Know Thyself

How well do you know yourself?

I am not talking about your personality or your likes and dislikes. I am asking, how well do you know yourself at a genetic level?

It's important where and by whom you came from, and here's why: your genes carry the code to your health and well being. That adage is true: if you have your health, you have everything. And if you don't have your health? Then what?

Was your Grandmother crazy, as I mine was? Was your mother unstable and childlike, as mine is? Did your father love sugar, as mine did? When we were kids, he would give us $20 and instruct us to ride our bikes up to the grocery store and spend every penny on candy. We would be in trouble for sure if we didn't spend every cent on candy. We did as we were told, my brother and I. I have a sweet tooth today that can substantiate this fact.

My grandmother Mimi -- whom this blog is named for -- was paranoid schizophrenic. She had what once was termed "blue baby" in 1952. They didn't talk much about post partum depression back then. My own mother was a single child and she grew up listening to her mother fret every single night about the communists and the Beetles, both of whom were out to get her (in her warped mind).

Both my mother and grandmother were thin. Both had pale skin. Both were anemic. Both had restless leg syndrome. Both had osteoporosis. Both had emotional issues that overwhelmed them throughout their lives.

Why is this important to me, or to you? Because I now know in my bones that Mimi was intolerant to gluten. I believe it was the starting point for all of her many health woes. She loved her wheat toast every morning and saved a piece in the oven to enjoy at lunchtime. She didn't know that wheat toast was killing her. Just as my mother was unaware that her emotional concerns came from food her body saw as an invading enemy.

My mother and grandmother didn't know. But I do. And I will never knowingly ingest gluten. Or dairy. Or corn. Or yeast. I have a physical response to all of those ingredients. I am lucky that I did not suffer the same mental demise that other women in my family have suffered . . . but I could have gone down that path had I not caught my health concerns when I did.

Do you know about your mom's health? Do you know if she had a problem with wheat? Do you or someone you are related to crave sugar, alcohol, or carbs? Could you or they be self-medicating?

Before you are quick to write off such a person, find out if they have a food allergy or are battling Candida. Rule that out for yourself as well. It's not an excuse, nor does it give anyone a free pass to abuse substances . . . but it is often true that we self-medicate because we feel so very fatigued, or achy or generally like hell and the starting place of feeling that way could very well be a food allergy or a leaky gut.

You need to know. Find out and do better with your own food choices.

Knowledge is beyond power -- it is health.

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Could a Virus Cause Gluten Sensitivity?

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This interesting tidbit is from a website called Top News You Can Use. It is fascinating and I think quite hopeful to think that gluten sensitivity could be caused by a virus. Next thing you know, they find a cure for that virus or at least something to limit its effects and life improves drastically for millions of us.

Virus Infections Linked with Gluten Intolerance

A new research has suggested that Virus infections may be a contributing factor in onset of gluten intolerance (coeliac disease).

The experts reveal that gluten intolerance may usually show no symptom, and people may not know that they are hit by the disease if their symptoms are mild or uncharacteristic.

Gluten intolerance is an autoimmune reaction in the small intestine. The gluten that occurs naturally in grains such as wheat, barley and rye hampers the intestinal villi, triggering problems with nutrient absorption and potentially other problems too.

Gluten intolerance, an inherited predisposition, plays a vital role in the onset of the condition. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet.

Academy Research Fellow Päivi Saavalainen, who initiated the research into the hereditary risk factors for gluten intolerance, quoted: "Some of the genes we have identified are linked with human immune defense against viruses. This may indicate that virus infections may be connected in some way with the onset of gluten intolerance".


Here is another great article about a new drug that could even help repair intestines damaged by gluten.

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Horses and Good Health

I believe horses to be veritable soul healers. A good horse is also not bad for your health; in fact, active horse people are among the healthiest folks I know. I ride with countless women who have had broken backs or necks or herniated discs (like I did) and we all still ride. The horse in the pasture beckons to us every day to get well faster so we can get back in the saddle.

