Tuesday 18 June 2013

Isn't every one talking about gluten these days? Or dairy?

Organic natural yogurt with organic quinoa flakes, organic activated buckwheat, toasted almonds and organic Brazil nuts drizzled with organic raw honey. MAN, I am turning into a hippy.

Nothing like tempting fate by proclaiming your newly found energy and clear mindedness, of course I was hit with the flu not two days later. I spent most of the weekend in bed, which wasn't so bad really... aside from the nausea on Friday night, it really was one of those wipes-the-energy-from-you flues, so a bit achey but otherwise quite content to sleep the day and night away. A few days later and I am feeling almost back to normal, that is the 'new' normal, high energy level normal. And since a few of you have asked and I know my friends and family are keen on the back story, yep, I cut out gluten for the two weeks my husband was away (I figured it would be easier just making meals for myself, the kids are usually catered to anyway as much as I hate to admit it). For no specific reason, just a lot of little ones - the scary wheat articles I have been reading lately, the fact that bread has always made me bloated and I always know when I've had too much, the annoyance at being tired all the time despite my kids sleeping through the night solidly since before Christmas. Yes, it has been a very busy couple of years and yes, parents of small children are tired but it just felt like more than that, like something not quite right, especially when I knew I was getting 8 hours of good sleep every night. Plus I have some pretty annoying eczema so, although I am pretty sure it is dairy related (and even, possibly, red wine related - god forbid), I thought I'd forgo gluten first in the off chance that I'd be lucky enough to find the cause of that too.

So about a week and a half in, I woke up feeling GREAT. Like, 'let's meet the day head on and get shit done' great. And it continued for day after day after day. And then I got sick. And after three weeks gluten-free, I've had some gluten over the past couple of days - a half a piece of bread here, some soy sauce there - and have had no ill effects (although I'm still not 100% after the flu so a bit hard to judge). I don't know if I truly have a gluten intolerance (as, apparently, 70% of the population do) or if my body just needed a good break and is enjoying the more beneficial foods I've been eating instead. What I do know is that I will be continuing to eat this way in every day life. 'Cause I like this feeling, that every little thing isn't too hard and can actually be dealt with in a timely manner (note: it may seem like I get heaps done and really, I do. But I pretty much do the things I want to and the things I HAVE to and all the other bits get pushed aside to a later date or forgotten about and then weight on me). I mean, look at this - I'm writing a blog post. An actual, fully fledged blog post at 8pm in the evening. I can actually string words together! This, I would like to continue.

Oh and no improvement on the eczema. Trying to cut out dairy but finding it oh so challenging in a way that gluten wasn't. I've even given up coffee for the past week and made my own almond milk (after not digging the store bought kind) but it just isn't for me. I miss yogurt. And cheese. Sigh.




17 comments:

  1. I had to give up gluten, dairy, eggs (along with a few other things for a while). Hang in there on the dairy-front. It will get easier. And try different kinds of almond milk. They all don't taste the same. My favourite is an unsweetened brand. I use it every day in my coffee and gf oatmeal.

    Trina @ www.willcookforshoes.ca

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Trina!! I still haven't found an almond milk I like but I'm okay with just a tiny bit of milk if I only have a coffee every now and then (I have my tea black so that works out nicely).

      Delete
  2. Ive been diary free for about ten years but as it's an intolerance I can tolerate a small amount of lactose so can eat things with traces of diary. I recently dropped gluten from my diet and fell just as you describe. Amazingly better! More energy, not constantly sick, less hungry, just great. About two weeks in I broke out and ate croissants and was so sick. So now it's easy to stay gluten free because I know what the alternative is. It's awful to think that I've been posioning myself for years, but good to be feeling better :) my husband and kids eat diary and gluten but most of the time we eat the same meals or I just skip parts of the meal. Every now and then I make a completely seperate meal for myself. Good luck with it. I think you're in Australia, my favourite non diary milk there was the purple one in the soy milky brand. Since going gluten free I just have fruit for breakfast so have pretty much given up the milk alternatives that I had been using. I find paleo recipes to be quite helpful but am still figuring it all out :) good to hear that a change of diet has improved your life :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the info, Gemma! x

