(gluten dude)

I can’t tell you if you should be gluten free or not.  I can tell you that if I eat gluten you may be visiting me in the hospital. I can tell you I have friends who had massive skin disorders as a result of gluten intolerance  gut-wrenching pain, and even a feeling of being “drunk” after accidentally eating a bit of gluten in food.

When I saw this awesome post from Gluten Dude I had to share it.  Celiac disease was actually rare to non-existent in the 70’s, but as our food “morphed” (thanks to the genetic engineering that was implemented against the will of nature) our wheat became more full of gluten, our diets became more glamorously stuffed with processed foods, and more and more people got sick.

I’m simplifying. I’m not a doctor. But a gluten-free diet virtually saved my life when an autoimmune digestive disorder (a form of IBD) had me hospitalized for weeks.  My diet is a bit more extreme- the Specific Carbohydrate Diet– and it has saved lives.

At least 10 people I know have recently been diagnosed with a form of IBD, IBS or gluten intolerance. Some are not diagnosed.  Loads of Celiacs (who can not have gluten at all due to an autoimmune reaction to gluten proteins) do not know they have it because their symptoms are mild, and they seem like “something else.”  But, untreated Celiacs have very big health issues. I am intolerant to gluten and other starches and do not have Celiac disease. Doctor’s tell me I can eat whatever I want. If I do (which I tried) I would live in a hospital bed. Its worth using a little common sense sometimes, because most digestive issues in my experience are somehow related to, caused by or cured by food. (Again, I’m not a doctor, just a very astute patient!)

Bottom line: I can’t tell you if you should be gluten free or not… but its worth looking at how well you feel, how good your digestion is and if you have unexplained and unresolved symptoms as mentioned above, it certainly can’t hurt most people to give gluten-free a shot.  Even my friends who did not test “positive” for Celiac who went gluten-free had their symptoms resolve. Oh, yes, its worth mentioning for them, “gluten free” processed foods were not something they ate.  I don’t eat processed/packaged foods either.

My personal theory: this is a product of our toxic, over-stimulated environment along with a food supply that’s been maxed out with gluten for ages. But that’s just my theory.

For a list of foods with gluten (many are surprising!) check THIS out!  xoxo Dana