I had a car accident in 1991 where I was rear ended by a humongous City of Austin electric vehicle and that wreck left me with two herniated discs. The doctor in the ER room told me I should never, ever ride a horse again and that I would have lifelong pain. I often ignore many things doctors tell me, especially if they have anything to say about my horses. I ride all the time and I am pain free. I believe the will to ride guaranteed that I would one day find out why I was so ill so that I could hurry up and get back out with my beloved horses. I now know I have a systemic Candida overgrowth as well as food allergies to gluten, corn and dairy that likely caused me to be hypothyroid and have weak adrenals. Sometimes I think the Candida was the starting point for all of my health woes and I am incredibly determined to win the Candida battle. I have cleaned up my diet and added many beneficial supplements and I feel great most days. It took me a decade to reclaim my health but if I can do it, you can too.

I have three American Quarter horse geldings and one special mammoth donkey who believes himself to be a horse, so I count him as my fourth horse. He insists on doing every thing a horse does. He also refuses to associate with our herd of mini donkeys. He is a silly donkey but if he so badly wants to believe he is a horse, I am happy letting him think that.

Yesterday was a picture perfect day in Central Texas, so me and my favorite Aunt loaded up two of my experienced trail geldings and headed out to a 44,000 acre state park where we can ride for hours. We met our riding friend John, who is 65 years young and may be the healthiest person I know. He takes zero medications. I really believe that the medical establishment should be studying John's good health. How many 65 year olds do you know who are out riding horses every day and who take no medications whatsoever? Not too many.

Yesterday was a perfect day for us and for our horses. We basked in the sun that has been absent from Texas for months. We walked, we trotted, we loped and we often let the horses pick our path. After our ride, I had a sweet moment with my two geldings as we all shared a huge, healthy apple together. It turns out they like apples as much as I do.

There were many years when I was too ill to ride, or even groom my horses. Luckily my incredible husband took over most of their care and good horse friends would help me as well. Yesterday I had the energy to ride for 4 hours and then come home and walk our 5 dogs. There was a time in the not too distant past where just the thought of throwing a 40 pound saddle over a horse's back was too much energy to think about spending.

I never want to go back to the days of being bedridden. I want the good health I now enjoy every day to go out my back door to my horses and commune with them. I want the energy to ensure my dogs get their daily ranch walk. (Well, I walk; they gallop)

I also want you to enjoy your days. I often cry big horse tears for all the people I know who are suffering from extreme fatigue and who go to doctor after doctor and never get any better.

If you are reading this blog, know in your gut (literally in your gut) that you can regain your health as I did. It is not impossible.

Keep reading, keep learning, and eat well and soon you will be well.

Slap You Silly Statistics about America's Health Woes

Image by Dan SanDonkey via Flickr

I haven't been able to find a single argument that proves to me that gluten or high fructose corn syrup are good things for ANYONE, not to mention those of us with sensitivities to them. I hear from people every day who tell me they like what I have to say about gluten, corn and dairy (thank you!) but they are also quick to tell me that they are sure they do not have any food issues.

I know but apparently they don't know that there are countless people who have a problem with gluten who are asymptomatic. I also know that gluten sensitivity affects up to 144 million Americans, so if you think you are among the lucky it doesn't affect, I sure hope you have tested yourself every which way possible to try to rule out a gluten issue.

In case you are still skeptical that our food is wreaking havoc on our bodies, here are some eye-opening, slap-you-silly statistics that might make you consider your diet and how it can be improved. I am not saying bad food choices cause every single one of these ailments but I am saying that what you eat plays a major role in how you feel. I find it depressing that as a nation we are so very sick.

I've gathered this information from my library of health books, almost all of which are written by M.D.s or from websites such as the Center for Disease Control:

• Depression affects up to 18 million Americans yet 27 million Americans are taking antidepressants.

• 24 million Americans have diabetes (and that number seems to increase by the minute).

• The number of Americans with Type 2 diabetes has TRIPLED over the past 30 years.

• 75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant. 50 million Americans suffer from lactose issues.

• 50 million adult Americans suffer from heartburn at least once a month.

• 34% of Americans are obese.

• 11% of children aged 2-5 are overweight.

• 89% of Americans will develop hemorrhoids at one time or another in their lives.

• Autoimmune thyroid disease is the most common autoimmune disease in the nation.

