Gluten With a Side of Grumpy

Rick is the scientist in the family.  I mean, the man has a pre-med degree - we ought to use it somewhere, right?  This comes in handy when we need to mix up our own natural carpet shampoo or when the children need help with their homework.  (We all know I can sing, dance and cook and that those three are the extent of my talents and abilities.)

However, I recently played "mad scientist" and ran my own little experiment because of a suspicion I had.

You already know that Craig has been gluten free for awhile and while having one person in the family who cannot consume gluten will drastically reduce the amount of gluten the rest of the family takes in, it doesn't completely eliminate it. 

You have to be very intentional about going completely gluten free. 

Gluten is one of those hidden ingredients that lurks around every corner.  It hides behind names you know to look for like wheat, cake flour and bulgar.  However, it also sneaks in under the aliases of semolina, couscous, matzo and durum.

About a month ago, I began to notice what I thought was a trend.  (However, I have millions (slight exaggeration) of things I think I notice that never actually materialize so I have learned not to mention all of them to Rick lest he think I'm nuttier than I really am.)

I began to notice that on the days after I consumed gluten, I was irritable.  If you google symptoms for gluten intolerance, you won't find irritability there.  So, this one had me stumped for awhile. 

It all started with a sandwich.  I fixed a sandwich for lunch with nitrite-free lunch meat, organic cheese and mayo, and a little organic lettuce.  The bread was whole wheat so in my mind I was consuming what I thought was a fairly decent lunch.  (Too bad I combined it with a few organic (but fried) chips and some organic (yet high-fat) dip!  Yum!  There's the possibility I had a few organic m&m's too for dessert!) 

The next day I woke up ready to chew on my family.  Everything they did that morning drove me nuts.  Rick and I had a huge fight which led to everyone leaving angry and me going back to bed.  I hadn't slept well the night before which didn't help matters any.

With all of the "analyzing" that we had to do with Craig in the beginning to figure out if he was just a) tired or b) actually reacting to a food - I have learned to sit back and wonder.  Am I grumpy because I didn't sleep well?  Am I irritable because of something I ate?  Am I mad because I haven't had coffee yet?

After this happened two or three times I began to notice a trend .... It always followed a day on which I had consumed gluten.  It wasn't always a sandwich, but it was always a day after gluten.

What's more is that I noticed that I never slept well after consuming gluten.  You won't find that symptom listed in the gluten intolerance list either.  Gluten intolerance is associated with stomach upsets - cramping, diarrhea, bloating, constipation .... but they never mention poor sleep and irritability.

I decided yesterday that I would run my little experiment one more time before telling you about it.  I've made sure to be at different points in my cycle so that hormones cannot be blamed.  I have made sure that I've remained gluten free for at least seven days before attempting to play scientist (since gluten intolerances can sometimes show up three days after ingestion).  And I have made certain that I have taken all of my regular vitamins and supplements and that I have been fully hydrated (at least 80 oz of water the day before) so that everything is as "normal" as possible.

Granted, my findings nor my un-scientific experiment will never be published in a journal.  However, my point is that so many times we wake up "on the wrong side of the bed" after having not slept well and do we EVER look at what we ate the day before as the "culprit"?  Or - let me flip the tables a bit.  How many people do you work with that seem "hormonal" or bipolar to an extent when in reality, they may simply be dealing with a gluten intolerance that (like me) has very little effect on their gut, but every bit of an effect on their emotional well being?  How many suffering from depression are actually just fighting a food allergy/intolerance?  No, I'm not discounting depression as something very real.  However, no - I'm not discounting certain (processed, artificial) foods as being every bit responsible for our cancers, our diabetes, and our depressions.

I'm going to make a very bold statement that will absolutely infuriate some, but I believe it with all my heart: 

Every single symptom/ailment/sickness you have can be in some way or another traced back to your food. 

Our food has the power to heal or to kill.  What we put in our bodies either strengthens us for the fight or it weakens us (or actually takes us down making us ill and/or diseased).

What will you put in your temple today?