Not Celiac but a "Gluten-Free" eater...why I tightened up my diet without doctors orders

I am often asked if I've been diagnosed with Celiac.  No, I haven't, so why in the world would I go to all the trouble of eating a GF diet if I haven't even been tested for it?  And for heavens sake, why in the WORLD would I put my 3 year old son AND  my dog on the same diet??  Good question.

NOTE that this is OUR experience and OUR choice.  What is right for us may or may not be right for YOU.  But to really know if its something you should consider does NOT require you to go through a bunch of testing and have blood taken, although you can absolutely do that.  But it can be as simple as going on an "Elimination Diet".  (I can guarantee you that had I actually HAD all the testing done, it all would have come back normal anyway since none of my symptoms were "gut" related.)  Back to the elimination diet...  

An elimination diet in a nutshell is taking out certain foods that you suspect MIGHT be a cause of concern for a certain amount of days and then reintroducing them BACK into your diet ONE AT A TIME.  You simply determine how you feel when you REMOVE them as well as when you add a food back IN.  You can take out one thing at a time or multiple.  It is entirely up to you.  

So...let's get back to WHY I chose to try this.  I have suffered with hormonal migraines for YEARS. (at least, I thought they were hormonal b/c 1) they were worse around my cycle and 2) I was diagnosed with that by multiple doctors.  However, looking back at my childhood, I can tell you that sugar ALWAYS caused terrible headaches.  I avoided all candy and certain foods b/c they made me feel so awful.  Once I hit adolescence and the hormones kicked in, my headaches turned to migraines.  As I've aged they have only gotten worse.  Two summers ago I was basically living from coming off a migraine to heading into another one.  It was debilitating.  I was miserable.  

My chiro kept encouraging me to try eliminating gluten...but I had no GUT related symptoms and was so set on me being hormonally imbalanced that I ignored his heeding.  I went on NHRT (natural hormone replacement therapy) and started spending $55/month.  While I did see improvement, they did not go away and I began to wonder...what is really the root problem here?  (honestly, gluten was just ONE of the roots.  Going on elimination diets are so "fun" b/c I've now figured out I'm allergic to corn and tapioca, can't digest high fats like whole milk but can have cultured milk, etc)  

Finally I began to think...why not just take gluten out and see?  

IMPORTANT:  doctors will tell you 2-3 weeks is the recommended time to take gluten out of your diet, but it took me almost 2 MONTHS to notice a difference. I would absolutely never encourage someone to only go 2 weeks.  It takes a LONG time for gluten to exit your body, so plan on 6-8 weeks for NO GLUTEN before reintroducing it!

What I noticed:  Month 1 I saw NO change at all.  By month 2 my migraines were SIGNIFICANTLY less.  My thoughts were so much clearer, my energy was up, and this nagging "ache" in my lower back and hip totally went away.  Gluten LOVES to find any inflammation ANYWHERE in your body and CLINGS to it, EXAGGERATES IT, and basically, make your life miserable.  I didn't even realize how miserable I really felt b/c I had lived that way for so long...it was truly amazing.  The first time I had gluten I only had 2 bites and woke up with a migraine at 2am.  Since then, occasionally it slips into my diet and sure enough...migraine.  I still get headaches around my cycle, but they are so much more manageable.  And I've since taken out other foods from my diet as well as began a thyroid whole-food supplement, cats claw, and wild yam, all of which help me maintain a hormonal balance.  BUT...did you know...many of our foods completely disrupt our hormones?  Especially non-organic produce and processed foods...and GLUTEN.  

There is NO WHERE IN YOUR BODY THAT GLUTEN WILL NOT ATTACK.  Heart, auto-immune, skin, migraines, gut, emotional health, sleep patterns, etc.  We did the gluten elimination diet on my 3 year old to see if it would help his terrible insomnia.  After ALMOST A YEAR of him waking up in the middle of the night, 3 days after going GF and he slept (FINALLY!) all night long.  I was amazed.  And trust me, we've seen it multiple times...he has gluten, he doesn't sleep and and we have to start all over again.  Another perk?  He has always struggled with chronic constipation and now we see his gut is "moving" much better!   You MUST remember:  anything your gut cannot digest is POISON to your system.  It can take YEARS to figure out what your body can and cannot digest properly.  When it CAN'T digest a food and you continue to eat it, everyones symptoms will look different.  Your body's reaction to a certain food will more than likely manifest symptoms differently than MY body's reaction...which is why it is so hard for doctors to really diagnose.  So what do they do?  Treat your symptoms.  So you have arthritis?  Here's a drug to help you manage your pain.  (but won't heal your body)  You have migraines?  Here's a drug to help you function...but you might want to read the small print on all the side effects.  Get my point?  Taking a holistic approach to your health means getting to the ROOT causes and not just treating a symptom.  And more often than not, gluten does in fact, tend to be the ROOT CAUSE of many health ailments today.

We took my dog off gluten b/c of his hyperactivity.  I had read that GF diets are great for kids w/ ADHD so why not our ADHD dog, right?  It calmed him down CONSIDERABLY, specifically in the area of IMPULSE CONTROL.  We can tell when he has gluten b/c he will completely disregard any commands.  He will run around our property literally in circles...its quite hilarious to watch until he starts chasing all the chickens and trampling through my garden! 

If you are "hungry" for knowledge regarding WHY gluten is bad, HOW it is bad, and WHAT to do next, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "The Wheat Belly" by by Dr. William Davis.  This book explains it all.

SO...HOW TO TELL IF YOU COULD POSSIBLY BE "GLUTEN SENSITIVE"?  Honestly, I think everyone is.  BUT...if you want to see a list then you can read below:

List taken from mindbodygreen.com

More than 55 diseases have been linked to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It’s estimated that 99% of the people who have either gluten intolerance or celiac disease are never diagnosed.

It is also estimated that as much as 15% of the US population is gluten intolerant. Could you be one of them?

If you have any (not all) of the following symptoms it could be a sign that you have gluten intolerance:

1. Digestive issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation. I see the constipation particularly in children after eating gluten.

2. Keratosis Pilaris, (also known as ‘chicken skin’ on the back of your arms). This tends be as a result of a fatty acid deficiency and vitamin A deficiency secondary to fat-malabsorption caused by gluten damaging the gut.

3. Fatigue, brain fog or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten.

4. Diagnosis of an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis.

5. Neurologic symptoms such as dizziness or feeling of being off balance.

6. Hormone imbalances such as PMS, PCOS or unexplained infertility.

7. Migraine headaches.

8. Diagnosis of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. These diagnoses simply indicate your conventional doctor cannot pin point the cause of your fatigue or pain.

9. Inflammation, swelling or pain in your joints such as fingers, knees or hips.

10. Mood issues such as anxiety, depression, mood swings and ADD.

How to test for gluten intolerance?

An elimination diet and take it out of your diet for 6-8 weeks and then reintroduce it. Please note that gluten is a very large protein and it can take months and even years to clear from your system so the longer you can eliminate it from your diet before reintroducing it, the better.

The best advice that I share with my patients is that if they feel significantly better off of gluten or feel worse when they reintroduce it, then gluten is likely a problem for them.  In order to get accurate results from this testing method you must elimination 100% of the gluten from your diet. 

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