I have been fighting the food survival battle for the last five years and my health has improved so drastically, I went from years of stomach pain so severe that I would go to emergency on a weekly basis, get a shot of morphine and have every test known to man done to me, just to find out that I was “normal”. I was lean athlete until I started to experience unstoppable weight gain, acne, hair loss, fatigue, depression, anxiety and I don’t even want to describe the trouble with gastrointestinal system. I felt like a dead person walking but somehow, I carried on.
I decided to take it into my own hands, I had been doing a lot of reading about Celiac disease; I stopped eating gluten and like many others, immediately started feeling better. Overtime I saw a naturopathic doctor and got my allergies tested along with other things like iron level (which was borderline anemic), and a DNA test to show that I have the genes to develop Celiac Disease. I couldn’t get a positive test on my intestinal biopsy because it took eight months to get the appointment and so for eight months I had intentionally not eaten any gluten and the doctor doing the biopsy didn’t believe that Celiac disease exists, so that probably didn’t help the situation either. But once that stomach pain, that was severe beyond description stops, it is not even the least bit tempting to “test the water” so to speak and eat gluten again just to see if I could get a positive biopsy or blood test. Through trial and error over many years I know that gluten is the cause; the severe stomach pain stopped, even before I had all my food allergies tested. In the last five years I can probably count on two hands the amount of time I have had that stomach pain and usually from a restaurant (which I avoid 99% of the time now), or a food brand I didn’t double check it if it was in a gluten free facility. My husband is a diagnosed Celiac with more allergies then I thought possible, so together we have fought hard to stay positive and enjoy all that life has to offer.
This blog is dedicated to my brother, only 25 years old, who last week received his long list of allergies including gluten, after discovering his kidneys are failing. As a family we are doing everything we can food wise to help preserve what is left of the kidney function while we continue to wait for the frustrating medical system to give him a diagnosis, my heart breaks for him. I know I can use many things that I have learned in my journey to help by coming up with simple, affordable recipes that will give him freedom to still be social and he, unlike myself is the most social guy I’ve ever met, always the life of the party.
I am looking forward to this food journey, I’ve learnt so much already, healed so much physically, accomplished amazing goals on the bike, but there is so much more to learn and so many more goals to aspire towards. As for the dog owner part, well there is a good chance there will be some pictures of my amazingly cute dogs with my food recipe pictures!
