Gluten Free

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been gluten free this month, and a week into the month my dr said that I was probably coeliac. I can honestly say that I am not eating gluten any time soon, if ever. Here are the effects I've noticed:

- My stress release behaviours have pretty much all gone. Scratching was my most concerning one, and I know it isn't life threatening or anything, but it wasn't pleasant. It's also the only one I wasn't able to explain away to myself or other people. But all of my behaviours have disappeared or been drastically lowered since giving up gluten. And what's more, the day after going out to have coffee with a friend I had a mild recurrance of some symptoms after a stomach upset. So it's clearly a trigger if nothing else. This alone would make me never want to eat gluten again. But there's more!

- Less stomach issues. I've always had a lot of stomach issues. They decreased when I came off casein, and decreased again after coming off gluten. Yay!

- My nails have been growing. This isn't purely a stress releasing behaviour, so I'm not listing it here, though it is related. I bit my nails pretty much constantly, regularly until they bled. I've stopped without effort or trickery once before in my life... when I started taking iron supplements. It lasted until I next lost a lot of iron. This time round, I lost some iron and my nails kept growing.

- The most recent improvement is in the area of my mind. I've been foggy-headed, significantly less creative, and miles less energetic for YEARS. I mean, back in high school I spent 2 hours every day doing fictional creative writing, several hours a week singing, and had two dance classes a week. I also did aerobics every day. I had energy, was creative, and was productive. And even though I got sick a lot, it was great. It kept up through the first two years of uni, and then my mind died the third and fourth year. No more writing, no dance classes, little singing in general. And while I tried to get myself to do these things, I never suceeded in the long run - I didn't have the mental energy. However, at the moment I'm planning a CD project, thinking about a novel I've been wanting to write for ages, considering going back to uni, and last night started writing really bad poetry again. Huzzah! Soon I'll actually be my creative crazy self again... and I'll be able to appreciate it!

So, gluten free is the way I'm going to be, pretty much for life! Yay for GFCF! (gluten-free, casein-free)

So if you think you may be reacting to a food, then GIVE IT UP FOR A MONTH and see how you feel. It's easier than drs tests and appointments, and if you are reacting, believe me, you'll notice the difference!