• More than 12 million Americans have a thyroid condition and as many as 60 million are estimated to have a thyroid problem.

• By 2016, less than a decade from now, the number of American adults (those 22 and over) with autism is expected to be nearly 1.5 million.

• Autism affects as many as 1 in every 110 children in the United States.

• 80,700,000 people in the United States have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease.

• 73 million Americans have high blood pressure.

• 16 million Americans have coronary heart disease.

• 5.3 million Americans have heart failure.

• 6 million men and women of reproductive age in the USA are affected by infertility.

• 2.1 million Americans have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

• 1 out of 5 Americans suffers from Irritable Bowl Syndrome. It is one of the most frequently occurring gastrointestinal disorders.

• More than 25 million Americans will develop a peptic ulcer at some times in their lives.

• Crohn's Disease has spread like an epidemic since 1950 and it affects up to 1 million Americans.

• By the age of 55, 1 in 5 American women will have their uterus removed.

• 11 million Americans have cancer.

• 555,500 Americans will die from cancer, corresponding to 1,500 Americans a day.

• 1,284,900 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each day.

• An estimated 205,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year, with an estimated number of deaths at 40,000.

• 28 million Americans have migraines.

• An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

• Approximately 20 million American adults, or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder.

• Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year

• Approximately 2.4 million American adults, or about 1.1 percent of the population age 18 and older in a given year,11 have schizophrenia.

• Gastritis accounts for more than 2 million doctor office visits each year in the U.S.

• More than 19 million Americans have chronic esophagitis.

• More than 1 million Americans have recurrent seizures.

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The Herxheimer Reaction

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Oh joy of joys! I think I am right smack in the middle of having a Herxheimer Reaction as a result of fighting Candida and dramatically changing my diet by eliminating corn, gluten and dairy (casein). What is a Herxheimer Reaction, you ask?

I like this definition that I found on-line:

"The Herxheimer Reaction- When you start a new treatment for an illness, your symptoms might increases at first, leaving you wondering if you're really getting healthier at all. This is called a Herxheimer reaction. This is the "die-off" effect that many people experience when they dramatically improve their diet and lifestyles. It is an allergic response to the toxic by-products produced when the body's ph is changed for the better. When this happens, large numbers of dangerous bacteria and yeast organisms die and leave the body. During this time, you won't feel very well, but in reality, you are responding positively to treatment. After this initial Detoxification period, you should see significant improvement of your symptoms."

My main symptoms are feeling very sore and achy all over. For some reason, my right shoulder feels like someone whacked it with a brick a few hundred times. I also have been having a mysterious red rash in the evenings on my back and shoulders.

I like these links that give good suggestions on how to deal with this not-so-fun side affect on the long and winding road to health:

Dealing With Yeast Die-Off Reactions

Could Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Candida Overgrowth be Related?

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Apology to My Gut

Image by Sterin via Flickr

Dear Gut,

I owe you an apology.

I am sorry that I pumped foods into you for 44 years that made you congested, bloated and very unhappy.

I am sorry that I was a sugar addict and might have permanently endangered your structure.

I am sorry that I like alcohol and you have to deal with that as well.

I am sorry that I am a carb Queen and that I never met a potato that I didn't love.

I am sorry for all those times I sat on the bed watching a TV show and eating Cheetos.

I am sorry that I never liked vegetables much.

I am sorry for all the pastries.

I am sorry for the chocolate, too. I really love chocolate.

I am sorry most of all that I ignored my "gut instinct" for too long.

I hope you will forgive me and that you are willing to give me a do-over.

If you are, I promise you that I will:

• eat whole, real foods

• eat no food that has more than 5 ingredients in it

• never knowingly eat gluten, corn or dairy casein again

• give you daily probiotics and Omega Oils

• boycott sugar, in all her forms

• avoid alcohol and caffeine

• spoil you with ginger and green teas

And my most important promise, I will listen to my gut.

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#$(*$#)($)#)_@!! Applesauce!!!

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When I went into commando mode of eating last week in my attempt to ensure I got no gluten, corn or dairy, I ate applesauce every day. You would think that my "all natural" brand applesauce would be a safe bet, but it ain't.

