Knowledge is power....

So the past couple of months I have really found a passion for nutrition and I have loved seeking out knowledge on how our body works & what is good for our body. My browsing on the internet happened to lead me to finding Tenley Molzahn's website where she talked about her struggle of being sick her whole life and how she is now g-free aka Gluten-Free. For some reason in that moment I just said to God, " Could this be it, is this maybe whats been going on with me?" I didn't have enough time to research it furthur so I just kind of let it go for a couple days then yesterday I kept sneezing in the car and Tyler was like babe, what in the world.. I mentioned to him how I was reading about having a gluten allergy and he said I should look into it more. So all yesterday I researched more about gluten allergy and after many many different articles & websites I have came to the conclusion that I have Gluten (or wheat) Intolerance. Gluten intolerance is very different from gluten allergy which has more severe symptoms. It basically is your body not responding to the gluten found in things such as wheat & so it harms your small intestines. The good thing is it can be treated by taking gluten out of your diet. Some of the symptoms for Gluten intolerance are:

• Bloated stomach
• Nausea
• Sneezing
• Tiredness and lethargy
• Unexplained runny nose
• Watery,red or itchy eyes
• Bruise easily
• Mouth ulcers

For people that have known me for a long time, they would know 1) I sneeze alot 2) my nose is always runny and I have sounded like I have a cold all my life 3) I have had problems with my eyes and them being irritated & red for years now 4) I bruise really easy & never know how I get them, etc... Crazy right?? I mean I take care of myself, excersise regularly and eat pretty healthy so why in the world have I had these kind of symptoms for most of my life?

Not to mention they make it very clear the connection between gluten & acne; they say its even the number one symptom of gluten intolerance. Acne is a toxic condition where the skin is used as a detoxifying organ when food is not properly digested and eliminated through the intestines. When other organs are overloaded, toxins can excrete through the skin. A severely allergic person often has a problem eliminating those toxins properally so it is forced to eliminate through the skin aka acne.

Most people don't connect alot of these symptoms because they are exposed to gluten 3 or more times a day. When the body has gluten every once in a while it knows how to deal with it, I however am one of those people who have gluten multiple times throughout the day. One of my very sweet & wonderful friends Julia has a gluten allergy, much more severe and I got to talk to her last night about everything that I found. When I mentioned it to her she automatically knew that that was what I was going to say I had. She experienced so many of the same symptoms and was so encouraging! I don't feel like its a punishment, if anything I am so thankful that the Lord revealed that truth to me so I can take care of myself and feel healthy! I am going to have to make some changes that might take some time... but there is so much more awareness about gluten allergy & intolerance these days so that will allow me to have alot of gluten alternatives in stores & resteraunts, which will be very helpful. I already checked out Naturally Yours which was like being in a candy store and I got some bread, protein bars, etc.. to try and start changing my eating habits. Plus I have the love and support of my husband who said he will eat gluten free with me. So thank you Jesus for helping me be healthy & take care of myself!!!