Old diet: I used to eat low-fat, too high grain/legume carb, and it was hit or miss with the protein (I don't 'like' meat: picky eater? Look to food allergies). This got me to a miserable 273 lbs. Now I'm TRYING the opposite: to eat some fat, some protein & veggie/fruit carbs at every meal (this supports the endocrine system, ie hormones) or kinda, mostly Paleo (w/SOME dairy which isn't Paleo). Way low low on sugar (dk choc's ok), nothing fried. I'm not freakish about it, I'll eat a gf ...

Old diet: I used to eat low-fat, too high grain/legume carb, and it was hit or miss with the protein (I don't 'like' meat: picky eater? Look to food allergies). This got me to a miserable 273 lbs. Now I'm TRYING the opposite: to eat some fat, some protein & veggie/fruit carbs at every meal (this supports the endocrine system, ie hormones) or kinda, mostly Paleo (w/SOME dairy which isn't Paleo). Way low low on sugar (dk choc's ok), nothing fried. I'm not freakish about it, I'll eat a gf cookie if I want. I just usually don't. :) That's the short story. Here's the long one (get comfortable :P):

I always felt different, now I know why. I feel fortunate indeed to figure out my INSIDIOUS health mysteries. After youth wore off, and over the last 25 years I grew to be a zombie and felt like the walking dead. One thing after another, I just kept trying to buck up. I was the proverbial frog in tepid water who didn't jump out before the pot boiled. If I'd only known!

At 44 yrs old, just like Ginger, I'd grown progressively "dawg tarred!" I wish I'd have known about gluten sensitivities/intolerance/Celiac Disease (CD) and gut health. There's a spectrum to gluten sensitivities not unlike the autism spectrum. You don't have to HAVE celiac disease to be affected. I share with you what I've learned hoping that it will make a difference.

If you're depressed and don't know why (or even if you think you DO know; cause I THOUGHT *I* knew and I wanted to die), have chronic fatigue, borderline anemia, indigestion (GERD), headaches, canker sores, arthritis, joint pain, osteoporosis/penia, edema, thyroid disorders, schizophrenia, infertility &/or miscarriages, ANY other autoimmune disease, insomnia, hearing loss, hair loss, restless legs, ADD, autism, slow healing, epilepsy, narcolepsy, numbness or tingling limbs (peripheral neuropathies), constipation &/or diarrhea (IBS), smelly gas, eczema, psoriasis, an itchy rash which could be undiagnosed "dermatitis herpetiformis", failure to gain weight/thrive in infants/kids, kidney, or liver problems, then you NEED to learn about sticky gluten and gut/brain health. If your family members have any of this, you're not out of the woods because you could be asymptomatic. (I've read of a bro/sister: the sister had symptoms, the brother did not: both were positive for CD). I hope you're not rolling your eyes like my mother that gluten could do ALL that?! ;) It took me 2 yrs for her to get it! That's okay, because I'd have been skeptical, too. Skepticism is healthy, but it's healthy to be open and investigate "stuff" too!

My health progressively worsened as I aged OR I aged because of progressively worsening health. I thought it was "normal", but kept fighting the fight by trying to "eat well and exercise" (depends on your perspective, right?)! I chalked up my weight gain to the pill, stress of moving a lot, and just life (ok, I ate some fast food because I was too tired to cook, too!). Well, not anymore. I believe our "Standard American Diet" or "SAD" is too carb-rich and therefore we get "bit" with an extra burden of too much gluten. I succumbed to a few fad diets (eg, lost 20/gained that &more via liquid protein diet, lost 40lbs on 500-cals/day thru now defunct American Weight Loss Systems, gained on Dr. Ornish's Eat More, Weigh Less diet), but decided in the end to rely on our gov't food pyramid to be "safe & reasonable." It was very carb heavy/low-fat. Reading Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories (GCBC) made much sense re: my life: I'm the "Bad Calorie" - call me (ex) Ms. (healthy whole grain) Carb Queen! Being kinda/mostly vegetarian much of the time left me relying a lot on lectins: google search "lectins": http://tinyurl.com/c7rmn9 ; grains and legumes/beans.

I am not proud to be a fat American statistic. Why are ADD and autism stats rising? (Mother's gut dysbiosis? Genetic triggers? Gluten/casein and other food allergies/immune responses?) Why is our country fat? Why are crime stats up? Why are test scores falling? MALNUTRITION! We put kids on meds before ever looking at their diet! I know because I fell into that trap and did it to my own kid. I didn't know what else to do. I recommend doctors at LEAST check vitamin levels first - esp ferritin, B12, & Vit D3. Check gut health. You might want to look for and take out possible food allergens and sugar (sugar's usually wrapped in gluten/unhealthy grain-sourced carbs and artificial dyes and colors).

