Ataxia

What is ataxia? It is defined as a lack of coordination while performing voluntary movements, which may appear to be clumsiness, inaccuracy, or instability.

I have had ataxia in the past and I still have it from time to time. It manifested itself in me by making me unbalanced when I walked and I would literally smack right into walls. That would make me cuss and later, bruise. I am sure that the cussing wasn't gluten-induced. I just like to cuss. I had no idea why my balance was so off . . . . until I got myself educated on some of the harmful effects gluten can have on a person sensitive to it.

I know there are worse problems that can manifest in gluten sensitive people; for example, I could have developed schizophrenia, as my maternal grandmother Mimi did. All in all, I will take falling into walls over schizophrenia, and it is my bet that you would as well.

I have been off gluten (mostly -- I still get accidentally glutened now and again) for more than 10 months and I am happy to say that I have hit nary a wall in the past few months. I still can't pull socks on my foot without falling over . . . that one may be a life long side effect. It's okay though as I find socks to be a lot softer than walls.

I read the article below and I found it to be quite alarming. I always assumed that once I got on the straight and narrow and removed the harmful gluten (and dairy and corn) from my diet, most if not all of my gluten-related health issues would slowly begin to clear up. This article, "Research: Celiac's Connection with Neurological and Psychatric Symptoms," questions that theory.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Ataxia (findmeacure.com)
• Living With Ataxia Video (kennykellogg.com)

Hamburger, French Fries and Pizza Kind of Day

Image via Wikipedia

My husband and I live in Central Texas in a small town NW of Austin. We have 4 restaurants in our town but no one in them has even heard of gluten or caseins so we never eat there. The weather has been very much like living in Seattle lately and since we can't just hop in the truck and go to town for a meal out, we were feeling gloomy. The weather wasn't helping.

So we treated ourselves here at home. I have to count my blessings that my husband is an excellent cook and that he likes to cook. Good thing, too, because if I were in charge of our meals, peanut butter would be on the menu every time. Sometimes if I were feeling adventurous, I would add some celery stalks.

So my husband made us hamburgers with some EXCELLENT gluten-free hamburger buns plus organic, no preservative french fries for lunch. The buns are the best bread we have eaten since going gluten free. The brand name is Kinnikinnick Tabioca Rice Hamburger Buns. They are small so you don't have to have a total pig out and eat a huge, normal American-sized hamburger.

For dinner we some excellent pizzas topped with gobs of veggies; we didn't even miss the cheese. I found some wonderful, thin pizza crusts at Whole Foods. The brand name is Udi's and they are gluten, dairy, soy and nut free and they are delicious! We are going to make the crusts and use them like pita chips for dipping in hummus.

So if you are new to the world of eating gluten or dairy or corn free, keep your chin up and know we do have options . . . we just have to be more mindful of what we are eating and ultimately a whole lot healthier than your average American eater.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Update On Gluten-Free Foods I Have Found & Like (fightingfatigue.org)
• Elizabeth Gordon: Whipping Up Happiness With Gluten, Dairy (Casein), Soy, Nut And Egg-Free Whipped "Cream" (huffingtonpost.com)
• Communion Host Unhealthy in Celiac Disease (blisstree.com)

I Got Glutined

I don't know how it happened but I clearly have gotten some of the nasty stuff in my system.

It is a bit disheartening to have gotten thru all the holidays and not have ingested any gluten . . . only to have had some somewhere in the past day or so.

That's the hardest part of having a gluten sensitivity: not trusting the food you eat and always, always having to be a food detective.

I have wracked my brain trying to figure out what it may have been. I now suspect it could have been the bar-b-cue sauce I had with a restaurant meal yesterday. I now feel stupid for consuming it . . .

It was my fist gluten poisoning of 2010 and I hope it is the last for months and months to come.