Today I was at the store and looked for more applesauce. I now look very, very closely at anything we buy and there it was on my favorite applesauce: high fructose corn syrup. I almost cussed out loud for the merriment or offense of all the other shoppers.

The corn syrup alone could have been what made me and my husband sick. Sorry to have blamed you, garlic.

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Traveling on a Special Diet

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My wonderful Mother Pat recently sold a Texas beach house that has been in the family for more than 30 years. Family and friends gathered in Port Aransas, Texas to pack up Pat's belongings and send them to her where she is now living with my Step-Father, Lee. Lee is gravely ill and she cannot be away from him for long. Between that and a fast closing time, we had to hustle to pack up years of artwork as they are both fine art collectors as well as artists themselves. My Step-father's studio required 4 people packing for 3 straight days to get out all of his incredible sculpture. We packed up the entire house in just three days, which was no small miracle.

My Mother is a very warm and friendly person and she has tons of friends and they all wanted to help, some by having us over for dinner. I brought down three large Whole Food bags of food for me since I can't eat anything that has gluten, corn or casein in it. I figured I would eat mostly what I brought but attempt to get some non-buttered veggies and yummy fresh fish while out down at the Texas gulf coast.

I did quite well until we went to a friend's house for dinner. She was also gluten free and made a lovely and safe salad and a gluten-free lasagna. I ate it and it was GLORIOUS! I also ate it because she was very happy to present it to us and it felt odd for me to decline it (won't make that mistake again!). Only later, in the middle of the night when I woke up shaking did I remember why it was so damn good: the cheese! I was so tired from packing and so interested in the dinner conversation that I ate without thinking about it. Once you know you have massive food allergies, you can never again put anything in your mouth without thinking about it. I paid for that mistake for a full week, feeling lethargic and bloaty.

I asked on my favorite Yahoo group -- SillyYaks@yahoogroups.com -- how long the general recovery time was for your guts to heal after you were poisoned and the heartbreaking response was six months! That is very depressing. I don't know that I have managed to go an entire week yet without getting an accidental poisoning so I have at least six more months to go before my gut heals. Part of the reason is my learning curve but the other reason is that corn, gluten and caseins are in just about anything but whole foods. I even worry about the meat I eat as that cow was fed corn . . . .

Other than the one cheese poisoning, I did alright on the road. One night we all enjoyed butter-free Mahi Mahi and that was worth the drive down to the coast just for that! The packers all wanted Whataburger for lunch most days because they were a dedicated crew and they didn't want to stop packing long enough to head to a restaurant. I ate from Whataburger as well, getting two hamburgers sans the bun and cheese and with the veggies and I have say they were quite good. I also ate the french fries and that may or may not have been a mistake. There is quite the raging debate in gluten-free communities about whether or not fast food french fries are safe or not because they are usually fried in the same batter as things like breaded onion rings. Once I looked up the ingredients, I felt sick and now have ruled out fast food french fries. I suspect I have an issue with dextrose but even if I didn't, when you look at the ingredients of these fries, it is apparent that these are not what I consider to be real foods:

Medium French Fries: Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, dextrose, disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate (to maintain natural color). (Note: Deep-fried in ZTF Whataburger liquid shortening and seasoned with Whataburger fry salt. Menu items that are deep-fried may come in contact with other products that contain gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soybean, fish, or animal products.)

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Milk Is Eviler than Corn

I used to start every day with my favorite breakfast: whole wheat toast with cheese on top and some yogurt too.

Just as my grandmother Mimi did before me, I was poisoning my system with dairy (casein) and gluten in the bread. Mimi eventually went completely insane. I didn't but I was nearly bed ridden for two years in horrible health. I finally started down the path to good health, but it came at a high price. I will pay any price to be truly healthy, however. It is my hope that my experiences shared in this blog will save someone else all of that misery and money I have spent on getting smart about getting healthy.

One thing that I cannot stand the thought of ingesting any longer is casein, which is the protein found in all dairy products. You may think you "just" have a problem with lactose but you need to look further and read up on caseins.

