Ok, ok I know EVERYONE is talking about gluten. Gluten sensitivities. Gluten allergy. Ceiliacs.
I hear a lot of things from different people on the web, but also in my physical life. I've had people actively interested in learning about how having celiac affects me to being called 'trendy' & trying to get attention. While gluten free is the cool new buzzword of the day, you really have to understand what it is, what it does & how it can negatively impact an individuals health.
I'm not going to get overly technical. We will just leave that to the Sciencey type folks. There are plenty of resources available if you wish to pursue a greater scientific understanding of all this.
WHAT IS GLUTEN:
Gluten is yummy! It is a protein found in many grass grains such as wheat, barley & rye
WHAT DOES GLUTEN DO:
It's the stuff that make baked foods squishy soft in your mouth. Think Wonder Bread. That product is full of gluten. It's also in pre-pack spice mixes like gravy or chili as a thickening agent. Pasta. Pizza dough. Some distilled spirits, and beer. There is gluten in beer. *sigh*
HOW DOES IT AFFECT ONES HEALTH:
Well, if you are the average Jane healthy person, it does nothing negative to you. On the other hand, if you have an allergy, intolerance or full blown Ceiliac Disease, it can range from mildly symptomatic to lethal.
(wait, did she just say 'lethal'?)
Yes, having Celiac Disease almost killed me. And it all started with a broken foot.
I got up one night in August to go to the bathroom. Went to set my left foot on the floor getting out of bed, and I felt like I had no foot. I didn't feel anything. My foot wasn't asleep. No pins & needles feeling. No swelling. Absolutely no sensation of anything there. And I fell. It took me about 15 minutes on the floor, massaging my leg & foot to get any feeling at all (and to reassure myself that Aliens had NOT taken my leg in my sleep). When I tried to stand, my left side wouldn't support me. I hobbled to the bathroom and back to bed. I figured at that moment I had pinched a nerve somewhere and it would resolve itself by morning.
4:30 am. Alarm. Time to get up. Work. YAY!
PAIN. So much PAIN. Radiating from my middle toe up into my abdomen. My second and third toe were twisted and an alarming shade of red. Great, I broke my toe. Not the first time. I know from previous excursions to the doctors for just such an injury that I am going to be charged an insane amount of money to be told that there is nothing they can really do for me. So I taped my toes together, grabbed some ibuprofen and went to work. I was required to wear steel toe boots at work, and having ridiculously small feet, my boots were a half size too big for me. My toes continued to swell, but with all the wiggle room I had, I didn't notice. The pain was vomitous. Three days later it was finally too much. I went in. I won't lie. I wanted drugs. I could feel bones grating against each other. After the x ray my Doc comes in with a huge smile. For a moment I was relieved. It's just a sprain. A bad sprain, right?
'Good news is, you didn't break your toe.'
'YAY!'
'You broke your foot.'
And because I had waited so long to seek medical attention, the broken edges had been grinding against each other, crumbling. A bit young for osteoporosis, so Doc sent me in for bloodwork. And a few days later when those results came back wonky, more bloodwork. A few days after that he gave me a call with a referral to gastro
'Sarah, you're starving to death.'
Mind you, I'm overweight by about 40 pounds. I eat all the time. I love cooking. I love food. Yeah, I am a bit round, but I like me. My cholesterol, blood pressure & A1C are always excellent. I'm active. My job was physically demanding. I love camping, hiking, fishing. I have an amazing Boxer who likes to run & wrestle... so carrying the extra weight never bothered me.
How can I be starving if I'm fat?
