That's why it is so prevalent in the diet. Did you also know that the main side effect of gluten is decreased thyroid and adrenal function? In all of my Fibromyalgia research, those are two of the main symptoms listed by several sources as a cause for the icky symptoms. The decreased function isn't enough to show up on a lab test as a panic value, but they will often show up on the low end of normal.
2. There is a fine art to making gluten free pasta. If you cook it too long you end up with mush. If you don't cook it long enough, you have a crunch that usually isn't desired. Wendy said the way that she cooks her gluten free pastas is that she will bring her water to a boil, throw in her pasta, and then bring it back to a boil, do a quick stir, cover the pot with a lid and then turn the burner off. She sets a timer for 12-15 minutes and she gets perfect "al dente" pasta everytime. I tried her technique with some gluten free pasta I had and it works amazing.
3. You have to rinse gluten free pasta after you drain it or is gets an icky starch film on it. It doesn't deflect from the taste, but it does give it a weird texture.
4. Gluten can taste amazing. Prime example is the gluten free pizza crust that she gets at market.
5. Our bodies tend to hold onto gluten and it can take up to a year to get it completely out of your system.
Cool stuff, right?!
So people keep asking me what the main differences are. Some things are blatantly obvious...mornings being a big thing. I have turned into a freaking Mary Poppins where I used to be the epitome of Grumpy Cat. I'm not saying that I don't still have a rough morning here and there, but I don't groan and moan all morning anymore and haven't for over a week now. I also have my sense of humor back. I can't really describe what I mean by that but have you ever had those days where you could crack a joke and you were just mentally on top of things...THAT is what I'm talking about. I have THAT back and its been gone for a while. I have energy past 8 o'clock, which I used to just want to lay down and crash at that time. It would be so hard to stay awake for more than 5 minutes after the kids were put to bed and that usually was me and Zac's time to catch up on each other's days and have time together. That has been stolen for so long due to my fibro. It is nice to have it back.
I will say that I'm still in a healing process. I'm still learning. Last night I ate at a "new to me" restaurant and didn't know the menu well. I had to have eaten some sort of gluten because I am having the same effect as a sugar free gummy bear would have on the colon today. (If you do not get this reference, please see this link, http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummy-Candy-Sugarless-5-Pound/product-reviews/B000EVQWKC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1, and read the reviews. I will warn you. You will cry from laughing so hard just from reading the first review.) I still have days where I do wake up a bit exhausted and need a nap, but it is no longer a nap all day and get nothing done type of day. I'm to the point that I never want gluten again if it will give me my life back. I'm still taking my vitamins and am planning to get my hormone levels checked soon. I am determined to get my life back this year and this has helped so much. I am not a doctor, nurse, or anything of the sort. I'm just a 34 year old female who is tired of feeling like crap. Going gluten free does take some work and research but I am here to say that the benefits have been amazing. I highly suggest that you try it cause you really don't have anything to lose, except maybe some horrible Fibro symptoms. Blessings!
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