You can start by reading this interview with a dairy expert. If this doesn't gross you out and make you run to your refrigerator and toss anything with dairy in it, nothing will.

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Fat, fat, fat!

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I was always one of those super skinny girls who could eat anything and never gain a pound. You know, that irritating gal we now all dislike. Immensely.

In my mid 30s, the weight s-l-o-w-l-y started coming on, just as most of my major hormones started fading away. I became hypothyroid and losing weight while being hypo is perhaps nothing more than a fable or a myth, at best. Even medicated it is hard work to lose weight when your metabolism has slowed to a crawl.

Once I figured out that I was gluten sensitive as well as sensitive to corn and casein, I stopped ingesting any of that harmful junk. I waited in anticipation for the poundage to fall off, as I know it has for so many when they just stop ingesting gluten. I have never eaten as much fresh, whole food as I now do.

I am still waiting for the weight to fall off. Looks like the weight wait will be even longer -- in spite of my daily exercise that includes running our ranch and tending to horses and walking our 5 dogs every day and exercise videos when I feel healthy enough. Apparently some of us with gluten issues find that our bodies suck onto weight when we start eating right. Our metabolism has slowed to a snail's pace after years of eating food that was poisoning us. In a way I can't blame the body for that -- it thinks it is dying from the constant assault from harmful food so it goes into protection mode and slows down, trying to absorb what little nutrition that it can.

Now that my gut is in the SLOW process of healing, I am absorbing nutrients better and that means I am hanging on to calories better as well. So not only do I go without most foods that Americans eat all day every day, I still am not that skinny girl of long ago.

For the short term, I am very happy to have some of my youthful energy return, but once I have gone 6 entire months without any kind of accidental poisoning, I will start to look for that skinny girl inside me and do whatever I need to to coax her back into existence.

It's okay if you already dislike me for the future skinny girl I will become (again). I can handle that better than I can feeling like a bloated whale.

I am looking into good lifestyle changes to use and I am liking so far what I am reading about this diet plan. Please let me know if you have tried it and what your thoughts are about it.

How Are Your Guts?

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Your guts might very well be inflamed. You might have symptoms and a suspicion that you have a gut problem caused by gluten (the protein source found in grains such as wheat and rye) or you might be REALLY unlucky and have a gut issue with no symptoms that alert you to it until it is too late.

It has been estimated that as many as 144 million Americans have a sensitivity to gluten. If you have one gut sensitivity, chances are high indeed that you probably have another sensitivity as well. Through trial and error, I have discovered that I cannot tolerate gluten, dairy or corn. Avoiding corn has been the hardest by far for me, since the food industry seemingly has never met a product it can't inject corn starch or high fructose corn syrup into. I honestly believe that high fructose corn syrup should be outlawed. It is good for nothing except causing horrible health problems.

Am I getting anyone's attention??? If 144 million of us have a gluten sensitivity, that means either YOU or someone you love has this issue. This is not just your Grandma's disease any longer.

Still don't believe me? How about this little fact: there has been a 400% increase in confirmed Celiac Disease diagnosis's. Here is an article that warns of what your future will look like if you ignore your gut: cancer, heart disease and early death.

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Corn Starch Is Even More Evil Than Corn

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If you have been reading this blog, you will know that we have cleaned out our pantry three times.

First we removed anything that contained gluten, and this included stuff you would not expect, such as ketchup and soy sauce. We quickly became world-class experts on how to avoid gluten.

Next we removed anything containing caseins, the protein found in dairy. This includes butter and yogurt. I loved cheese but I said good-bye to it as it is not worth feeling like I have the flu for a week if I get caseined.

Next came corn. Anything and everything that had corn in it was given away. Corn seems harder to avoid than the above two toxins (they are toxic to me and to as many as 144 million other Americans) because high fructose corn syrup and corn starch are added to anything that the preservative-loving food industry can think of to put it in. If they could inject into fruit and vegetables, they would have already done so.

Well I was feeling quite good, the best I had felt for years. Maybe even in a decade. Maybe even in two decades.

Then I started to feel like crap again. I was tired, grumpy, stinky and I had a very upset digestive tract. I looked again at every single thing I had been eating or drinking over the past few days. At first I suspected it could be rice, but I have been eating rice once or twice a week for months and never felt any reaction to it.

