What Is a Gluten-Free Diet?

Gluten-free diet, what does this mean? What are the symptoms?  I had never heard about the gluten-free diet until one  day Dr. Oz brought up Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance on his talk show.  My first thought, was OMG, my mom so has Celiac disease.

I called her immediately and told her she needed to be tested.  My mom has had stomach issues for as long as I can remember.  She did the blood test; it came back negative.  I was disappointed I did not find the answer to cure her.  My mom, sister and I all suffer from stomach issues.

As time passed, my own stomach issues started to worsen. (Actually I thought I was normal until my husband told me I was not.)  I have almost every Celiac Disease symptom in the book!  I had iron deficient anemia starting at the age of 15 and was always extremely tired with very little energy.

I'm short, moody, my stomach would bloat like I was six months pregnant, everything made me bruise, had continuous neck and shoulder pain, dental issues, did I mention MOODY?  I spoke to my doctor and he said I probably have  Irritable Bowel Syndrome and I should eat more vegetables. 

I tried this, but nothing helped.  I met another wonderful woman with confirmed Celiac Disease, and I told her about all my issues. She encouraged me to do the blood test, since my issues were similar to hers.  So I did.

After waiting several weeks for the results, they came back negative. What?  Really?  As much as I am a Google-aholic, I already knew there are a lot of false negatives to the blood test.  The next steps are doing a biopsy, a fecal test, or even gene testing.  I have not taken the next steps (because it costs a lot of money). I would like to hear more from people who have taken these next steps. However I went ahead and started the gluten-free diet and WOW are the results astounding! 

The tension in my neck was one of the first things to go, my stomach started acting “normal” (sorry do not want to be too graphic), I do not bloat anymore, I don’t remember the last bruise I had and my mood swings have almost completely diminished. However I will always be short. Needless to say my husband is happier, because I am happier (and he doesn't have to give me as many neck rubs).  My life has changed dramatically for the better.

I thought it would be harder to eliminate all of the wheat, barley and rye from my diet, but thankfully there are more and more gluten-free items in the grocery store and thanks to all the restaurants that have gluten-free menus!  I plan on trying to turn all of my fabulous gluten-infused recipes to new gluten-free recipes!  If anyone has any tips on baking with gluten-free flour, please shoot them my way!

Also I would love to hear about your gluten-free dining, cooking, and testing experiences.

Disclosure:  I do not recommend this diet to everyone and I am in no way a medical professional, so please seek an expert on this subject if you are concerned you might have Celiac Disease.