Gluten Free & Wheat Free for a Year - call me Crazy!

The Gluten/Wheat Free Journal
(Currently on Day 5, but a story to how it all began)

So recently I haven't been watching my diet as much and it has caught up with me. Shortly before Christmas I had a major attack of the endometriosis - and it wasn't pretty. My abdomen was so sore that the next day I was still feeling it. The last time I had an attack like that I changed my diet radically. I was feeling better, and then I slowly learned how to "get away" with not being quite so strict...that is until recently.

The only educated person on the matter I've been able to find who actually understands my disease is in England. I spoke with her once, and what she said made sense. I would love to go see her in person, but I don't think that will be happening any time soon. Now I am revisiting her book, and I am going to adapt some things. If I have adverse side effects, then I will adapt further. For instance, I will cut out red meat the majority of the time, apart from visiting friends and family (ham & roast). Instead of only eating goat dairy products (which can cost an arm and a leg), I will continue to eat cow's dairy (once again unless there are some adverse side effects). Now for the biggie - the one that is going to be the hardest for me - going gluten and/or wheat free. I will include an excerpt from one of my favorite books about endometriosis in a moment, but first I have to tell you the events that led me to this decision.

While attending the LoveMercy Conference, I ran into a friend from my college years. While chatting she asked me a lot of questions about my diet and endometriosis. She has a daughter with celiac disease and so she knows what it is like to have to modify the diet. After speaking with her, I later said to Ben, "You know, I feel like that I really need to give this nutrition thing a go in the new year. It's like I've tried every thing else in the medical realm, but I really haven't given my body a chance to try and heal through nutrition. Maybe I could ask my friend (whom I'd been talking to about it and will currently remain anonymous) if she could hold me accountable for the next year." I left it at that and pondered it. The next day, my friend - the one whom I had considered to hold me accountable, said that she woke up and the Lord had placed me immediately on her mind. She was thinking about me and my circumstances. She said some other things that I will journal about in my more personal journal, but they were things that I needed to hear. Then she said that she was willing to commit to eating gluten-free with me for the entire year. THE ENTIRE YEAR people!! I couldn't believe it. She said she was in it for the long haul, so I decided that because I had been thinking about it, and since the Lord had placed me so heavily upon her heart without me even mentioning what I was thinking about my diet and nutrition, that I would give it ago. I'm currently on Day 5 and will start to journal about it regularly - especially when I come across some good recipes etc. It's more than just being gluten/wheat free though because there are a lot of things without that which I could eat; however, they're not all healthy for me. For my body to function properly, it needs lots of healthy food. Currently, when it comes to eating healthy, I have NO SELF CONTROL. I'm addicted to chocolate and I love just eating quick meals that don't require a lot of prep time. This way of eating requires no processed foods etc. And so, I've been revisiting a favorite book listed in the next paragraph.

In Dian Shepperson Mills book "Endometriosis: A Key to Healing and Fertility Through Nutrition" she says the following:

" Wheat-free or gluten-free, or both - this is the question. Around 80 percent of women with endometriosis are finding that, by cutting wheat out of their diet, their abdominal pain is reduced or vanquished. In researching this phenomenon, it has been discovered that wheat, having been genetically modified in the early 1970's, has had two hormones added into its genetic sequence. Further research in this area is about to begin at the Endometriosis and Fertility Clinic.
In the spring of this year, eight women with endometriosis gathered together for a television recording. They ate a pleasant lunch, which consisted of gluten-free bread, rice pasta, gram-flour pastries and salad. Yet, overnight, seven out of eight were very ill with abdominal pain - which was so severe in two cases that they passed out. All had been on wheat-free diets and all had remained pain-free for several months beforehand. It was discovered that only the gluten-free bread had contained wheat flour in the form of coeliac flour (wheat with the gluten washed out). This clearly indicates that it was not the gluten that was causing the problem, as all other foods were wheat- and gluten-free, but strong implies that it is some other substance in the wheat that ay be triggering the endometriotic implants to become more implants to become more inflammatory. This substance could be phytic acid, phytoestrogen, xenooestrogens from pesticides (wheat is sprayed between 9 to 12 times as it grows), excess bran or the two hormones in the plant's genes which were not present naturally."

So there you have it. Call me crazy, but I need to see if changing my diet gluten/wheat free and all works. I'm just plain tired of being tired and dealing with pain, digestive issues, and the like. Enough with looking for a "quick fix." Some things just need some time, prayer, and discipline!