5 myths I used to believe about Gluten

Ok, so a brief history about why I'm writing about gluten.

For many years I struggled with stomach pains, lethargy, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It wasn't all the time so
I didn't really do much other than pop a pill or lay down or whatever. I actually didn't  start to notice it until last year.

By the end of this summer I was back to a a pretty bad place, digestively speaking. And even though I've been off lactose (well, for the most part) for a pretty long time...my stomach aches and -ahem - other stuff - seem to be back with a vengeance. Particularly this last month or so.

I noticed I've been getting especially bad stomach aches after eating bread or pasta. So I figured why not try a little gluten cleanse. It will only be for two weeks. It may or may not be the source of my issues but it's something I've always been a little curious about.

Anyway, I have a ton of friends who, for health reasons, have made the choice to be gluten-free and I'm finding out that almost everything I used to think about gluten-free diets is totally false.





I used to think...

1. Gluten and Wheat "allergies" are the same

Up until these last few days I thought the terms "wheat" and "gluten" were interchangeable. Mostly because all I ever thought about people who had a gluten allergy was "Awww...poor them...no bread."

 But what I'm finding out is that even though there is gluten in wheat it's also found in barley and rye. It's also used as a bonding agent in many other food products.

So in some ways having a sensitivity towards gluten is harder than having a wheat allergy because it's so hard to avoid.

However, you could die from a wheat allergy by going into anaphylactic shock so.... there is that...

2. Gluten is really only in bread and pasta and cereal - not weird random places

this is what I think when I think gluten

Have you even noticed that the weirdest products sometimes say "Gluten-free" on the back, like my gallon container of coffee mate (hey, I love coffee....ok?). That's cause gluten ends up in the weirdest places.

Don't believe me?

Ok- let's play a little game...

It's called- which of these foods contains gluten:

- Salad dressing

- Imitation Crab

- Medicine

- Corn tortilla chips

- Soy Sauce

Give up?

Actually, unless specified otherwise.... they ALL contain gluten. Weird. Right?

3. You can't have any joy in your life (AKA- snacks) when you're gluten-free.

ALL GLUTEN - FREE PEOPLE EVER

Ok, so I knew there was like special flours and mixes out there for people who couldn't eat gluten. But come on, who really wants to sit there for half an hour and make some cookies that will probably end up tasting like sawdust.

Believe it or not, it's actually not that bad.

I'm not an expert on really anything and especially not on gluten-free stuff, but these last few days have been pretty breezy. It would be much easier if I didn't have to avoid milk as well, but for the most part I've been eating like royalty.

For example, yesterday I had a pulled pork sandwich. Obvi, the bread was some gluten-free something or another....but honestly, honestly honestly- I am not suffering at all.

4. Going gluten- free is for people with Celliac and/or earthy crunchy tree huggers

I thought you basically had to be blowing up the bathroom every time you had spaghetti to qualify as a candidate for going "gluten-free" otherwise you're just a weird pussy health nut.

As it turns out, gluten-free is becoming quite a popular choice for people...and not just a particular nitch of society.

Some even go so far as to claim gluten-free a good way to lose weight.

I'm no doctor but hasn't wheat been around since Jesus?

I wouldn't want to ever tell anyone to abandon any one particular food group based off what other people claim or don't claim.

But I do know that our food is a ton less "natural" than it used to be. Many people think that's the reason for this epidemic of food allergies.

5. It takes awhile to notice anything different if you get off gluten

That one was a funny assumption to make considering I had never tried this particular diet before....and I would like to say that I'm actually feeling amazing. I feel less bloated. I have more energy and almost no stomach pains.

On most diets I've been super moody and unhappy. I felt like I was dying because I was refusing myself something.

So far, it's been great....I still get tons of meat and fruits and vegatables. Plus, I happen to love rice.

Do I miss bread?

Not yet. But it's only been three days. I give it maybe five days and then I'll be really tempted to dive into that french loaf that's sitting on top of the fridge.

Here are a few more articles you might want to check out after listening to me yabber jabber on about gluten-free stuffs:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gluten-free-diet/my01140

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/commoncomplicationsofcd/f/Wheat-Allergy-vs-Gluten-Allergy.htm

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/CeliacDiseaseTests/a/Five-Types-Of-Gluten-Allergy.htm

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/symptomsofceliacdisease/a/Gluten-Allergy-Symptoms.htm

http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/glutenintolerance/ss/Nine-Signs-You-May-Have-A-Gluten-Allergy.htm