Drinking the Kool-Aid ~ Going Gluten Free

If you know me, you know my extreme frustration for the food, diet and weight loss industry. Magic pills, miracle sprinkles, and all of the pyramid MLM sales of smoothies, wraps, patches, and potions....not to mention the diet fads... Keto, Paleo, South Beach, Low Carb, Low Fat, extreme calorie restriction,... the list is exhausting!   As a fitness professional, I get asked about every diet fad out there. My advice is always the same, "Eat whole foods, organic when possible. Limit processed foods and added sugars. Get enough water, sleep, and exercise. Educate yourself through your own research, and if you have adverse reactions to a certain foods, don't eat them. 

When Gluten became a household word, it quickly became the most popular weight loss fad of it's time, proudly perched next to the Paleo diet. People were going gluten and grain free without understanding why it was a 'thing'. The misinformation ran amuck on social media and it was all the weight loss craze! People were showcasing thier Trader Joe's gluten free muffin and cookie hauls on social media like it was the best diet food ever invented ("invented" should be overstating the obvious here).

I'm sure you can hear the tone of my frustration as a fitness professional and someone who prides myself on being a bit of a health and fitness research nerd.  Dieting is by far more controversial  than religion and politics combined, even in this day. I am well aware my high horse on weight loss fads rub people wrong, especially if thier diet is one I am mentioning.My judgement isn't on the people who chose how to eat or what to use for weight loss, it's on the industry itself for putting out so much misinformation and down right lies to make the big bucks. Anyway....

In retrospect, I should be grateful for all the hype, and I now am. Having been diagnosed with Hashimoto's and learning the effects of Gluten on the gut and thyroid, it is clear I have a food sensitivity/intolerance I was unaware of that was greatly effecting my health. Going gluten free would have been near impossible (or at least seem that way) without that gluten boom enlightening us on what gluten is and where it can be found. Turns out it's not as obvious as it seems.

I went  gluten free  when I had my hives and it helped, but went off the wagon for a birthday trip to San Fransisco. I mean, come on, a newly restrictive diet would have sucked big time on a SF birthday trip. I wanted cake and beer and maybe even sourdough! It was worth it! I have been back on GF for 3 weeks and this is now permanent. From my research so far, I have learned that intermittent (80/20 rule) GF is not optional for someone with Hashimoto's or any autoimmune disease. Gluten can cause intestinal permeability, also known as leaky gut, which is like having a hole in your stomach allowing  toxins, proteins, and partially digested food particles to exit the gut and enter your blood stream. This can be a precursor to autoimmune diseases and for those who already have it, the priority is to heal the gut first.

In addition, gluten is an inflammatory protein. Inflammation is your immune system’s natural response to anything it deems dangerous and if my body deems gluten dangerous, I'm not taking chances. According to an article I read from Amy Myers, MD ,  "When your immune system is continuously creating inflammation in response to the gluten you’re eating, your leaky gut, and the microbes and toxins flooding your bloodstream, you develop chronic inflammation. Your immune system is now stressed and is less able to attack pathogens and invaders with precision. Instead, it begins indiscriminately sending wave after wave of attack in a desperate attempt to fight off the invaders. Eventually, your body’s own tissues end up on the receiving end of the attack, and you end up with an autoimmune disease." My doctor checked my inflammation levels and my results came back with little inflammation which is good (I'd been working on that!), but gluten is a road I am getting off now, before I create more damage in my body. I don't believe for me, this is a result of my current diet, but rather the diet I passionately clung to from childhood till my late thirties. I was addicted to bread, pasta, and cereals... Oh Gawd, the cereals!! I loved cereal MORE than Oprah loves bread!  MORE!! MORE LOVE!! Seriously!

Going GF was stressful at first. I'm not a huge bread, pasta, and processed foods kind of gal anymore, so that helps a lot. My earlier journeys to good health brought me to a place where I already (for the most part) eat healthy, whole foods. We do however, use spices, occasional bread crumbs, condiments, and such. That has been a learning curve, but I remind myself it's a process and a journey.

Quick story: Our neighbors brought over a dinner plate for two last Sunday evening. We had worked in the gardens all day in 96 degree weather and we were spent! We had planned on left over tacos for dinner, but when they brought over a plate with ribs, corn on the cob, rice, and a salad, it all smelled so good! We dug in!!! On the first bite of a rib, my eyes rolled in the back of my head. "OMG! This is so good, and I'm not usually a teriyaki fan....but....
TERIYAKI?! Fuck! Gluten! Do I spit or swallow?" What would you do?  Well, I swallowed. Shit, it was already chewed up in my mouth anyway. It was too good to spit it out!  Kurt had the rest of the ribs while I ate the salad, corn, rice.... and tacos. It's a process and a journey. I'm thankful I don't have Celiac Disease and I can have moments like this without too much panic. Learning curves are inevitable and shit happens. I'm fortunate to have the luxury of that attitude.  

Anyway, the great gluten BOOM brought a lot of awareness to what gluten is and where it can be found. I would have never thought to check my condiments, sauces, spices or shredded cheeses for gluten, but it's in there! The food industry has been more than accommodating in labeling and creating gluten free products for those with  intolerance or diet preferences. Many restaurants have also jumped on board, including my favorite hang out, The Matador! This makes me so happy!  Happy! HAPPY! Happy!

The two most handy resources I have found so far is The Gluten Free Scanner app  and Yelp. The GF scanner app  has an extensive data base and food scanner. Not only have I scanned every food product I have at home, but I am a scanning fool at the grocery store. Remember those cool, addictive labbelers back in the day?

Yeah. Like that. Scan all the things!
Yelp is a great tool to find and bookmark all of the restaurants that accommodate our diverse dietary needs with said dishes and labeling
for GF, vegetarian, and or vegan needs on thier menus. Those are the places I want to support and give my business to!

The biggest hurdle to date is going to other people's houses for BBQs, potlucks, or meal time events. I know I can bring a dish, but this also limits me to that dish, any whole foods spreads, and/or other dishes made by GF people. I'm not to trusting of GF meals prepared by non-GF people. While that burger on the grill may be GF, the seasonings used may not be, and that is not widely known unless you're gluten intolerant yourself.  I'm not one that likes to label myself with a whole conversation about why I can't eat this or that, so I need to find a graceful way of saying no thank you to foods others deem to be GF because it doesn't contain known wheat.  Oye.  It makes me so uncomfortable I find even writing about it makes me a rambling mess.  If you have a dietary restriction and found some comfortable ways to deal with this, please share! 

I have yet to scrutinize my soaps, make-up, and skincare products, but it's on my list of baby steps I am taking. There is so much to learn and do. So many aspects of my life I am working on changing. Stress management, supplements, foods to support my thyroid, gut, liver, and looking at foods that don't...
Baby steps.