So I kept looking and finally got to my vitamins and minerals that I take every day. I am or was low in some very important vitamin levels so I am sure to take my vitamins and minerals every day. One pill I have to have is an iron pill but I had not been taking it for the past few weeks/months as the store ran out of the one brand I can tolerate well. I am hypothyroid, and that condition keeps trying to make me become anemic again. I believe that gluten and its good friends corn and dairy caused so much havoc in my body that I became hypothyroid. I get my blood tested every few months and if I don't take as many as 5 iron pills a day, my ferratin levels can slip below 20. A healthy woman should have a MINIMUM ferratin level of 70. Feeling anemic to me is the same as feeling hypothyroid and that feeling is much like being a slug with zero energy and just about as much interest in life.

I was feeling so sick today that I looked again at every single supplement I take . . . and there I found the cause of my sickness. The iron pills contain corn starch. The grocery store where I buy them had a new supply last week so I brought home three bottles and started taking iron pills again.

I threw them away, even though each bottle costs $9.

This long learning curve is literally killing me at a gut level. Now my body has to take the time it needs to heal my guts, yet again, thanks to the damage done by the iron pills that contain corn starch.

Some days I am really pissed off that so very much JUNK is put into our food supply. Today is one of those pissed off days.

Our Pet Food and Gluten

I am a dog lover from way back. I've always had dogs and always will have dogs in my life. I owe a lot to my dogs and I want them to have the best of the best of everything, from medical care to dog food.

We are currently feeding Nutro Holistic brand food to our five large dogs. Our smallest dog weighs 40 pounds. We have a brother and sister Border Collie pair, a Shiloh Shepherd, a Sheltie mix and a dog I named Monster, who appears to be part Irish Wolfhound and part Australian Shepherd. He was dumped out here in the country and he was quite the biter when he arrived, hence his name. I taught him that he didn't need to bite any more, though we have to watch him around some men he meets that he doesn't trust. I feel certain that some bozo man was mean to Monster when he was a puppy and Monster remembers it and thus he is always on guard around men he doesn't know.

I have been very concerned -- as are millions of pet owners -- about all of the news articles regarding tainted dog food. It makes me sick to even think about the caring dog owners who kept trying to get their dogs to eat more food but the dog was sick from that very food . . . but there was no way for the owner to know that until it was too late for the dog.

I am beginning to suspect that gluten may have some of the same negative effects in our dog's food that it has in ours. If it isn't good for our bodies, why would it be good for a dog's? We are seeing huge amounts of dogs with thyroid issues and aggression is on the rise as well. In fact, it is the number one problem dog owners face today nationwide. I have no doubt that irresponsible breeding and the vast puppy mills located everywhere but concentrated in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania contribute to the genetic mess that breeds aggression into dogs . . . but I also suspect gluten plays a role.

I am going to search for a high quality dog food that doesn't contain gluten. When I find it, I will let you know and feel free to drop me an email if you are already feeding your dog a gluten-free commercial feed.

Here is an article of interest: Las Vegas couple that ran ChemNutra sentenced to probation

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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.

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Hamburger, French Fries and Pizza Kind of Day

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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.

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We Got Caseined

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Instead of those omni-present Got Milk advertising campaigns, I would one day love to see people asking instead: Have you been caseined?

We got caseined over here recently. We were at a local, small town restaurant and I pulled the waitress aside and said we could not eat gluten, dairy or corn. How I wish I had said PLEASE don't give us anything that has casein in it. PLEASE.

What is casein?

Casein is a protein that is found in milk and used independently in many foods as a binding agent. You stand at least a 50% chance of having an issue with caseins if you have an issue with gluten. Isn't that special that they run in the same crowd?

My husband has felt for years that he was lactose intolerant so we removed lactose from our diets . . . but didn't yet know about caseins, which were still present in the lactose free milk and in many, many other suspicious foods we were still consuming.

I stopped ingesting caseins to support my husband and I was convinced that I did not have an issue with "dairy." I was wrong. I knew I did when I finally added some dairy back in my meals. I felt awful for days. It wasn't pleasant.

