Goin' Wheat Crazy

Perhaps you saw my post on testing for a gluten allergy. The protocol is to abstain from gluten for two weeks and then reintroduce it with some servings of 100% rye bread. Now, true rye bread tastes almost nasty. It's also hard to find. I had to go a large Whole Foods downtown to get it, and no amount of Horizon organic salted butter makes it taste good. I had some mild reaction to it, but I think it's because rye bread is just heavy and bit gross to eat, really. Anyways, tried it again some days later to see if I reacted, and again it was mild.

So now I get to go a step further and not just test for a gluten allergy but for a wheat allergy. (Wheat contains gluten, a protein, but is not gluten itself.) And today is the Fiesta De Wheat. 

Breakfast: Whole Food breakfast bar biscuit, waffle, and breakfast plantains smothered in cinnamon and sugar (a wonderful and gooey gluten-free discovery)
Lunch: Bean and cheese breakfast taco on flour tortilla
Dinner: Sausage and garlic Home Slice pizza with salad that comes with a delicious garlic roll

Now, I think I am full, but there is something about pizza and garlic rolls that says, "Eat more of me!" I wonder if it's an evolutionary reaction triggered by going without wheat for three or four weeks.

I will say my stomach is a bit uncomfortable with the sudden food change. I'm feeling a bit bloaty. Hopefully it's the only reaction I'll have, though. Me like pizza and garlic rolls. But, sigh, I keep reminding myself that it's better to find out if I have a sensitivity or allergy instead of suffering from chronic inflammation and whatnot for years to come. I did realize that I don't have to figure it all out right now either. If I want to revisit this testing process down the road, I can. Thought it's certainly frustrating to limit myself to gluten free stuff, especially when the grocery store throws so many wheat products in your face. (SUSHI has wheat in it. SUSHI!) And I've influenced lunch spot choices when out with friends--no crepes from the crepe truck! Gotta go where they at least have salads.

I will say this city is much more accommodating than I ever realized. Sure, you can buy packaged gluten-free foods for premium prices (a dollar or two more than regular stuff), but I found some restaurants post their GF stuff either online or on their menus. (I'm talking about you, Firebowl, Ruby's, Galaxy, and Kerbey Lane.) It made me wonder how many people are really living with this restriction all the time. I heard 1 in 10 people have some type of sensitivity or allergy to gluten! No wonder the GF food industry is booming! 

Back to me: People are asking if I feel better. Well, I did lose four or five pounds, but I've also been hitting the gym. I do look better and feel stronger, and it's probably a combo of the two. And if I don't seem super sensitive to wheat, I think I'll cut back on it. I've had some fun trying out new foods and it's probably been good to take in fewer calories from carbs.

Is it over? Not quite yet. I need to see what happens this week....and then I will probably test for problems with dairy at some point. Ay caramba.