Health Reflections

December 5, 2012 marks the day I went gluten free to explore the possibility of gluten causing health problems for me.  So I am quickly approaching 7 months of being gluten free.

Although healing takes time it was remarkable what a difference it made for me to not eat gluten.  I had been feeling very sick for quite some time & it seemed to be progressively getting worse as time passed.  I truly felt like I was dying a slow death.  As I'm sure I've said before I had no reason to suspect that gluten was a problem for me.  But as I was doing research on interstitial cystitis (a bladder problem that I have) I found a few sources that said that gluten can be a contributing factor of IC.  Since I was suffering so much I decided I needed to at least try to rule it out as a problem for me.  So I decided to give up gluten for a few months & then reintroduce it & see how it went.  But at almost a month into being gluten I accidentally ingested gluten & had such a tremendous reaction.  At that point it was confirmed for me & I have had a few other times of ingesting it accidentally, all with bad reactions. 

This discovery also allowed me to help my own son.  He was having a food reaction of some sort & I hadn't been able to narrow it down.  Once I realized that I have an issue with gluten I knew that he had an increased chance of it also.  I removed gluten from his diet & all his reaction issues have vanished. 

Prior to going gluten free I was a baker.  I LOVED baking of all sorts.  Since going gluten free I have learned how to bake gluten free.  And I've done really well at it.  As I taste gluten free baked goods from stores & bakeries, etc I keep thinking that I need to get MY baked goods out there for sale......just not sure how to go about doing that. 

The body can certainly heal, but it also doesn't happen instantaneously or even overnight.  I have read that it can take up to 2 years for the intestines to fully heal from gluten damage.  And I am quite sure that it will take time for my bladder to heal as well. 

Prior to going gluten free I was dairy free.  I do think modern dairy isn't very healthy for us & I do try hard to eat as healthfully as I can & make every calorie count.  I also gave it up because it does sometime make me sick to my stomach.  And my son & hubby are dairy free, so it's just easier to follow along with them.  It's also hard to be eating something & my son asks for some & I have to tell him he can't have it.  So I'm still mostly dairy free, but I do occasionally have some.  But I must say I'm not craving it or dying to have some or anything like that.  I can live without it easily these days.  Initially when I was giving up dairy I was buying a fake cheese, the brand is Daiya.  But I've gotten to the point where I really don't even need that replacement. 

I am extremely grateful to God for healing my body & the wisdom He has given to me to restore my health.  I feel like I'm coming back to life from the dead, although some days I am still very tired.  But it seems to be less & less as time passes. 

In any event, no matter what happens with my health, God is in control & the glory is all His.