I am taking a hiatus from gluten these days. I am trying to figure out if it is contributing to many of my health problems. I have quite a few auto-immune disorders, and all of them list gluten intolerance or Celiac disease as a possible cause. I did the Zone diet many years ago and my ulcers (that had plagued me for about 10 years at that time) went completely away without medicine. Coincidence? I think not.

I have been thinking about the switch for quite some time, but due to my love of baking, and eating, I haven’t been committed. So, although it is not an official resolution, I am giving it a go. And man oh man, are gluten free products expensive! I bought a loaf of bread, made mostly from potato starch tapioca and rice. It weighs a good 2 pounds, and cost over $7! But, if I think of what a Doctor visit costs for my various ailments, $7 is a small price to pay. Rice crackers are $6, and the special gluten free oatmeal I got was twice as expensive as its jury-still-out-counterpart. (It hasn’t been proven whether the gooey glue in oatmeal is indeed gluten) but the stuff I got is Bob’s red mill and they take many preventative measures to ensure the product is gluten free. (Planting in a field that only has oats in it, processing in a plant that only processes gluten free products etc…)

The loaf of many dollars

                                                        

I have been doing this for about a week, and have done fairly well so far, although a few times I just plain forgot and ate a few Joe Joes (traders Joes version of Oreos, that are amazing!) and the other day, the urge to eat an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers overwhelmed me, so I did eat. And they were good. Then the heart burn came, and I remembered my commitment to gluten free as much as possible.

I had plans this year to learn how to make the most scrumptious chocolate cake, and now it will have to be the quest for the best flourless chocolate cake. Many of the products I have tried, in an attempt to replace some of my favorite wheat products, are really awful. They taste burned, or like cardboard, or brittle straw. It looks like I may have to just give up things I like rather than try to replace them.

I have also struggled with the idea of going gluten free, because it goes against the idea in my head, that copious amounts of whole grain fiber will help me lose weight. Although to look at me you would know that it is not helping me lose weight, but my cholesterol is perfect, and my insides are really healthy (good blood pressure, triglycerides are excellent etc…). So we shall see where this takes me, hopefully it takes away some of the inflammation and the disorders start to abate.

                                                The silver lining...

Theres cake!