Two years ago most were unaware of what gluten free was, had never heard of Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity was a non-issue. Now, gluten free is on the top ten list of the most overused words that people are sick of hearing.
With Celiac disease, doctors know little about it, aren’t sure how to diagnose it, and from so many horror stories I have read, aren’t thinking gluten may even be at the root of many people’s health or mental issues. Yet, it is amazing when people alone make the choice to go gluten free, thousands upon thousands are feeling better. Strange isn’t it, that a simple ingredient like wheat can impact so many lives in such an awful way.
Gluten Free Is Not A Death Sentence
I’m happy, you know why? BECAUSE I AM NOT SICK ANYMORE! I feel good and sometimes even feel quite fantastic. Going gluten free is a lifestyle, it is not a diet or a fad and not something I can do ‘most of the time’. It may be one of the most overused words for 2013, but it saved my life and to me, that is no joking matter.
I know it sucks giving up your favorite bread, those wondrous puff pastries and practically 3/4 of all the food out there. To completely change your lifestyle and have to worry about every little thing that goes into your mouth. But truthfully, I eat much healthier because of it.
Food Epidemic
People hear that they shouldn’t eat gluten, but how many really know why? Gluten issues are starting to become a food epidemic in this country, but it’s not just gluten. Our food system as a whole is to blame and so many refuse to believe it.
Correlating our rising health issues with the 60,000 pounds of food the average person consumes in a lifetime filled with vending machines, McDonalds and Taco Bells that have reclaimed our kitchens. Add in the GMO’s, food additives, aspartame and dyes that have reclaimed our farm style whole ingredients. We have a whole young generation of kids that have grown up completely consuming, for the better part of their short lifetime, a diet full of processed and manufactured foods.
What you consume day in and day out, 365 days a year, is the fuel that feeds your body and brain, stimulates the immune system and helps fight disease. Clean oil runs a clean car, dirty oil jams it up. Same concept with food and how it affects the body.
I know people do not want to give up their GMO cheetos, their fakeDonalds and diet ‘aspartame filled’ Coke, processed, convenient foods, but this stuff is seriously BAD for you. There has been plenty of documented research to support these facts. We are far from living off farm fresh food anymore, the body knows it and it is having a hard time adapting.
A little interesting fact is, 80% of a body’s serotonin is made in the gut and a few things Serotonin is involved in is:
- appetite
- sleep
- memory
- learning
- temperature
- mood
- behavior
- depression
This is why when you eat bad food you feel bad as well; emotionally, physically and mentally. So buck up little campers, going gluten free is not a death sentence, your body has given you a warning sign to start eating better. Try not to concentrate on what you cannot eat but all the new foods and recipes you can. Concentrate on how much better you are going to look and feel. The day I went gluten free I never looked back because I am a healthier person for it now.
One of my favorite quotes is from Sayer Ji:
“View Celiac Disease not as an unhealthy response to a healthy food, but as a healthy response to an unhealthy food”
Change starts one person at a time. That person is me and you. Strive for a better future and not just a better now.
Sources:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/dark-side-wheat-new-perspectives-celiac-disease-wheat-intolerance-sayer-ji
Great article !
Any food allergy or intolerance should be seen as an opportunity to discover new ways of cooking and eating, a new start. I know that blogging about my food experiences when I had to change my diet and being part of a larger community of food bloggers has helped me through this and it still does everyday.
Thank you for your article !
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I have had breast cancer twice with no history of it in my family. I blamed in on HRT the first time. The second time sixteen years later with no hormones I was puzzled, but now I think it could have been the gluten. I am 100 % gluten free from now on.
I have had breast cancer twice with no history of it in my family. I blamed in on HRT the first time. The second time sixteen years later with no hormones I was puzzled, but now I think it could have been the gluten. I am 100 % gluten free from now on.
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Good article. Although I still get issues, the GF lifestyle is becoming more doable every day. The closer igetto ‘real’ the better it feel!
