The great gluten free experiment

Some people in our family are gluten free. As in certified by a doctor with celiac disease. We avoid wheat, rye, barley and oats. Along with there derivatives. Like soy sauce, some toothpastes, most prepackaged meals and every type of restaurant makes me nervous to eat at. 

We have been dealing with this diagnosis for about nine years now. So I'm pretty good at figuring out if we are exposing our celiac a to gluten. I usually bring our own snacks to a party or I just host the party myself. And we know what restaurants do a pretty good job with making Gluten-free food. Like PF Changs, Chik fil A and most Mexican restaraunts. And what ones are pretty bad. Like Italian, pizza, and most other fast food places. 

I've gotten pretty good at cooking as well. Baking eludes me, but I can make a mean pot roast and no one can tough my baked ham. 

All this to say, that with two kids with a gluten allergy, it only made sense that I myself could also benefit from a gluten free diet. Gluten exposure can cause a variety of reactions for that have sensitivities. Everything from gastric-intestinal upsets to psychological symptoms like depression and schizophrenia. 

I have flirted with being gluten free before. But I've never lasted more than a few days at it. Because bread and cakes and pies are all delicious. And pasta meals are cheap and easy to make and eat. But I also have periods of depression. And I have noticed there is a link between my psychotic mood swings and eating a lot of gluten products. 

So a few weeks ago I stopped eating gluten. And I can honestly say, my mood swings have been much better. And I also feel better throughout the day. My food choices are healthier and so my hunger feelings done come up often except for when my meals should happen. We will see if this trend continues. 

I have also noticed some side effects like I crave sugar all the time. And salty things. So it's not really working as a weight loss tactic yet. Maybe next month I will try for a sugar free life. I don't know about that though. It might just be crazy.