Insightful links/videos: Dr. Doris Rapp re: food allergies and ADD: http://bit.ly/rapputube or www.drrapp.com/ ,
Dr. Michael Ryan: nutrition & ADD: http://bit.ly/michaelryan ; check out the work of Dr. Mary Ann Block at blockcenter.com , or be overwhelmed at what food additives can do here: http://bit.ly/suefedup .

Ask your doc to check *your* vitamin levels before giving *you* Prozac, too! I took it, but I just "knew" I had nothing to be depressed about. (Psychologist in therapy sessions tried telling me it was deep seeded and a bunch o'bull (even though I had "one of those" childhoods like so many of us - I truly think if my parents were well nourished and educated, it'd have been better!) I was led down the wrong path FAR too long, and I'm kinda mad and kinda sad about it. Gluten *induced* my malnutrition, and therefore my hypothyroidism, depression, insomnia and so on.

My childhood symptoms:
1. trichotillomania (OCD spectrum - I was full of anxiety, so from babyhood to around puberty, age 12, I pulled my hair and sucked my thumb - if your kid sucks his/her thumb, don't spend money on an orthodontic device: consider checking vitamin levels first. Check food allergies incl. dairy, wheat, soy (the TOP 3 of 8 allergens required for food labels incidently), corn (can't believe it's not on the list) and sugar, as food/diet/malnutrition can cause anxiety. Try to not add to his/her anxiety by stopping their habit of self-soothing. It's a clue something's wrong - try to fix it healthily!)
2. achy arms & legs (likely iron deficiency at most, ferritin deficiency at least). This grew as I aged until born into fibromyalgia by the time of my diagnosis. It was called "growing pains" when I grew up.
3. crankiness/tiredness (one of dad's names for me was "mopo") and later depression as a teen (hidden behind a public smile).
4. recurrent bouts of bronchitis, laryngitis & canker sores on through adulthood (lowered immunity).

Now that I've been diagnosed, I look forward to living a fuller life with vitality and joy. It's gonna be work to reverse the fatty, malnourished me into the healthy me. I'm fighting genetics and I'm over-the hill here. However, I'm excited by the challenge and look forward to living my REAL life: not the tired, lackluster "in survival mode" "on-the-edge-of-life" SAD life!

If you are interested, please read Living Gluten-Free for Dummies by Danna Korn to better understand this pervasive and underdiagnosed disease/problem. Please don't change your diet before you do! You need to be eating gluten before having the required blood tests (ask for a celiac PANEL).

I went COLD TURKEY GLUTEN FREE for CD (if you "cheat" - even a crumb - your gut healing begins anew). I was one who loved my daily (healthy whole grain-phooey) bread. Back in the day, I loved Wheat Thins and Cheese Nips (then Susan Powter taught me how to read a label and I quit those)... now I barely read any labels! It's been a process to get to this place.

In the old days, we had pasta once a week, somtimes pizza. Once a payday we'd go out to eat. When my own MIL was diagnosed with CD (my DH married his mother?), she didn't explain it so I understood; all I could say is that I couldn't imagine giving up bread and pasta (gasp, the horror!). I shook my foggy head and thanked God that wasn't me! Long story short, I was diagnosed 7 mos later (thanking God again!), and eating my words (less calories)! At the time, I didn't realize how sick I'd grown to be (somehow, like our hairstyles, my mind was stuck being the image of me at 18 yrs old - and yes, my hairstyle's about the same. LOL).

WHAT GLUTEN FREENESS MEANT TO MY HEALTH. This is my experience:

