Part two: I'm gluten intolerant
I've been diagnosed with gluten intolerance. My body can't break down the gluten (which is a protein) found in wheat, barley, rye, etc. So I can't eat regular bread, cake, pizza, pasta, muffins, onion rings, doughnuts, etc. Mostly anything normally made with wheat flour. Also its found in things that shouldn't have gluten, like malt flavoring in cereal, or unknown ingredients like 'modified food starch'.
I don't know if I have celiac/coeliac disease, because I wasn't tested before I went on the diet. I regret that now, but I didn't know it at the time, the doctor didn't inform me, and I would never go off this diet now. The tests won't show anything unless you have been eating gluten foods for over six weeks. No thanks!
The diet. I don't have to take pills, get tests, go to the hospital, etc, I just have to eat a special diet. Well, basically I can eat whatever I want, as long as I read my ingredients and double check everything! I don't want other foods any more, thats the thing. It makes me sick. Stomach sick, so painful I could kill myself sick. It also kills my intestines over time, destroying the villi and making it impossible for me to absorb nutrients and properly break down what I eat.
I used to take B-12 shots monthly, but my intestines have healed and I can absorb that myself now. I no longer get brain fog, skin rashes, headaches, or colds. I have more energy. I'm healthy now. The doctors all told me I was 'healthy' before - but I feel healthy now.
I cook my own food. Its hard to eat out at a restaurant, its hard to eat something quick - I'll never just pop a frozen pizza in the oven or order out to KFC. I read my labels, I cook with natural ingredients, I substitute with rice flour when needed... or other flours if handy - corn, sorghum, pea, chickpea, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, or teff. Most cultures don't even use wheat, its handy to take a trip down the foreign food isle! Rice pasta tastes pretty good, and isn't much more expensive than the regular stuff. I spurge and buy organic cereal, gluten free rice bread at a local bakery, premade mixes for cakes and pizza at the supermarket. The organic/vegetarian/gluten-free/lactose-free isle at the supermarket is almost big enough now to separate them all into their own sections, so I have plenty of choice if I want to spend a little more money.
Its not all a walk in the park, I sometimes have meltdowns and wonder 'why me?', or get frustrated at a restaurant that theres nothing on the menu I could possibly eat. I sometimes accidentally get gluten in my diet - I'm the first to know, come an hour or two later, with pains so bad I want to track down whoever poisoned me and tell them off. Most times its just myself, and there was a funny sounding ingredient I thought was innocent. Does cooked chicken powder contain wheat? Was it the ice cream or the vegetable sauce that made me sick? Have I eaten anything else that could have caused it? I have to play detective every time, because I really don't want to have to experience it again the next time. The rule o f thumb: If in doubt, leave it out. I have to leave out a lot of different foods just because I don't know.
Its also frustrating socially. Not being able to go to that restaurant with friends, or having a family member question your food choice when it was the only choice you had at the time. Turning down a friend's home made dish even though they say its gluten free, and you can't convince them that they used a powder containing wheat. Or getting sick and having to miss out on the rest of the day, I'll get stomach sick first and then headache, brain fog, and lack of energy, its best to call it quits for at least a few hours. Or just having to explain gluten intolerance to someone who just doesn't get it.
Overall I can say I'm glad I got diagnosed - the average time it takes from complaining to your doctor to getting diagnosed for celiac/coeliac/gluten-intolerance is 11 years. I'm 24 years old, and most of my symptoms didn't start until late into high school, and only lately have I felt as sick as I did. It came at a good time for me, I had an opportunity to recover, test things out, and learn.
I'm also eating a lot healthier, by cooking more and reading labels. I won't eat anything that has a ton of ingredients in it, thats too risky to find gluten in one thing, it only takes a little to set me off. That also keeps a lot of preservatives, sugar, salt, etc out of my diet. I cook with regular meat and vegetables and fruit and rice and beans and nuts. Its not as expensive as it was at first when I was craving everything and kept having to buy premade GF mixes. I stir fry, make flour free cookies from scratch, have salads and tacos/nachos and regular food and I've gotten better at making things. I've found shortcuts and tips along the way. Theres still a few screw ups but mostly everything tastes good. And it tastes better when I make it because I know its safe.
Overall it isn't that bad, once your used to this diet it becomes second nature to cook the new favorite dishes, read labels like a maniac, skip the cracker isle at the supermarket. I'm at that point now where I can be confident about what I eat, and actually enjoy it. At first its disappointing because you think you'll never have certain things again - but plop a can of chick peas in the food processor with some cocoa powder, theres the start to a yummy chocolate GF cake. Almost everything has a replacement food. And once you eat less of those things, you realize you didn't need most of it in the first place.
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