The Gluten Experiment

For the past two weeks I’ve been eating gluten … something I don’t normally do. I have had digestive issues for half of my life and even a few surgeries as a result. I’ve been on a quest to heal myself. Quite frankly it’s one of the reasons I wanted to go to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and become a health and nutrition coach.

Some years ago I noticed a decrease in my symptoms if I avoided gluten. Occasional exceptions I made here and there for an irresistible cookie for example always had repercussions. So why would I go back to gluten now? In order to do testing and to determine what kind of reaction my body has to gluten … you have to eat gluten. It’s by doctors orders that I eat the equivalent to two slices of bread a day!

When I went to the grocery story to buy my ‘gluten’ items I felt so weird and self conscious of my basket to be honest. I thought if I run into anyone who knows me they are going to wonder what happened? I decided to embrace this experiment and tried to determine the gluten items I have most missed. I started with a BLT! And it was good! And yes - there are gluten free breads but I generally just haven’t bought those either. Next - I had some brownies - good but not as good as I remembered. Next on my list - Triscuits! These also just weren't as good as I remembered. To be honest - most of the gluten things I ate fell kind of flat … I think my tastes have changed.

Now on to the symptoms I experienced. I begin eating Gluten on a Tuesday afternoon. By Wednesday morning I woke up with two swollen, red, itchy eyes, a puffy face, congestion in my right ear and dripping, sneezing nose. My stomach was so bloated and distended like a second trimester momma! The puffy eyes lasted the entire first week and half. It’s only been over the last 4 days some of my allergy symptoms have calmed down a bit. My belly bloat has also been consistent the entire time - hard, uncomfortable and protruding. I’ve also noticed I’ve not been sleeping nearly as well as usual. My mind has been a little scattered and I feel my reaction time is slower, too. Maybe that’s brain fog, lack of sleep or both. I don’t think all of these symptoms can be a coincidence. My body does not like gluten!

Now on the last day of gluten fest - I am so ready to get back to eating like I like and leave gluten behind! The silver lining in all of this is now I won’t feel like I am missing something and can confidently say no thanks to gluten.

I do not know what the test results will reveal but I do know for myself Gluten is a no moving forward.

I wanted to share this with all of you because sometimes we think food issues can only create a stomach ache or diarrhea. We neglect to realize brain fog, joint pain, skin issues and so on can be a reaction to what we are eating. We don’t have to have anaphylactic shock to have an allergic reaction to a food or strong sensitivity.

I’ll continue to share my findings and information I believe can help others and I encourage you to consider your diet if you have a litany of unexplained symptoms. Food really is fuel and we need good fuel to run optimally!