Giving Up Gluten

Another month, another adventure in re-purposing the term giving up as something good for personal growth and exploration.

For the month of April, I have decided to give up gluten. Cold turkey.

But what is gluten, anyway? Put into simple terms, gluten is a combination of two proteins found in wheat and other cereal grains like rye, barley and triticale (a crossbreed of the grains of wheat and rye), and can cause mild or moderate problems for those sensitive to the protein, or severe issues in those who have a condition called Celiac’s Disease (CD).

Celiac’s Disease is an immune reaction to gluten that damages the intestine. According to the Mayo Clinic, over time, damage to the intestine from consumption of gluten can cause weight loss, bloating and sometimes diarrhea. Eventually, a person’s brain, nervous system, bones, liver and other organs can be deprived of vital nourishment.

I first found out about CD when my best friend of 23 years told me that a condition she had taken medication for all her life was likely caused by her body’s immune reaction to gluten. I tinkered and played with the idea of giving up gluten year after year. And as each one passed, it seemed to me that I was crossing paths with an increasing number of celiac patients or people with gluten intolerance.

According to 2013 data gathered by the National Institute of Health, Univ. of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, between five and ten percent of all people may suffer from gluten sensitivity, about one in 333 Americans has Celiac’s Disease, and 30% of the US Population is estimated to have the genes necessary for CD (yep, it’s genetic!).

In the summer of 2013, I picked up a book called Wheat Belly and began to read the first few pages. I didn’t end up reading half of it, but what I did read was disturbing enough to eventually bring me to where I am today.

Wheat Belly begins by talking about the huge transformation that the grain has undergone throughout the time. It used to be that our amber waves of grain were indeed healthy for us. But over time, as Americans became accustomed to mass and faster production of wheat, we began to play with the genetics of the grain, which eventually lead us to the type of wheat that we have now.

This genetic change in wheat is responsible for those who are gluten intolerant experiencing any of over 300 symptoms.

For me, some nagging health issues that could be associated with a gluten intolerance include an itchy rash that pops up from time to time (present since childhood), wide spread joint pain, headaches, fatigue, acid reflux and heartburn. That’s several of the more common symptoms of gluten intolerance and/or CD.

So, here I am, seven days in, and this is what has happened:

• Days 1-4:
• I felt like I was hung over. Granted, I had a little (ok, way) too much fun the weekend before my gluten free April began and definitely was legitmately hung over on the 30th of March. But still, two days later, on my first day being gluten free, I felt nauseous and had some acid reflux. My spine ached—particularly my upper back. Most of my joints ached, actually. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was nap. I became a victim of an awful mental fog, which lead into an awful migraine. The mental fog stuck around post-migraine. I was emotional and anxious. The rash I’ve gotten since I was a little girl re-appeared on day two and became a bit worse until on day four it began to subside little by little. And I was bloated, gassy, puffy and (I’m sorry to say) had diarrhea.

Basically, gluten-free days one through four were completely awesome. Not.

I hadn’t done enough research before beginning this adventure, but in my Wheat Belly Cookbook (which I purchased to help me stay on track for the month) on day two I read up on what can happen. Turns out that all of the above was to be expected, and that the body can actually go through a sort of detox where symptoms temporarily worsen before they get better and/or subside.

• Days 5-7:
• The mental fog has subsided, and just yesterday I noticed that my energy levels were up. Normally Mondays are a pretty exhausting day for me, but I felt like an energizer bunny. I actually did keep going and going until 2 am.

• My body is no longer aching, and I’ve not had a headache since the migraine. I haven’t been half as hungry as I usually am and while my desire for sugar is making itself well known running rampant, my desire for bread and grain is essentially non-existent. My rash is fading, I am less puffy, digestion is back to normal, and the usual college-girl anxiety and stress that I feel has been nothing compared to what I normally experience—in fact, I was downright cheerful and laid back yesterday and today.

So here are my only two complaints:

1. All I want is sugar: Coke, boba, chocolate, and...
2. The world is a gluten minefield.

…But more on that in another entry.