**Many people who are sensitive to gluten may not even know it.** For a lengthy period of time, I have been dealing with various health issues that are interfering with my life. I am temporarily taking one medication for anxiety and IBS, but otherwise I prefer to avoid prescription medications if possible. I have also been taking probiotics. However, none of these have solved all my troubles, only softened them. Recently, after talking with my mom, I informed my doctor of my grandmother's gluten intolerance. She agreed with me that if I had a gluten sensitivity, it would be a contributing factor in my health problems. She encouraged me to try a gluten-free diet for 30 days. I was desperate for some relief, so I was willing to comply. Even with some second-hand gluten free experience under my belt, I felt at a loss for where to find useful information for someone going gluten-free on a tight budget. Most websites listed complex recipes with expensive gluten-free substitutes or pre-packaged gluten-free products, which are also costly. In writing this post, I hope to share my experience including any information that may be helpful to someone in a similar position. I am not a medical expert, so please do your own research as well. Perhaps we can all work together to educate others on this issue, which can be very serious if left unchecked. **Please Note**: Do not dramatically change your diet without first consulting your doctor! Diets, such as gluten-free, must be monitored carefully to make sure you are getting enough nutrients to keep you healthy. Your health should be your first priority! ### Gluten sensitivity may run in my family. Gluten intolerance is not a new thing to my family. My grandmother is the first I know of to experience pain from eating gluten. Early in life, she was struggling with stomach pain and discomfort, but the doctors could not figure out what was wrong. By chance, she read an article about gluten sensitivity and decided to cut it out of her diet. After she did, she got better. She proceeded to live on a 99.9% gluten-free diet until the age of 96. I have also found out recently that one of my uncles and his son are sensitive to gluten, but instead of stomach troubles, it affects their moods. My mother also said she may have some sensitivity, but she has not tried a gluten-free diet. https://www.newhope.com/sites/newhope360.com/files/styles/article_featured_retina/public/gluten-free-trends.jpg?itok=qUoz8a1A source ### What is the best way to tell if you are sensitive or intolerant to gluten? My doctor's advice Nowadays, they have blood tests to test for gluten sensitivity, but even they are not fully accurate according to my doctor. The best way is to completely cut it out of your diet for at least 30 days to see if your symptoms improve. Then, you can slowly introduce it back into your diet to see if your symptoms return. You may also determine what amount is the most you can tolerate. ### My Symptoms If you are experiencing any combination of these symptoms, please make a visit to your doctor. - IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome (My stomach and intestines felt irritated and constricted.) - Diagnosed by my doctor - Fibromyalgia (Widespread pain, aching, weakness, trouble sleeping, and tummy troubles, just to name a few symptoms) - diagnosed by my Rheumatologist - adult acne - sluggish and tired ### What did I hope to learn by this experience? My main purpose of trying a gluten-free diet was to first of all determine whether or not I have a sensitivity to gluten. Secondly, if my conditions improved while off of gluten, I wanted to see how much gluten I could then tolerate without my symptoms returning. Lastly, I wanted the chance to either confirm or rule out a possible cause for (or something that added to) my troubles. ### What grains contain gluten? - Wheat - Barley - Rye - Spelt (a variety of wheat) ### First Impressions #### Week 1 Within the first week of my gluten-free experiment, even within the first two days, I could already tell a difference. My tummy has been calmer and much less bloated (improvement in IBS conditions). #### Learning My Needs: During the beginning of the week, I was eating very limited carbs. I felt myself beginning to feel depressed and more hungry than usual. I started including some white and brown rice in my diet later in the week, along with some white cheddar popcorn. This seems to have helped my mood and hunger issues. ### Still Working Out the Kinks #### Week 2 Suddenly being thrust into a diet that requires careful scrutiny of almost every item I pick up in the grocery store (and then promptly return to the shelf) is taking its toll on my nerves. #### The Good: - My tummy is still feeling better. - I feel more relaxed. - I am beginning to understand just how difficult it must have been for my grandmother. I know it was, but until you walk in someone's shoes, you can't understand. #### Learning My Needs: - I am still hungrier than usual. I've added more carbs, which seems to help. #### The Not-So-Good: - I had a dream about donuts, and then a couple nights later, I dreamed about some other pastry. I think this was partially due to the fact that my sister-in-law posted a photo of Krispy Kreme donuts on Facebook that night. - I am grumpier and more depressed, which contradicts with my above feeling of being relaxed. - Most fast food restaurants have very few gluten-free choices. This makes going out to eat almost impossible. - The free gluten-free app I downloaded doesn't get enough service in Walmart to actually work. - I love rice, but I don't think I can stand it all the time. ## Beginning to get the hang of it #### Week 3 #### The Good: - My tummy still feels better, although a little acidic from time to time. - I don't feel myself missing breads as much as I thought I would. I wonder if this is because I am over halfway through my GF month and will be able to try it again soon. #### Learning My Needs: - Overall, I feel like my needs are being met. - I am trying to make filling meals, but I do feel hungry more often still. #### The Not-So-Good: - It's really hard to eat out or eat at functions where the food is provided. Many groups order pizza or sub sandwiches, which I can't eat. We've had to miss out on some activities due to this diet. - I am curious how my body will respond to gluten when I am able to eat it. - Sometimes I miss not having a roll or a biscuit. We didn't eat them that much before my diet, but I miss them. ## Home Stretch #### Week 4 #### The Good: - I am feeling better overall. #### Learning my needs: - I have found I still need my IBS/anxiety medication at breakfast and lunch in order to not feel an uncomfortable tightening in my tummy. - I still feel hungry, so I am trying to eat filling foods. #### The Not-so-good: - I feel like I am losing weight, which I didn't need to do. - I feel like I have even less energy than I used to. - I am seeing donuts everywhere. What will be my "try gluten again" food? **A donut**. ## My Results #### What did I learn from my experiment? When I was not eating gluten, I found my tummy was more settled and my acne improved some. After reintroducing it back into my diet, I was met with tummy aches. I think this has confirmed that I am sensitive to gluten. ### "Gluten-Free" Grains - Safe to Consume - corn - rice - amaranth - millet - quinoa - sorghum - teff ## What's for Breakfast? #### Budget-Concious Gluten-Free Breakfast Options - Gluten-Free Cereals, such as Rice and Corn Chex, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (priced the same as other name brands) - Oatmeal (oats are naturally GF, but make sure the package says they are made in a GF facility) - Eggs As always, check the nutrition and allergy information on the package. ## Gluten-Free Budget Conscious Tips *Tips and tricks I've gathered from personal experience, as well as from family and friends* 1. Above all, focus on what you CAN eat, rather than what you CAN'T. This leads up to my second tip. 2. Focus on naturally gluten-free whole foods rather than commercially-made substitutes. 3. Pay attention! Sometimes companies will mark something which is naturally gluten-free as being "gluten-free" just to raise the price. Just check the ingredient labels. 4. In order to make sure you get enough carbs in your diet, eat tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes, and etc.) and rice. All of these are inexpensive and naturally gluten-free. 5. Instead of buying pre-ground gluten-free flours, grind your own. A friend said a coffee grinder works well for this. #### One's gluten sensitivity may change over time. Some time a few years ago, my grandmother found she could finally tolerate a little gluten. She tried her first pizza at about age 92 and said she didn't care for it. I guess she wasn't missing anything after all!
Originally posted here: https://hive.blog/hive-174578/@efisher/30-days-gluten-free-challenge-my-personal-experience
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