      Delete
  3. So glad to hear you felt so good off gluten. I have come to realise that I have been sick for quite a while, intestinally, and have been on the anti candida diet for two weeks. I felt like shit for 10 days and then, I started to feel better. Waking up before my alarm, clear thoughts. I am looking into continuing along the same lines after my candida has cleared up. Looking into primal/paleo nutrition. Have you read wheat belly? x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Jules! I read some fairly extensive exerts of Wheat Belly which was what got me thinking about gluten in the first place. I think the paleo thing is really interesting but way too limiting for me plus I could never support a diet that relied so heavily on meat with all the environmental issues surrounding it. Can't wait to have a good chat about all this stuff on our weekend away! xx

      Delete
  4. Good yoghurt seems to be digestible to many dairy intolerant people (like me) so don't despair completely. It has something to do with the bugs pre digesting the stuff that causes the intolerance. Doesn't work with cheese though :( I have to severely limit that.

    viv in nz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for taking the time to comment, yogurt is sometimes okay for lactose intolerance but usually eczema is caused by an intolerance to the protein in dairy so yogurt is still off the cards : ( I'm going to try some coconut milk yogurt and see if that is alright, I do love yogurt!

      Delete
  5. Oh, we are so opposites! I'm lactose intollerant and found ditching dairy easy (the stomach cramps are a great incentive however!). I drink soy milk or rice milk, I eat soy yoghurt or cocoyo and use nuttelex for butter. I do miss cheese though. I have not found a replacement that was worth eating. I have thought about giving up wheat, to see if I felt any different, but oh, I do love wheat. English muffins. Crumpets. White bread toasted with vegemite or jam. I could go on. But then, if it made me feel like dairy does, I don't think it would be so hard. I'd just miss it, like cheese. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5:07 am

    I also found I can tolerate yogurt - worst for me is ice cream - its the combination of sugar and dairy I think. Plus I'm allergic to soya which is in lots of things. The trick is to let your body recover and then it can tolerate much more so don't give up :)
    Angel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Angel - that's what I'm hoping, too!

      Delete
  7. I hope you find something that helps your eczema. Mine is so random, tried eliminating everything at different times as a teenager, nothing works for me. It comes and goes as it feels like it. I have none at the moment and then all of a sudden I know I will get it and it will stay around for ages.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is SO random! I mean, I think it's dairy but probably not 100% as it's usually so much worse in the winter. And weirdly, I had it as a small kid and then a tiny bit in high school, then nothing until I moved to Aus and have had it pretty consistently the entire time I've lived here. Maybe climate? I'm probably just going to have to go to the dr and get some more heavy duty cream for it but was so hoping to find a cause! xx

      Delete
  8. I'm for whatever suits you but have to say I don't have your drive. I agree with all things in moderation. However, for me, I don't believe in low fat, low sugar or cutting out anything, simply because I like it all too much!! I would have no willpower whatsoever so am so grateful not to have reactions to anything. I could cut down on SOME things, but seriously, I thank whatever's out there I have no allergies because I'm seriously weak!

    ReplyDelete
  9. hi leslie,
    I'm glad to here youre doing well, lately. This glutenfree-thing is intresting me so much. Can you give a short example for what eating all day long. I mean: what for breakfast, as snack, for lunch and diner? That would be so helpful. Oh, and on wednesday i' ll show the quilt i made for marisas baby boy on my blog, a quilt full of little bits of mazeandvale goodness. Thank you for making so wonderful fabrics.
    Xo
    Marit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marit!! Can't wait to see your quilt! I usually have two eggs with spinach and leftover brown rice or potatoes or gluten free bread for breakfast, then fruit for snack, organic corn chips, some veggies and guacamole for lunch, then all sorts of stuff for dinner - I'll do a post soon documenting what I eat in a day, it'll be a fun project :) xx

      Delete
  10. Wonderful article. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. I like the valuable information you provide in your articles.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your thoughts, thanks so much for taking the time to comment! If you have a question to ask, I will answer it here (and by email as well, if I can track down your email address). I would love to reply to every single comment but until Blogger makes it easier to reply by email, please know that I am so happy you stopped by : )

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...