Good article. Although I still get issues, the GF lifestyle is becoming more doable every day. The closer igetto ‘real’ the better it feel!
When I got diagnosed with Celiac I was being tested for Cancer. I did not have cancer and luckily had a GI dr. who did the upper GI test and found the sprue that was giving me anemia. My wife and I were so happy I did not have cancer that the GI dr. called the house several times to make sure I understood I needed to change my diet.
When I got diagnosed with Celiac I was being tested for Cancer. I did not have cancer and luckily had a GI dr. who did the upper GI test and found the sprue that was giving me anemia. My wife and I were so happy I did not have cancer that the GI dr. called the house several times to make sure I understood I needed to change my diet.
Thank you Kirsten for your passionate article.
Even though I share your frustration sometimes about how can people eat this fast food crap, I have to remind myself that:
1. These people have been brainwashed since childhood with powerful fast food ads.
2. Fast food is cheap – in the short term. For some people, that is all they can afford.
3. Fast food is loaded with highly addictive ingredients: sugar, fats, MSG, aspartame, etc.
4. Most people do NOT know how to cook from scratch (I know, from my own clientele).
5. Some people don’t know and don’t care to know.
6. Some people are lazy or brain dead 😉 and NO ONE can help them. Not you, not me.
We can scream in the wind about how bad processed food is but not a lot of people are listening.
Sincerely, Chef Alain @chefalainbraux
Thank you Kirsten for your passionate article.
Even though I share your frustration sometimes about how can people eat this fast food crap, I have to remind myself that:
1. These people have been brainwashed since childhood with powerful fast food ads.
2. Fast food is cheap – in the short term. For some people, that is all they can afford.
3. Fast food is loaded with highly addictive ingredients: sugar, fats, MSG, aspartame, etc.
4. Most people do NOT know how to cook from scratch (I know, from my own clientele).
5. Some people don’t know and don’t care to know.
6. Some people are lazy or brain dead 😉 and NO ONE can help them. Not you, not me.
We can scream in the wind about how bad processed food is but not a lot of people are listening.
Sincerely, Chef Alain @chefalainbraux
Thank you for this article! Short and succinct – it’s what I think about everyday…
I have been gluten free for 3 years, and it has litterally saved my life, (and my marriage). It has led me to the path of whole foods, organic and non-gmo living. Life has never been better.
It’s like having a secret that I want to shout from the rooftops for everyone to know and make the choice for better health for themselves and their families!
Thank you glutenfreegal for your share of shouting! Keep it up!
Thank you for this article! Short and succinct – it’s what I think about everyday…
I have been gluten free for 3 years, and it has litterally saved my life, (and my marriage). It has led me to the path of whole foods, organic and non-gmo living. Life has never been better.
It’s like having a secret that I want to shout from the rooftops for everyone to know and make the choice for better health for themselves and their families!
Thank you glutenfreegal for your share of shouting! Keep it up!
P.S. and we LOVE In&Out! We are so fortunate to live in CA where we can grab fast food on the rare occasion, and know it will not make us sick!
P.S. and we LOVE In&Out! We are so fortunate to live in CA where we can grab fast food on the rare occasion, and know it will not make us sick!
Thank you for this article! Great information and wonderful spirit. I, too, am happy being gluten free. I laugh (and get a little sad) when people act like, “oh, your poor thing!”. I wish I could spread the word about the difference it has made in our family’s health and well being, and to let people know that far from a “death sentence”, it has saved our lives and our sanity!
Thank you for this article! Great information and wonderful spirit. I, too, am happy being gluten free. I laugh (and get a little sad) when people act like, “oh, your poor thing!”. I wish I could spread the word about the difference it has made in our family’s health and well being, and to let people know that far from a “death sentence”, it has saved our lives and our sanity!
Whenever I get frustrated with my food choices, and the lifestyle I now lead, I remind myself how fortunate I am that 1) it’s not life-threatening, and 2) it’s forcing me to be more healthy, which I should have been doing anyway.
Great outlook!