Gluten Intolerance Update

Well good morning y'all!

It's been tough this last month. As y'all may know, I went paleo in the beginning of April. I soon discovered I had a switch that flipped. I discovered that I am gluten intolerant. How did I come to this conclusion?

Any gluten slip ups I made led to sore throats (like the allergic reactions I have to crab and paprika), headaches, and stomach pains in the morning that rivaled that of labor! I verified this with someone I consider an expert because celiac disease and gluten intolerance is hard to diagnose.

I've had some personal issues with this. Our house, as I've mentioned, was destroyed by a tornado. We're having to depend on the kindness of donations (which we haven't been able to eat much of) and have been on the most extreme of budgets. That makes it really hard to restock the normal things I need to cook with.

I've been discovering just how bad my intolerance is. I can't even use seasonings with gluten in it. You would think seasonings would be a miniscule amount of gluten, but there is still a reaction.

It's personally difficult because many people don't understand. You can't see gluten intolerance. People don't understand the pain I go through when I eat gluten. It's hard for my husband when he just wants to go out to eat and I'm sitting there for half an hour trying to figure out what I can eat and asking the waiter a million questions.

Then you get the comments about being a health nut...and that you ate gluten your entire life. These can be some of the most hurtful. I've held this weight for my entire life. I've worked hard to get it off with no success. I've never been the cleanest eater, but ate much better than most people I knew. I worked out consistently and with intensity. Nothing worked.

This has worked for me! Let me list just a few of the benefits I've seen since going paleo.

• Less bloated
• More energy
• Less headaches (as long as I stay completely away from gluten)
• Clearer skin
• Better sleep (at times when there are no interruptions like we had this morning)
• A little bit of weight loss (I don't have a scale to measure how much, but last I checked about 5 lbs)
• Clothing fits better
• Food is more satisfying

I'm hoping if you're reading this and might have a friend or family member that has an intolerance that you'll be a little more kind. We're not making these things up. While I started this for weight loss, it turns out that I actually needed to do this for my health. Be supportive and kind. (Which you should do that anyways...)

If you're reading this and are going through the same situation, know that you aren't alone. This is a switch that can be unswitched. This will be an issue we deal with the rest of our lives. Hopefully it will become happier and healthier. There's a great article on PaleoMom.com that mentions how our bodies create antibodies to attack the gluten we ingest and I think gives good evidence of why I can't "un-gluten intolerance" myself.

I love you guys and thank you for your continued reading.

If you have any questions, comments, etc please feel free to leave them in the comment section below! <3