How I became Gluten Free

About a year ago, I started having stomach issues. I was nauseous for over two months. I went to the doctor and she ran tests that all came back negative, so I was sent to a specialist. I had a bunch of tests and an endoscopy. Every test came back as negative or normal. One of the tests that they ran was for celiac disease. My niece, Julia has celiac so I was somewhat familiar with it. When I did some research on it, I noticed I had a lot of the symptoms. When the celiac test came back as negative I was a little surprised. What was making me sick for over two months?

When I was talking to my niece, Laura, who is very knowledgeable in nutrition. She has taken classes and all natural is her way of life. She had mentioned that if it is not celiac then maybe I have an intolerance. The best way to find out if you have an intolerance to anything is to cut it out of your diet completely for a while and then reintroduce it.

I decided it was worth a try since the doctors were no help in finding out what is was.  I cut out gluten for a full month. I also took a natural, vegan, gluten free probiotic to aid in cleansing my system. (Green Vibrance - I found it at Wholefoods. You may be able to find it at any local health food store.)

I took the probiotic every day for the first week, then every couple of days and then down to once a week. I still take it but not as frequently. Mostly when I am feeling off balance digestively. 

About a week after I started the gluten free diet, I started feeling better. After the month was over, I decided to reintroduce gluten over a weekend in case it made me sick again. I reintroduced it and I felt sick again. 

Needless to say, I am gluten intolerant now. Finding gluten free foods at first is very hit and miss. Gluten free products I would try when they were on sale. Gluten free is more expensive and you don't get as much as. And to be honest, some of it is absolutely disgusting. But there are several brands that I have come across that you can't even tell they are gluten free.

Of course all fruits, vegetables and meats are naturally gluten free. Luckily, more and more companies are getting better about coming out with gluten free alternatives.