I haven't posted in forever! Or three months. Something like that.
The last month of school was crazy busy, and then we had VBS (which was FANTASTIC!) and here we are today, recovering from the awesome week we had at VBS.
I decided to write this evening as I am on a quest for advice :)
Jared and I were watching Dr. Oz the other day - great start to any story, right? - and he was discussing gluten intolerance/allergy/sensitivity. Jared said, "Sometimes I think that's what your problem is." I have had problems with my stomach for the past couple of years, and have recently started taking a medicine that has helped a LOT. I still have some minor issues, though, and we figured it must have to do with my diet...or lack thereof, if we're honest.
This is coming from the girl that should have been born Italian. As I write this, I think about the delicious bowl of pasta that I finished eating just a short time ago. What would have made that pasta better, you ask? Garlic bread, of course!
See my problem?
As I was stuffing pasta in my face, Jared and I decided that maybe doing a trial gluten-free (or low gluten, at the very least) diet for a month could help us decide if that's part of my problem. Just for kicks, we started researching (read: Googling) gluten-free diets and the foods that you should eat when trying to avoid gluten. Not even kidding, the author of the website should have just written: "Avoid the Beth Blair diet at all costs." Pasta, breads, crackers, cookies, all listed as violators...and all my favorites. No good.
So I looked at the next best thing - Pinterest! Searching "gluten-free recipes" brought up some images that closely resembled cardboard and they just made me sad.
So my question: Does anyone reading this partake in a gluten-free diet? Or have you tried any good gluten-free recipes? If anyone could point me towards a good resource for recipe ideas that don't look like packing materials, I would appreciate it a lot, and it would make our gluten-free trial diet a lot more fun!
First as a nutritionist I recommend limiting not eliminating your gluten. Your body actually needs it unless you do truly have celiac's disease. What I would recommend is looking through your grocery lists and finding gluten free options for things that should not have gluten in them...salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, soy sauce, anything packaged, bottled, or can really. Also, try using all whole grain products i.e. brown rice, quinoa, whole grain breads and pastas and try eliminating your snacks of cookies, crackers, etc. and eating those in complete moderation...just a theory but our diets as Americans are saturated with gluten if we aren't careful BUT our bodies do need gluten from sources that are suppose to have gluten. Let me know if you have any questions. I am happy to help! Hope you are well! <3 Lauren
ReplyDeleteAh thank you so much, Lauren! I didn't realize that you are a nutritionist! :) thank you so much for your advice, it's extremely helpful. I don't think I could possibly eliminate everything, so I'm glad that doesn't need to happen! I'll keep you in mind if I think of any questions ;)
DeleteI took it upon myself to do this, because I was taking 2 Omeprazole per day for acid in my stomach ( and sometimes it did not help), after 1 month of watching my gluten intake, I am medicine free, occasionally when I cheat I have a small amount of acid and I take a tums and it settles it down--it has not hurt me in any way, you just have to watch your fiber and protein intake and balance it out, but it has worked for me---
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna! I've always had trouble with acid, and I'm hoping reducing gluten will help me, too. It never hurts to try!
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