Gluten or other?

One of the hardest parts of living with a good diet is figuring out just what is good.  I went gluten free and so far it is working well, health wise.  I still can't pass a Dunkin Donut without wanting to buy a dozen.  There are still days of dubious comfort but I will say the days are better now compared to last year.

It is the topic for a different post but I imagine that much of this feeling better is a result of having invested so much personally into going gluten free.  I feel better because it would be pointless if I didn't.  Why put myself through all this if nothing changed?  Call it a dietary placebo effect.  It certainly sounds like good grounds for scientific study.  What part of improvement of health comes from actual changes to diet opposed to the believe the changes will improve overall well being?

That will take some thinking, time, and googling to get an opinion.  But when changing diet I was recommended a process I did not follow.  I was supposed to basically cut out anything and everything that could possibly cause a problem; gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar, carbs, you name it.  I should have been sitting in a corner gnawing on some blanched chicken five times a day.  Do that for a month till you're purged then add back one thing at a time for a week at a time and see how it goes.  That would have been very scientific and I am sure very helpful.  It also sounded dreadfully dull and rather painful to do.  So I didn't.  Now I am coming to the conclusion that there may be more than one malefactor in my diet.  The evil Lord Gluten may have a sinister companion, the Lady Lactose.

It could be one, or the other, or both, that creates great discomfort and horrible moods.  The one way to find out is to give up lactose.  No milk, not a big sacrifice as I do not like milk, no cheese (sorry, pizza) or other dairy containing stuff, read ice cream.  After seeing how things work out I can try and add it back in.  Or I can cheat.  Unlike gluten, lactose has a pill.  Its over-the-counter so who know how well it works, but it is a start.

Saying you're allergic to food is like saying you're allergic to every organic molecule.  It is just too much.  So despite all the pain-in-the-(neck) bother narrowing it down is the best thing.  I have my suspicions.  Now it is time to confirm them.  You can't just shove food in your mouth anymore.  Time to think about things, and once the one or two offenders are identified, then shove the rest into your mouth.  (not recommended but after all the experimentation the treat may feel satisfying.)

Healthy Summer Camps

It is almost time for kids to go to Summer Camp.  Working with schools to make sure your kids get treated well in regards to food sensitivity can be a challenge.  Trying to do the same thing for Summer Camp has similar obstacles.

Sometimes you have to start all over in many cases.  Summer camps are not necessarily run by the schools, and even if they are it is most likely a different set of people.  College and high school kids volunteer to be camp councilors.  These are not the teachers you are used to dealing with.  So it is time to be patient and explain the situation all over again.  So at camp that weekly pizza day means either your kids miss out or the place has to find gluten free pizza.  Either case makes me worry about stigmatizing my kids.  They are special to me but I don't want them singled out for a special table.

One good thing is often I have to provide the lunches and snacks.  I can have a bit more control of what they eat.  A downside is they may be sent to a special table.  I can guess this as the camp already notified me of peanut allergies.  Nothing with nuts should be sent with the kids.  Fair enough.  It also means the peanut kids will probably eat at their own table in case a parent doesn't want to heed that warning.  That's going to be an issue if the kids start to feel second class while at camp.

I imagine there are camps for kids dedicated to healthy living.  They probably have only lactose free cheese and milk, no nuts of any kind, only gluten free products, plenty of spring water fresh from the ground, and everything is organic.  But I do not live in that Vermont commune and one of those camps isn't near me.

I, like every other parent, have to deal with what we have available.  Summer Camp is supposed to be a place of fun and adventure, exploring outdoors and trying to make being away from school last forever.  But when there are food sensitivities/allergies involved someone has to be on the look out.  That random ice cream truck can ruin a day.  Schools are getting better with food concerns, camps may be catching up too, but for now healthy living means being vigilant, even in the lazy days of Summer.

Medicine and Gluten

So I'm sure many others know or knew this but it came as a bit of a surprise to me.  Apparently prescription medicines may contain gluten, especially generics.

I ran out of a medicine a couple weeks ago.  For various reasons I never got it refilled or picked it up at the pharmacy.  I just went without.  Having changed my diet and overall feeling better now that Summer has arrived I almost was going to just stop it.  But I was convinced that I should still include all medications as part of living healthy.  After refilling the prescription a couple of days ago I quickly noticed that I was not feeling well.  A lot of gastric distress is a polite way to put it.

