Bored Yet?

Sorry that everything is about gluten right now. I had planned on writing about something else, but Ford was accidentally "gluttoned" yesterday with dramatic consequences. After several days of calm and harmony, he became a complete basket case - sobbing on his bed for 15 minutes over something so insignificant that I can't even remember what it was. He had two bouts of crying uncontrollably and was once again argumentative and unhappy. I began racking my brain. Baxter started to doubt that gluten had been the cause in the first place. Then, I realized what had happened and felt terrible. Our seemingly innocuous lunch of homemade nachos was laced with gluten. My "MSG free" homemade taco stuff that was in the freezer was prepared with flour as a thickener. It didn't contain a lot of flour like a cake would, but it was apparently enough to make him feel terrible. He also complained about his tummy before bed last night (and I had sharp stomach pains as well). Then, on top of that, he woke up with night terrors for the first time since we went gluten free. Now, I'm totally convinced. I will be much more diligent in my efforts to avoid gluten and Baxter is behind me 100%.

I am reading Elizabeth Hasselbeck's book, The G Free Diet and am learning a lot. I am amazed that roughly 10% of type I diabetics have Celiac Disease (compared to 1% of the general population) yet I have never heard this figure from any of the doctors I have seen since I was diagnosed 16 years ago. Other conditions may be diagnosed as a result of having lived with Celiac Disease over time (or misdiagnosed, due to undiagnosed Celiac Disease) Here's a list of these conditions: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Hypothyroidism, Addison's Disease, Aphthous Stomatitis, Cardiomyopathy, Sjogren's Syndrome, Depression, Osteoporosis, certain forms of cancer, and reproductive issues. I'm not going into my long medical history here, but I really think that this diet will be good for me to follow as well.

I was surprised to learn that all the foods I have avoided containing MSG that made my stomach turn inside out contain gluten. Gluten is used as a binder in MSG. So, I've been partly avoiding it for a while now. I will update again if I notice changes in my general health and share any new insights I come across. Thanks to all my friends who love me enough to read these boring entries!