Trying the Gluten-Free Diet

So we are trying the gluten-free diet at home. My daughter has been having several health issues over the last several months, so we’ve found a doctor now that is coaching us through a detox process. It involves many supplements, as well as going gluten-free.

I’ve learned that gluten is a protein in grains – mostly wheat, rye, and barley. And now I’m checking ingredient labels for this and it does appear in almost everything! I find it mostly in the form of wheat flour and that includes breads, pastas, cereals, crackers, cookies, etc…

We are trying gluten-free for awhile to see if it helps my daughter with feeling better. Some of the concern with gluten is that she might have an intolerance to it, and, there is a chemical called Glyphosate used in American wheat farming that can be a contaminant to her system. So we’re eliminating it for awhile to observe if there are any noticeable improvements.

The good news however, is that we’ve been able to find substitutes for almost all the above. We’ve been able to find gluten-free bread and pasta made out of rice flour instead, and we’ve been able to find cakes and cookies made out of almond flour. The taste is similar, but we do notice a difference in texture which is a bit distracting sometimes.

Other good news is that potatoes and rice are naturally gluten-free and we love carbs so we’re happy to not have to eliminate any of those.

The bad news so far is that we’ve had to give-up practically all fast food because most of it is either fried (the breading on fried foods uses wheat flour unfortunately) or served on a bun (made with wheat flour). That’s been the most difficult change for us up to this point, but honestly – we recognize it’s not a bad thing to quit fast food. It’s much healthier to quit it. It’s just been the most difficult change so far.

Anyhow, I will keep you all posted on how this goes. We’ve been gluten-free about 2-3 weeks now. Cross your fingers that we keep it up!