Some quick googling and it may be that the medicine actually contains gluten.  It's a generic, as it is the law that you get generic versions of drugs unless the doctor demands brand name.  (It's another long and technical economic story but that is part of the reason why prescription drugs cost so much.) It is difficult to find out what actually goes into medicines but from what I have seen so far it may have gluten in it.  Or it may not depending on the web page you google.  My symptoms seem to be abating so I may just chalk it up to adjusting to being back on the medicine.  Yet it makes me think of just how much around us contains things that can harm us.  I would not think gluten went into making pills, but apparently it can.

As an aside I tried some new bath products, shampoos, soaps, etc.  These were natural and contain tea tree oil.  Now I am not trying to go all hippie granola, but change can be good.  Or not when I finally look and see that shampoo and stuff have wheat germ in it.  I do not have Celiac's, just a gluten sensitivity.   This might not affect me.  I am not sure I want to find out.  Just another example of how so much in life is impacted by food sensitivity.

I am not saying that the whole world is out to get you, but there are some days where that is more believable.  It's sad I have to check the labels on absolutely everything, not just food.  Being better requires eternal vigilance.

update on baking

So a whole lot of baking did not happen this weekend.  But managed to make a pizza, gluten free.  It's a bacon and cheese.  It was good.

At Children's Hospital

It is so easy to complain about life.  Things happen, others do not understand, can't find what I need and whatever else might happen.  And for those with food allergies/sensitivities there is a lot to complain about.  However, to encourage a greater general understanding its better to give credit where credit is due.  That's this post.

Had to go to #ChildrensHospital in Boston yesterday.  Got there mid-morning so it was time to get a little something to eat.  Children's Hospital Boston is still undergoing major renovations, just putting that out there first.  The renovations made their cafeteria move to a much smaller location in the building, still painted on the wall it clearly said Open, Breakfast 7 - 11.  Some of the staff working in the caf may not have read that.  We went up to the grill area to try and get some eggs and bacon.  There is NOTHING gluten free in the pop up cafe.  Even the ready made salads are marked with wheat as an allergen.  Eggs and bacon seemed a good option despite a cross contamination risk from a shared grill.  Well, that was the thought.  Behind the glass were trays of possibly yet-to-be-cooked ready made breakfast sandwiches stacked on top of each other and a person saying "No eggs, we are closed. I can give you sandwiches."  Pointing out the hours made no difference as they were closed for renovation.

Now, the hospital does have an Au Bon Pain there.  That restaurant is not very #glutenfree but is getting better.  The last time there was nothing to eat, now there are some salads, brownies, and the occasional soup.  What really was helpful was that I was able to order a bacon and egg bagel without the bagel.  The person was very helpful and I was charged not for a full sandwich but for extra sides of bacon and eggs.  My child was able to eat before our appointment.

The part that really deserves accolades was the hospital food services, not the caf.  The appointments would take several hours.  When we were at our final stop the very friendly nurses said we could order food.  And the place had a Gluten Free Menu!!!!

My child got to eat food good for him in the hospital.  That was a huge improvement from the last time we were there.  Children's should be commended for making this change.  Just to be thorough I will point out that the chicken nuggets were not a big hit, but tasting them there was a faint fish taste so they may have been cooked with other stuff.  I assume it was all gluten free.

Having gluten free menus is a great thing for hospitals, and recognizes that food people eat greatly affects their health and well being.  It's not all about pills and potions.  Thank you Children's Hospital Boston for making this needed change.

Time to Bake

For now I have been buying all the gluten free breads and stuff.  This weekend it might be the time to make some of my own.  I have some gluten free mixes for things like brownies, cookies, and corn bread.  And I do have a recipe book for baking, now's the time to put it into action.

If I can find a good doughnut recipe and then find a way to add cocoa to it so I can finally have chocolate doughnuts, I will be very happy.  In the mean time I think I will have to eat my way through a lot of attempts.

It's the internet, I know, so there are a lot of blogs, sites, etc. with lots of information.  I may try to go through all of these again, but I also want to discover things for myself.  When I get more comfortable I will get to baking bread on my own, gluten free of course.  I hope I can find something that acts like gluten so the loaves are not as dense as gluten free bread and still rise to a good size loaf.  Somehow we deserve both in our bread.

Among all the other things happening this weekend,  Happy Fathers' Day to all the other fathers out there, some time in a kitchen with a hot stove churning out the tantalizing aroma of baking bread just might happen.

That's the plan anyway.

Gluten Free Children

For months now I have been doing what I can to live Gluten free.  For me it hasn't been that bad of a transition, challenging, but when put in perspective not all that bad.  Children, however, are another story.