When we ate at the locally owned Mexican restaurant, I ordered chicken fajitas and ate them with no tortillas. Jeff had a wonderful grilled shrimp salad. If you can get through a Mexican meal and not touch a single corn tortilla chip placed on your table, you know that your will power to stay healthy is growing. We had no chips and felt good about our food choices.

A few hours later, Jeff's stomach was in knots and he did not feel well at all. I felt okay which may mean something or it may mean nothing at all in terms of my ability to digest caiseins. I called the restaurant and the hapless person who answered it listened to my questions about gluten, corn and dairy. She put the phone down and I could hear her yell to someone "HEY! do we put gluten in anything these people had for lunch here? They had chicken fajitas and the shrimp salad." She came back to phone and informed me that nope, we had ingested no corn, gluten or dairy. I didn't feel right about her "researching" my questions and by the way Jeff was feeling, I knew he had gotten something bad for his system, but what? It's the not so fun game of trying to figure out what you ate where that was now poisoning you. That game gets old in a hurry.

Then my phone rang suddenly. It was the restaurant owner! She wanted to tell me to ask for her next as she knew exactly what the ingredients were in every meal. She then asked me a question I will never forget to ask in the future: "did you tell the waitress to leave out the dairy or did you tell her about caiseins?"

I did just say dairy! Wow, someone in the teeny small Texas town we live in knew about caseins! She told me that they dip both the shrimp and the chicken fajitas in BUTTER before they grill them. Butter has caiseins! Our food sleuthing worked this time, not that it helped Jeff in the short term but it will for all of our future food restaurant dining. That restaurant is now our favorite little restaurant in town and we send them customers by the boatloadfull. (Though I do think it would help to have all of their waitresses well versed in casein-ology)

After that meal, I look the waiter in the eye and say clearly: we have some SERIOUS food allergies, please help us to not anything that might possibly contain wheat, gluten, corn dairy or anything that is made of a dairly substances such as butter.

Then I ask my honey if he brought that epi pen with him. Okay, I don't always ask about the epi pen but I will say that if I feel the waiter is not paying attention. Usually the threat of my throat closing up tends to make them perk up a bit and listen. Not that my throat would swell up but that sounds so much prettier to say than my guts will swell, don't you agree?

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Gluten Pootin'

A friend came up with this witty way to, ah, talk about what is the, um, end result of gluten poisoning (or dairy or corn or any food allergy you may have):

Gluten Pootin'.

There is no good way to address this issue. It stinks to have to even talk about it.

But one way we know around here if we been accidentally glutened is, um, er, if we start sounding like an all drum band over here. Really unpleasant, for all concerned.

Here is something scary to consider. Some of you may have a very serious food allergy but you never get to the gluten pootin' part of this problem. For whatever reason, some people just do not show symptoms of this problem until it is too late. That sounds alright and certainly less stinky, right?

Wrong. You are headed towards cancer and an early death if you don't find out for sure if you have a gluten sensitivity problem and you continue to ingest gluten. Or diabetes. Or rheumatoid arthritis. Or liver and kidney problems. Or, or, or and the list goes on until we reach 300 possibilities.

All in all, I will take gluten pootin' over intestinal cancer any day of the week. My apologies to those in the room who disagree.

I did find this great link of information from a writer who found a perhaps more civil way to discuss this issue; she called it a "rumbly tummy." That works, but I bet you will remember gluten pootin for a whole lot longer than you will "rumbly tummy." :)

Post Cards from the Edge

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I caught the last half of that movie, "Post Cards from the Edge" the other night. If you haven't seen it, it was written by Princess Leia, er, I mean Carrie Fisher. She tells the sad tale of her and her mother's addiction to drugs, alcohol and craziness. You probably have heard of her mother -- Debbie Reynolds?

A line in the movie made me shiver. Debbie Reynolds (played by Shirley McClaine) is in the hospital after she pulled a Tiger Woods and rammed her expensive car into a tree. Carrie Fisher (played by Meryl Streep) is getting her mom gussied up in the hospital since the press is lurking outside. Debbie Reynolds starts penciling in her eyebrows . . . she has no eyebrows!!

