Why I Eat Gluten Free

I’ve received quite a few requests to write this post.  Sadly, a lot of other people are struggling with digestion issues these days, and I’ve gotten a bunch of questions as to why and how I discovered that gluten upset my stomach.

Let’s rewind back to 2008, when I was still in college.  At some point during my junior or senior year, I started having crazy episodes of burping – like forceful hiccup burps that would scare people away.  My grandma even told me to try and hide them best I could or I wouldn’t find a husband:)  I also had random upset stomachs and cramping, but just assumed this was from the occasional frequent rich meal and didn’t think much of it.  Everything I ate in college was from the dining hall or a restaurant, so who knows what was in the food.

After graduating from college, Matt and I moved to Boston. In Boston, we started shopping at Trader Joe’s and preparing most of our own meals. I remember starting to pay more attention to the quality of the food I was buying and we tried really hard to eat ‘healthy,’ but back then, that meant ham sandwiches and lots of processed TJ’s snacks.  Still, it was a lot better than what I was eating in college, yet my stomach problems became worse.  I would have nights of indigestion and horrible stomach cramps that would send me to bed, and the gross burping continued.  I decided to see a GI doctor in Boston to see if I could figure this out.

My doctor tested for Celiac’s and parasites, and did a flexible sigmoidoscopy (similar to a colonoscopy) to look for inflammation or damage to the intestine.  He didn’t find anything and gave me the lovely IBS diagnosis.  He recommended an expensive probiotic (VSL3) , a round of specific antibiotics, and TUMS. I remember asking him if there were any diet changes I could try, and he recommended trying a lactose free diet and more fiber, but other than that, he said diet changes likely wouldn’t make a difference (what!!??).

So, I tried a lactose free diet and those lactose pills that are supposed to help with digestion.  And then I tried a completely dairy free diet and nothing changed. I didn’t notice any difference with the probiotic, and since it was $50/bottle, I stopped taking it.

I started doing some of my own [internet] research which was helpful but also led me down a rabbit hole of worrying, feeling overwhelmed with limitless opinions and options.  I eliminated soy from my diet, and although I don’t think it helped that much, the information I read about processed soy has kept me away from it since.  I tried drinking apple cider vinegar and stomach acid supplements. I also tried the FODMAP diet, which was way too restrictive and frankly, made me very unhappy.

And then we moved to Durham. We started shopping at Whole Foods, and I started paying a lot more attention to labels and avoiding chemicals and additives that I didn’t recognize. I switched from coffee to tea in the mornings.  I saw a big difference in the number of upset stomachs and stomach cramps, but was still having a lot of burping, bloating, and constipation.  My mom had a young DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine) who she thought may be more into alternative solutions at her doctor’s office in Hillsborough, so I decided to see if she had any ideas.  She actually recommended a very low dose of antidepressants, saying that there was a correlation with gut health; she thought maybe that could help my sluggish digestion (which would also help the bloating)  even though I didn’t have symptoms of depression.  I tried the meds for a few months (can’t remember which one), but didn’t notice a difference and definitely didn’t want to stay on a more serious drug long term. She also recommended Miralax, which helped tremendously with constipation.  I took one dose every single day and started to feel a lot better day-to-day.

When I find GF fried food, I go all out:)

We moved to Dallas, and even though my stomach was much improved since college and Boston, I still had the burps and a lot of bloating, and I worried about taking Miralax for the rest of my life. My doctor assured me it was fine to take forever, but it seemed more like a bandaid for an underlying problem. My sister suggested I try a gluten free diet, but I really really didn’t want to give up gluten and just didn’t believe that it could be the problem given the earlier Celiac’s test came back negative.  It had been 4 years since I’d seen a GI doctor, so I decided to try one last time.  I did a lot more research and found someone who was right out of med school (hoping she was more up-to-date on research) and highly recommended.  The doctor listened to this whole story and then asked me what diet changes I had tried. She explained that there’s not a lot of medical research about non-celiac gluten sensitivity, but many of her patients were finding that it made a huge difference. At that point, I had tried almost everything else, so I knew I had to try it.  I also started taking another probiotic – Garden of Life Critical Colon Care – and it seemed to be helping a ton. I eliminated all gluten in April of 2014.  Two weeks in, I remember feeling really discouraged because I didn’t see any difference, but I had read that it can take a while. Right at the one month mark, something just changed, and I started to feel amazing.  And I’ve never looked back. It may sound silly, but it was like a miracle cure after years of trial and error. It took me a little while to wean off the Miralax, but I was able to stop taking it completely.

Gigi’s has a huge selection of GF cupcakes

For the first two years or so, I didn’t drink any beer, but I’ve found I can have one or two and still feel fine, especially if it’s a beer like Pacifico that barely has any gluten in it (less 20 ppm gluten). I tried a gluten challenge two years ago (Aka re-introducing gluten) – after one small piece of organic sourdough bread, I didn’t notice any real symptoms, but when I made a sandwich with two slices, I felt terrible for a good week.  I really thought maybe I’d be able to reintroduce it again some day:( That said, I’m so used to it now that it’s not really a big deal, and there are so many incredible gluten free baked goods! The thing I miss the most is savory bread – like croissants, biscuits, bagels, and crusty bread – because it’s really hard to find GF versions.  I’m just thankful that it’s not dairy because there is no stand-in for cheese! I’m also thankful I don’t have Celiac’s, as I don’t have to worry about cross-contamination or if there’s a smidge of soy sauce in a recipe at a restaurant.

So that’s my GF journey.  Hopefully it helps someone else out there!  I get a little annoyed when someone thinks I’m doing it to restrict calories or carbs. Let me be clear: I don’t believe in fad diets and have always been a lover of all things gluten:)  But I’m used to the judgy looks by now, and it is sooo worth it to feel good and not have to rely on a drug to get things moving!