I have one child that will really benefit from going gluten free, and another where it will help but is not absolutely necessary.  They are twins so what one gets the other demands.  Not in this case.  I buy nothing but gluten free food.  That means no cookie dough, no Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, no regular doughnuts, no regular pizza, no regular chicken nuggets, you get the point.  Several times already at the supermarket when the kids are along someone will ask, "Can I get this?" while handing me some awful thing.  I say I can't eat that and your brother shouldn't either.  The conversation quickly ends with a loud, "I hate Gluten!"

The resentment of one is matched by the reluctance of the other.  He just does not want to eat gluten free.  After going to great lengths to find products that actually taste good to a child's palate, at this point, I believe the resistance is not based on taste.  I wonder if two things are not happening here.  One is a realization that he is different and has to eat different.  The other that it seems he is singled out as different and has to eat different.  That everyone sees it.  Both those things can be devastating to a child.  I point out the differences in everyone, not just with diets, in an attempt to not only lessen the feeling of having a spotlight on him but to also help him appreciate the differences.  That's mostly  a lot of touchy happy feel good stuff and does not work all that much.

A different approach has been to try to develop insight within him as to what the affects of food are on him.  Certain foods really make him feel bad.  Some hurt a lot.  Gluten also affects him behaviorally.  It is almost like a steroid.  He becomes aggressive, unfocused, irritable, and restless.  I have no scientific evidence of this but am convinced the gluten is a major cause of bad behavior.  It is almost like clockwork that if he eats something bad soon he will be difficult to deal with.  And that is not his normal baseline behavior.

Healthy eating is just that, eating to be healthy.  And healthy counts more than just being not sick.  It means having a better outlook and behavior.  It was important for me and my own health, but becomes that much more important for my life when I see how it affects those I love.  Healthy living is a challenge for a whole family.  It impacts us on a very basic level.  Working it into the lives of children poses its own special challenges, school, socialization, etc.  I want to give both my children every chance to be the best possible persons, even if that requires them to have 'special' diets.  It is the least I can do.

A new life, Meditation, and Coffee

At the risk of sounding like a wanna be Hippie, or granola eating sandal wearing Earth crunchy type (not that there is anything wrong with hippies, young hippie posers, or associated stereotypes.  I just don't think I am close to being any of those.), I am coming to the opinion that having to change your diet for your health is hardest when it is just that, changing only one thing for an external reason.

It's similar to advice I hear given to young people - don't change for someone else.  A girl is only liking the person you pretend to be, not who you are so knock it off.  Be yourself.  In a similar way trying to change only one aspect of your life is putting on a facade and lying to the rest of yourself.  That is what makes the bitterness, the resentment, the reluctance to continue with healthy eating.  Part of you wants to be who you were despite the pains while some other part is convincing yourself that you are better.

Just yesterday I went in to get a decaf iced coffee.  (yes, at the same place that has no conception of a gluten free world)  And I really wanted their doughnuts (here I steadfastly refuse to spell it the wrong way as in their marketing schemes).  I grew up on them.  I love them.  But I cannot eat them.  I am now just over a relapse where I was in quite a bit of discomfort and pain due to eating something inadvertently with gluten in it - mints. (who knew? but I should have) (for the love of parentheses and as an aside I was all but addicted to Altoids, would eat them one after the other.  These were a knock off brand as I have been out of Altoids for a long time.)  Still I wanted doughnuts even as I stood in line, in abdominal pain, waiting to get an ice coffee.

It finally hit me.  That is not who I am.  Not anymore.  Being attached to an old life, wanting it back, and wanting all the tasty treats that went along with it (and could very well have made me sick) was making me bitter and depressed.  It was wrong.  It was wrong as that is not who I am.  As part of changing what I eat to feel better I am really changing my life to be more who I  really am.  That is what is making me feel better.

Off and on in life I would meditate.  It is rewarding and it helps to get perspective on things, not really be attached so much.  Getting back to that point of view, changing my diet is only a small part of not physically suffering any more.  I'll go back to meditation not only for the many demonstrable benefits but also since it will help lessen the attachment to all the foods and wants that worked to destroy my life.  A healthy lifestyle is just that, a life.  It is not a fad, a phase, or just one thing you have to grudgingly do.  That is why diets so often fail.  It is not something to do.  It is a new someone to be.

Problems on Gluten-Free People Understand

A funny but true link to Problems on Gluten-Free People Understand