It took two years to figure out I had an intolerance to wheat (diagnosed by a nurse/girlfriend - and not any of the 3 doctors who gave me $10,000 worth of tests that were all 'negative'). It took another two years for me to accept it and live it 100% of the time. For the last two years, I've felt great eating gluten-free.
What I haven't felt great about are a few issues that came along with eating gluten-free... Here they are in no particular order:
1) People assume I'm "on a crazy fad diet." Most don't know that someone does not have to have Celiac disease to be negatively affected by gluten.
2) Some people think that I'm being "high maintenance" because I question ingredients in restaurants - they don't realize the extreme gastro-intestinal pain and symptoms I will suffer if I eat gluten.
3) Some gluten-free product manufacturers think I'm stupid enough to buy lousy tasting gluten-free products at 3 times the price of the same "regular" product... like crackers.
4) At first when you eat gluten-free, you lose weight. Then, when you break down and buy some of those high priced gluten-free products to 'eat normal things,' you put on a ton of weight. No doctors gave me any nutrition suggestions either.
Some things that I learned that made it easier to be gluten free were...
1) I saw a certified nutrionist. She looked at the ingredients of what I was eating and made a very wise observation: Most gluten-free foods that try to mimic 'regular' products have white rice flour as the key #1 ingredient in them... AND - a body metabolizes white rice flour just like SUGAR.
2) There are many naturally occuring gluten-free products on the grocery store shelves that don't cost a fortune.
3) There are great places on the web to find products that are delicious, nutritious, and fairly priced that everyone can enjoy.
So, come along with me on this journey to explore living and eating gluten free in Plano, Texas... and BEYOND!
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Tip of the Week: Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich shops are located all across the USA. You can now order any of their combos as an UNWICH. The entire ingredients of a great sub sandwich are wrapped in lettuce leaves. My favorite is the Tuna UNWICH with tomatoes... yummy! (There are 3 locations in Plano, but you can visit their website for all locations and ridiculously fast delivery service too.) www.jimmyjohns.com
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