100% Gluten Free and Feeling GREAT

My blood sugars were running high this past month, and I started gaining weight especially around my stomach. Not a good time for this to happen since I am getting married in August and want to look good for all the pictures! (I know it's vain, but I'm just being honest...)

Fortunately, I started reading the book "Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life" by Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT, this past month as well which gave me some guidelines for getting healthy again. More specifically, it inspired me to go 100% GLUTEN FREE.

Wait, isn't the Paleo diet a gluten free diet? Yes, I know the Paleo Diet does not endorse eating wheat or gluten (or any grains for that matter), but I always lived by Dr. Loren Cordain's 85/15% rule: if you eat Paleo just 85% of the time you should still be able to reap all the benefits of the diet. But after reading the following quotes (among others) in Nora's book, I decided to really up my efforts...

Here's the problem in a nutshell (page 40):

"A review in the The New England Journal of Medicine found that fully fifty-five diseases are known to be caused by gluten (Farrell and Kelly 2002). Among these are heart disease, cancer, nearly all autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal disorders, gallbladder disease, Hashimoto's disease (an autoimmune thyroid disorder responsible for up to 90 percent of all low-functioning thyroid issues), migraines, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), neuropathies (having normal EMG readings), and more other degenerative neurological disorders as well as autism, which is technically an autoimmune brain disorder. Gluten can also cause many common psychiatric illnesses, including anxiety issues, ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, dementia, and schizophrenia. In my opinion, it is always safest to simply assume the presence of gluten sensitivity in these populations, or, frankly, wherever significantly compromised health is an issue. Even where avoidance of gluten may not solve the problem, one has at least removed a potentially enormous obstacle from the path toward improvement."

And here's the solution (pages 44-45):

"The good news is that the devastating symptoms of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease can often be entirely eliminated. The treatment solution? You must eliminate 100 percent--not just most--of the gluten from your diet, and that means not just gluten-containing grains, but all hidden sources as well... Although I realize all this need for ultrastrict avoidance sounds rather tedious and inconvenient, an article in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry stated clearly, 'Even minute traces of gliadin (gluten) are capable of triggering a state of heightened immunological activity in gluten sensitive people,' meaning prolonged inflammation and other symptoms (Hadjivassiliou et al. 1997). Saying you've eliminated 'most' of the gluten from your diet because you are gluten sensitive is a bit like saying you're just 'a little bit pregnant.' Either you are or you're not. There are no in-betweens. Avoidance must be strict and total."

I thought to myself, "Why not? I won't be hurting anything by at least giving it a try." So I decided to give going 100% gluten-free a try these past couple weeks. And the effects of this have been better than my wildest dreams could have ever imagined!

What's changed in my life since going 100% gluten free?

1. My blood sugars have been PERFECT almost all of the time (the only major exceptions being when I ate a bunch of Jordan Almonds one day and drank too much alcohol). My 7 day average is currently 156, 14 day average is 167, and 30 day average is 189. As you can see, there is a downward trend which is very good!

2. I have lost 6 pounds. (yay!)

3. My stomach feels better - not bloated or disturbed - along with my digestion. No acid reflux, nausea, or constipation any more.

4. My mouth smells better. Over the past month I had noticed that when I brushed and flossed my mouth did not smell good. Ever since going off of gluten this smell has completely gone away!

I'm not going to lie and say that it's been a cake walk, though. It's never an easy thing to make drastic changes to your diet (and cosmetics!), especially when it involves an American food staple like wheat. But I will say that it has been kind of fun and exciting trying to eat different foods and finding new restaurants that have gluten free options.

Here are some gluten free restaurant options I've found:

1. Tokyo Joe's: Asian food with a gluten free menu.
2. Chipotle: Mexican food - I get the salad with guacamole.
3. Le Peep: traditional breakfast and lunch foods with a gluten free menu.
4. Jason's Deli: has gluten free bread and sandwiches.
5. Ted's Montana Grill: has delicious gluten free fries and open faced bison burgers.

I hope that is helpful!
Andrea