I believe that there are many, many people who may find they are better off gluten - better from a long list of ailments, symptoms, and life-impacting illnesses. You can find a list of some symptoms and disorders that gluten may to contribute to here. My goal is to bring awareness to those who are needlessly suffering and offer a way to find out if gluten may be impacting them.
"Oh, I tried going gluten-free, but it didn't work for me." This is something I often hear when people learn that I am gluten-free. I always want to find out more, like what did they "try" and how did they determine "it didn't work?" Knowing that it can be complicated to determine if someone would be better off gluten, I wonder if they have given it a fair shot.
Here is a list of points that I want to share with anyone considering a gluten-free diet:
What is your motivation for wanting to try a gluten-free diet? Do you have specific symptoms or issues that you are hoping to alleviate or improve?
Have you spoken to your doctor about the symptoms/issues? Do they think you should be tested for celiac disease or anything else prior to omitting gluten from your diet?
Celiac disease can only be tested for if you have been and are currently eating gluten. Removing or limiting it from your diet prior to testing will affect a proper diagnosis. Ruling out celiac disease should always be considered before eliminating gluten. However, there is NO medical test for gluten intolerance/sensitivity.
Finding out if gluten is an issue for you is not as simple as watching for a pattern of cause and effect like determining a food allergy or lactose intolerance. You are unable to see a direct connection to the damage/symptoms gluten creates while it is part of your diet.
The only way to truly know if it may be causing your symptoms is to remove it completely from your diet for a minimum of 6-8 weeks and see how you feel.
Remove ALL sources of gluten from your diet – obvious as well as “hidden.” Simply reducing or limiting the amount of gluten you eat will NOT help you determine if gluten is contributing to your symptoms.
Once off of gluten, be very aware of how you are feeling. A journal to track what you are eating and how you feel is very helpful to noticing small improvements as well as any pattern to reactions where gluten may be slipping into what you eat.
Several weeks into your gluten-free trial you may decide to “test” yourself by having a cracker or cookie or piece of bread. If you are sensitive to gluten you will likely have a reaction to the gluten within hours or a day or so. This is what we call being “glutened.” These reactions can include a wide number of things: nausea, diarrhea, stomach pains, bloating, dizziness, brain fog, fatigue, headache, hives, heart palpitations, etc.
If none of these things happen when you are COMPLETELY gluten free and challenge yourself with gluten after 2, 4, 6 weeks, then you are likely not gluten intolerant. Though if you have an auto immune disorder I would still suggest sticking with it to reduce the risk of developing further auto immune disorders.
However, if you notice that you are getting reactions from gluten being reintroduced into your diet then you are likely gluten intolerant/sensitive. After gluten is removed from your diet for several weeks and your body starts to heal, you may notice you are feeling better. Some people find immediate changes to their symptoms but for most, improvement is very gradual over the course of weeks, months, and even years.
So after really "trying" a gluten-free diet then ask yourself... Are you feeling even a little bit better from any of your previous symptoms? If so, then stick with it, you will be glad you did!!
I would love to hear from you in the comments below - Have you tried a gluten-free diet? What was your experience? Do you have any specific questions for me about going gluten-free?
"Oh, I tried going gluten-free, but it didn't work for me." This is something I often hear when people learn that I am gluten-free. I always want to find out more, like what did they "try" and how did they determine "it didn't work?" Knowing that it can be complicated to determine if someone would be better off gluten, I wonder if they have given it a fair shot.
Here is a list of points that I want to share with anyone considering a gluten-free diet:
What is your motivation for wanting to try a gluten-free diet? Do you have specific symptoms or issues that you are hoping to alleviate or improve?
Have you spoken to your doctor about the symptoms/issues? Do they think you should be tested for celiac disease or anything else prior to omitting gluten from your diet?
Celiac disease can only be tested for if you have been and are currently eating gluten. Removing or limiting it from your diet prior to testing will affect a proper diagnosis. Ruling out celiac disease should always be considered before eliminating gluten. However, there is NO medical test for gluten intolerance/sensitivity.
Finding out if gluten is an issue for you is not as simple as watching for a pattern of cause and effect like determining a food allergy or lactose intolerance. You are unable to see a direct connection to the damage/symptoms gluten creates while it is part of your diet.
The only way to truly know if it may be causing your symptoms is to remove it completely from your diet for a minimum of 6-8 weeks and see how you feel.
Remove ALL sources of gluten from your diet – obvious as well as “hidden.” Simply reducing or limiting the amount of gluten you eat will NOT help you determine if gluten is contributing to your symptoms.
Once off of gluten, be very aware of how you are feeling. A journal to track what you are eating and how you feel is very helpful to noticing small improvements as well as any pattern to reactions where gluten may be slipping into what you eat.
Several weeks into your gluten-free trial you may decide to “test” yourself by having a cracker or cookie or piece of bread. If you are sensitive to gluten you will likely have a reaction to the gluten within hours or a day or so. This is what we call being “glutened.” These reactions can include a wide number of things: nausea, diarrhea, stomach pains, bloating, dizziness, brain fog, fatigue, headache, hives, heart palpitations, etc.
If none of these things happen when you are COMPLETELY gluten free and challenge yourself with gluten after 2, 4, 6 weeks, then you are likely not gluten intolerant. Though if you have an auto immune disorder I would still suggest sticking with it to reduce the risk of developing further auto immune disorders.
However, if you notice that you are getting reactions from gluten being reintroduced into your diet then you are likely gluten intolerant/sensitive. After gluten is removed from your diet for several weeks and your body starts to heal, you may notice you are feeling better. Some people find immediate changes to their symptoms but for most, improvement is very gradual over the course of weeks, months, and even years.
So after really "trying" a gluten-free diet then ask yourself... Are you feeling even a little bit better from any of your previous symptoms? If so, then stick with it, you will be glad you did!!
I would love to hear from you in the comments below - Have you tried a gluten-free diet? What was your experience? Do you have any specific questions for me about going gluten-free?
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