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Thursday, June 4, 2015

Going Gluten Free

I'm getting a little personal today.  So I have a lot of allergies.  Food, pollen, trees, animals, you name it.  I am pretty sensitive when it comes to those things.  I have always used the same skin products, laundry detergents, perfumes, etc.  A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with Graves disease, and one of the symptoms I was having was severe allergic reactions to anything and everything. 

 Allergies are a well-known trigger in autoimmune diseases and all of a sudden, I developed food allergies that I never had problems with before.  So from then on, I avoided these new food allergies and went on with my life.  Then, earlier this year, I started experiencing major breakouts on my skin and at first, I just assumed that I ate something wrong, my thyroid was acting up again, or maybe the new lotion I had hoped would work on my sensitive skin was not working out.  Not to mention I was exhausted all the time and suffering from serious insomnia.




It turns out that I was having an allergic reaction to gluten.  Long story short, I started an elimination diet.  A couple of weeks into going gluten free, my skin started clearing up and I was feeling great.  Sure, I had those days where I was really craving something with gluten in it and I cheated.  Then the next day I would start having skin problems again.  I'm not going to lie to you, it's been really hard.  I cook a lot at home and substituting ingredients or making gluten free recipes isn't as hard as trying to find something gluten free while dining out.  I know that I have it easier than those with celiac disease but trying to quit something you've been eating your entire life is pretty tough!  Especially when your favorite foods include things like bread (I miss you so much, bread), pasta, cakes, etc.  



Fortunately for me, there are tons of gluten free blogs, gluten free products, gluten free books, and more! I read this blog post when I quit gluten and it really helped in the motivation department.   It'll probably take time for me to be 100% gluten free.  Are any of you out there gluten free?  I would love to hear your stories.  Here are a few recipes that are on my list to try. 

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