1. in 2 days my gas & brain fog was gone (I wasn't always gassy, but grew moreso than I realized by the time I was dx - PU!). Now? I barely drop any 'buttercups' and you'd never know it when I did! Smelly gas=gut dysbiosis (google it!). I feel like a lady ;0)
2. after 3-4 months, my headaches and steatorrhea/fatty stools were gone. I gauged this by eating lots of pistachios and if they'd soon go through me (fat malabsorption). I associate this with repaired intestinal villi. It took a lifetime of years of mostly IBS-C (I didn't even know "C" was IBS and it wasn't anything a good cup o'joe wouldn't help) to get to the fatty stool stage (3x/day, which I "thought" was a good thing - it is, but not when it's steattorhea) by eating lots of fiber every day (ie gluten!). My doctors told me to eat whole grain bread w/3g fiber/srv to ease the constipation. In the early 80s I could barely find bread w/3 gr of fiber. By the early-mid 90s I found Kashi cereal w/8 or 9 grams (now it's 10 & 12)! I thought it was GREAT, and ate every bite thinking how healthy I was. I was Kashi Queen for I'm guessing about 11 years. (You can get fiber from lots of veggies and fruit, + they're more nutrient dense and have less calories.)
3. after 7 months gluten free, I'm no longer depressed and I'm sleeping. I've got energy as if I were in my 20s again (if I remember correctly - lol :-D). I believe the sunshine vitamin D helped A LOT.
4. after 1 year, I'm free from brain fog, depression, anxiety, insomnia, restless legs, fibromyalgia-type pain (resting... I still have a time recovering after exercise), eczema flares and GERD (eat more alkaline - (veggies/fruits) foods than acid (grains!/legumes/dairy/meat): itsmyownhealth.com has a list and/or you may have low stomach acid (NOT 'high' - antacids & PPIs add insult to injury!): ask doc for an HCL or Heidelberg test) or check into taking enzymes. My eyesight has not worsened this year as in previous years. Even my cracked heels have healed and are softer (in the winter, they'd bleed!). I believe my dementia will not progress, and my word recall (aphasia) is better-I hope? My hair is still falling out & I'm taking more iron (under dr's care) to see if it helps. That could take another year. To be frank, my memory still sucks. My father has Alzheimer's (bread eater/milk & alcohol drinker - I learned from him - except the alcohol, I also learned to NOT drink from him!), and mom has prediabetes and her head is foggy. My own apple belly tells me to lose it (different carbing) or I'm following in their footsteps. Read GCBC! Sugar and grain carbs are evil for 60% of us, wouldn't you guess? (Sugar Blues is another older but great book.)
5. AUG 07. I've come to learn that it's not always celiac disease, per se, that causes all these issues (but would look into it esp. if you or family members have an autoimmune disease) - it's leaky gut and malnutrition. How you come about either or both is a personal story. Learn about gut health: http://tinyurl.com/3ae4p5 , and learn about Leaky Gut: www.leakygut.co.uk/index.htm .
6. Oct. 24, 2007: With 6 mos. iron supplementation (under doc's care: too much iron = cancer.) my hair is not falling out near as much: I used to shed over 50+ hairs in the shower alone, now: 10! I used to run my hands through my hair and get 10 hairs, now: 2 or 3.

By being fastidious with gluten-freeness I hope to prevent GI cancers (from mouth, eh-hem, to "you know where") and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

UNDIAGNOSED FOOD ALLERGIES can cause behavioral, psychological and physical repercussions. For me, gluten wreaked havoc on my immune system which caused further damage to my other systems. Maybe you're "sensitive" and not "officially diagnosed" celiac via blood and sm. intestine biopsy. Maybe you have undiagnosed leaky gut by taking NSAIDS. Again, it's personal. Build up your immunity by finding your food weaknesses (if you crave and overeat a specific food - ie grain carbs (wheat?) or sugar - then you likely have an allergy response: increased fat/decreased brain function!? Want to fall asleep?). Read about yeast, candida & parasites- symptoms overlap. Do an online search for "elimination diet" and rotate your foods every 4 days. Document it here! :-) Talk to an allergist.

I don't think I can reverse my 10 yrs of hypothyroidism, but I've had to cut back on my Synthroid dose as I'm better absorbing my meds and getting nutritional support from as high a raw food diet as I can stand. Mary Shomon, thyroid guru, has written some people can reverse thyroid damage if gluten sensitivities are caught early.

I'm still ADD. I was probably infertile because of gut dysbiosis (Youtube Donna Gates Autism Diet -6 parts: http://tinyurl.com/ajf9fw ). I haven't been on birth control for 27 of 28 yrs of marriage - I THOUGHT the rhythm method was working. And then it grew to be "I'm too tired and I have a headache!" Everytime I see women on Oprah complain with fatigue, I wonder about their gluten intake. There was one who felt AWESOME after a detox and not so well when resuming reg. diet. Dr Oz said it meant nothing but cleansing the palate; but I know it could be indicative of gluten issues as I did my own 10 day detox (liquid protein & broth diet) when I was 19 and felt the same way. I just didn't know WHY (DANG it!) ;0) Obesity is a sign of malnourishment.

I'm lucky to have my only DD, and was too tired to think of having more kids. She's on the "spectrum" (again, see those You Tube Donna Gates videos)- gee, what a surprise (try being an exhausted mom taking care of a child with undiagnosed special needs). Ask any celiac their story - they're alike yet very different.

I think my "can-do" Type A "I can persevere" positive attitude hindered my diagnosis as docs couldn't "see" my suffering when I complained with my symptoms over the years.

Remedy: a personal garden and eating from it as my primary source of food. Vegetables are the staff of, and can save your life! Nobody ever got fat on vegetables! I am a new protein junky. Water's pretty good too! ;-)

I'm writing too much here, and I can't believe you've read this much! I just wanted to give a head's up ... so much more is in my blog - where it belongs.

The frugal side of me appreciates that Sparkguy shares his wealth of resources with us. Spark"people" are very encouraging and I appreciate the friends I have made.

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