some of my favorite gluten free products
Back in January, my 5 year old daughter and I were both diagnosed with Celiac Disease. To be perfectly honest, making the switch to a completely gluten and wheat-free lifestyle has been so much easier than I thought it would be. So many restaurants offer gluten free dishes, if not entire gluten-free menus, and grocery stores are teeming with amazing gluten-free products and mixes, everything from frozen pizza to pasta and donuts is available now. We're now going on 2 months living gluten free and the benefits and positives of the switch far outweigh the negatives, in my opinion.
When people with Celiac or gluten intolerance ingest wheat or gluten, our bodies attack it immediately as a poison. Since we can't process it properly, it registers in the body as a toxin, impairing our intestinal mucosal barrier especially, which creates all kind of irritation and inflammation, not only in the stomach, but throughout the entire body as well.
This has definitely been a blessing for us, particularly to be aware of our daughter's intolerance so early on in her life. This is quite a common condition for many people, approximately 1 in 130 people in America alone have it. That number could actually be closer to 1 in 100 because for every person who does know, there are about 30 who don't. For years, I was one of those people who didn't know and as I've gotten older, the symptoms were manifesting in a way I just couldn't ignore any longer.
This is our story with our symptoms, if you read it and feel that you have similar symptoms, you may also want to get a blood test or try going gluten free for 2 weeks and see if that improves how you feel. I can attest that the difference is amazing and well worth it!
My Symptoms
Over the past 7 months, I started feeling very nauseous and lightheaded throughout the day. Then the stabbing pains in my stomach started. I had to pee all the time and my stomach was pretty bloated and tender. This was alarming to me because these are all symptoms of Ovarian Cancer, which my aunt passed away from in 2004 after being misdiagnosed for 3 years. Because of my family history, I had a full blood panel done and that's how the Celiac was discovered.
Another symptom I had but never connected to Celiac was intense joint paint and inflammation, especially in my knees and ankles. I was doing yoga poses last June with no problem, then by September, the pain in the same pose was almost debilitating. I literally saw white stars from the pain one night from unfolding my knees after being curled up on the couch--not normal! After the birth of my son four years ago, I also became increasingly irritable and moody and agitated, to the point that I was convinced I definitely had a hormone imbalance due to changes that occurred and were never addressed during that pregnancy.
Other symptoms I've had since childhood: psoriasis on my scalp, frequent canker (mouth) sores, frequent strep throat and ear infections. Geesh, reading off this list of goodies makes me very thankful my husband married me!
My daughter's symptoms
About a year and a half ago she started to become extremely constipated pretty much all the time. She would get hemorrhoids frequently, which in my estimation, is not at all normal-especially for a 4 year old. We waited for 5 months to get in to see a Pediatric GI specialist. His solution once we finally saw him was to "give her 1 Tablespoon of Miralax in her juice every night." Um, not exactly a solution in my opinion. I asked if there were other tests we could do to rule out a more serious condition and he told me "well, we could put her under and scope her." Uh, how 'bout no. So that was absolutely no help at all. I was then lucky enough to find a doctor who was willing to do a stool test on her as well as a food intolerance and allergy test (via IgG blood test) and sure enough--her wheat/spelt/rye/barley/gluten intolerance readings were through the roof.
She also has very poor vision, which could very well be a result of Celiac since it is an autoimmune disease. I am hoping that at her next eye appointment, the doctor is able to see a major improvement in her vision since we cut the "poison" from her diet.
Sure, it's a bit of a hassle to have to make special food for her to take to school on their "special" days--gluten-free pancakes for their pajama party day, gluten-free cupcakes for their Valentine's Day celebration etc. But there are so many great and wonderful-tasting gluten-free mixes and products on the market these days that it's pretty darn easy to stay gluten-free, even for kids. Many bakeries now are also offering gluten-free options so even finding a birthday cake she can have shouldn't be too much of an issue. If you can't find it locally,
glutenfreely.com has pretty much any g-free product you could want or need.
Right now, we are working to repair our mucosal lining with Nourish Greens in powder form, pharmaceutical-grade botanicals and vitamin supplements. I'm trying to undo years of damage from inflammation and I'm taking
1 TB of Bragg's Apple Cider vinegar at least once every day to help with this. Also, castor oil packs are wonderful for increasing circulation and promoting healing to the tissues and organs underneath the skin, we've both been using these natural aids to help speed up our healing process.
Now that I know how I'm supposed to feel, I am so mad that I let myself stay sick for all of those years. But I am so thankful that we were able to catch this early for my daughter and hope that by detecting this, we're able to avoid a multitude of health problems for her down the road. This diagnosis has truly been a blessing for us and yet another reminder that you HAVE to be an advocate for your own health!
I could write a book about this, so I'll stop here but if you have any questions or comments or want to commiserate about gluten free living, I'm always here and available. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at saltwaterdreamsblog@gmail.com.
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