Living Gluten Free: Now What?

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Years of antibiotics for one illness after another and a current battle with postpartum depression and anxiety wreaked havoc on my gut.  I knew I had to do something, but what? 

The diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome from my doctor proved to be merely an attempt to explain some serious digestive problems that no one really knew the answer to. 

It was like a band aid for a gaping wound and the only real way to "fix" it was to find the source.  I was sick of fighting with my gut and I wanted answers. 

The more I researched, the more I began to wonder if changing my diet was the best - and, perhaps, only - cure.  Website after website suggested that both dairy and gluten were the biggest trigger foods for digestive issues.  I already had experience cutting out dairy in my diet, because I was intolerant to it during both pregnancies. 

The word "gluten" was a mystery to me.  All I knew was that some people talked about being gluten free like it was the latest fad in diets.  I've always struggled with my weight, so the word "diet" was nearly a swear word in my vocabulary.  I had watched my dad try diet after diet and, to me, they were all temporary fixes and no one diet seemed to really promote a changed healthy lifestyle.  So, why in the world would I want to adapt one of the latest diet fads?

Then, I read this:

"Food intolerance, food allergies, and infections are the most common contributing factors in the development of irritable bowel symptoms. Think about it, we bathe the gastrointestinal tract with food 21 times per week.  That food is full of chemicals, viruses, bacteria, etc.  Why many doctors completely ignore this is beyond me.  Common sense dictates that it would be prudent to investigate food as a contributing factor to gut disease."

It was starting to make sense and I was ready to take control of my health.  I decided to start seeking a real cure by figuring out what foods were the source of all my trouble.  The best way to start was a process of elimination, so I came up with a list of possible trigger foods - sugar, caffeine, chocolate, citrus, tomatoes, broccoli, beans, gluten, and dairy - and eliminated them from my diet for 6 weeks. 

The first few days of the experiment, I thought for sure I would starve.  All I could think about were the foods I couldn't eat, instead of enjoying the foods I could eat.  But, less than a week into it, I realized I was no longer fighting indigestion as I tried to fall asleep or waking up in the middle of the night with stomach pain. 

Even my husband noticed a difference.  I had more energy, I was less stressed, and I just generally felt better.  I had forgotten what healthy felt like and I knew that it was no longer just a six week experiment; it was a lifetime commitment to healthy living. 

Want to hear more about my gluten free and healthy living journey? 

Every Thursday, I will be sharing pieces of story as part of my Living Gluten Free mini-series.