Gluten Is Back On The Table

Ten months ago my doctor said I should go gluten free to “see if my villi stand up better.” I asked, “How will we know?” And she said tests will show.

So I went home and immediately adopted a gluten free diet. I consulted gluten free expert friends, (thanks, Jeanne and Kristi) and I studied recipes on the internet.

Now I am not a Celiac and I don’t have IBS or other like issues, so giving up gluten did nothing to make me feel better. I didn’t feel bad to start, but perhaps my villi were lying down.

I was like a judge, no gluten, no soy sauce, no breathing near a bakery. I tried lots of gluten free products. Most were horrible. Most were also overly processed and sugar made up where wheat once was.

I got tested, my gluten number didn’t change. How could that be? We did that for months. I never once had any knowing gluten and I questioned everyone who cooked for me.

Today I saw the doctor. “You can go back to eating gluten. Not eating it did nothing good for you and perhaps the gluten free substitutes were worse for you.”

Oh Lord! That was a long and horrible experiment. I am so glad it is over. If eating gluten had made me feel bad and giving it had made me feel better I would have not trouble giving it up because there was a benefit. But not feeling bad to start and giving it up meant more processed food which made me feel worse and was a losing proposition. Thank god it is over.

I went to a Mah Jongg party tonight where I was the guest speaker. They had pizza and I had my first slice of real pizza in ten months. It was divine. The best part is I feel fine. I feel better than fine. I just ate one small piece of pizza and a little salad. The perfect meal.

I am not going to go gluten crazy, but boy it will be nice to have something real.