She said they never grew back after the Studio shaved them for a film. NO EYEBROWS! Even though they were shaved, they should have grown back in a healthy person. Hers did not. This shouts "THYROID PROBLEM."

I know this as I have lost the outer edges of my eyebrows. They will never grow back. It didn't have to happen but I lost 10 years of health and my life wasting my time (and my eyebrows) going to doctors who flat out refused to believe that I had a thyroid issue. I did, and my eyebrows tell the tale. I know now that my gluten intolerance was the starting point of my failing thyroid gland.

I often think about other famous people who make or made headlines. I especially think about Texan Anna Nicole Smith. Wish I could see a photo of her with no make up on. I am certain she would have no eyebrows . . .

When you see or hear about people doing crazy things with their lives, like drinking themselves nearly to death, take a moment and question if a gluten problem plays a role. I think many folks try to make themselves physically feel better by drinking, smoking or gorging on carbs. It doesn't give them a free pass to be stupid and drive drunk, etc, but it could help explain why so many people reach for the bottle, when they should instead be putting down that piece of bread.

Autism and the Gluten Connection

We don't have children, and that was a conscious decision Jeff and I made together. If I did have a child and he/she had Autism, I know I would be beside myself with worry for that child twenty-four seven.

There is -- sadly -- a decent chance that our child could have/would have suffered from Austism. Autism, like Celiac's Disease, is on the rise. Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 150 children today with a new diagnosis being made every 20 minutes. Read this blog, get up and make yourself some hot tea, let your dogs outside, check in on Facebook and 20 minutes have gone by before you know it. And in that time, another child will receive the diagnosis of Austism.

Celiac's Disease is increasing as well. And how. A study from the Mayo Clinic (and several other partners) concluded that young people today are more than 4 times more likely to have Celiac's Disease than were young people in the 1950's.

What else is on the rise for unlucky kids today? Fatness. Super fatness, actually. Obesity rates for all of us, but particularly for children, are increasing by the moment.

Yet scientists still scratch their collective brain and say they can't say for sure tell us why any of the above is happening. I will give them a hint:

OUR FOOD IS UNHEALTHY

Do we really need years and years of study to figure this one out?

We can feed more people cheaper on the front end of food production now more than ever. Only problem is, on the back end, more and more of us are suffering from debilitating immune disorders.

I feel for parents with children who have Austism, Celiac's or who are obese. I feel worse for the children themselves. I wish I could scoop them all up and feed them whole foods with no gluten, dairy, corn or any of the other top food allergens.

I wish some parents would stop waiting for "a miracle cure" and act now for the health of their children. I wish restaurants would wake up and realize that there are millions of us with immune problems and special diets with cash on hand to eat out. We would flock to your restaurants if you made us safe food.

I wish most of all that the medical establishment would WAKE UP and look at food as a primary starting point of so very many autoimmune diseases.

I guess today is a day of wishful thinking.

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Here's What We Eat

Every day someone I know tells me they could never go without bread.

Or cheese.

Or corn.

You could, I always tell them, if you knew that it was slowly killing you. And it is slowly killing about 144 million of us.

I also get asked a lot: what the hell is there left to eat when you eliminate gluten, dairy and corn?

I thought I'd share a typical day of food we eat at our house. We do venture out to restaurants now and again but feel safest about the food we prepare at home. I am not going to include recipes since there are countless blogs, websites and gluten and dairy-free cookbooks to find great recipes in. If you see something you like, I am happy to send you a recipe.

Here is what we ate just yesterday:

Breakfast
Omelet with fresh green peppers and onions, hot sauce and bacon

Snack
apple
sweet potato chips

Lunch
Gluten free crackers and peanut butter (lot's of peanut butter!)
mini organges

Snack
pecans

Dinner
Gluten and dairy-free fried Cod
Mixed green salad with strawberries, sunflower seeds, tomatoes + gluten free dressing

After Dinner Snack
Giant Marshmallows (sometimes I put them on gluten free graham crackers)

Not a difficult day of eating at all. In fact the fried cod was better than any I had ever had.

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