July 16, 2024
My husband has been baking these amazing (full gluten) chocolate chip cookies. I have been eating them now and again. Nothing bad happens. I do take a gluten digestive enzyme with the faith that maybe it isn’t not destroying my insides. Honestly it is so hard to know. But one thing is clear: I had a period of time (maybe a year) where my stomach would toggle between burning and unsettled. The gastroenterologist ordered test shows I have extremely high gliaden IgG levels (gluten antibodies). I stopped gluten and my symptoms disappeared. After a long period of ditching gluten all together and taking a probiotic, I started dabbling with small amounts of gluten again. And it’s been fine. What I don’t understand is: was reacting to gluten a symptom of gut dysbiosis, inflammation, etc. Or was having a gluten sensitivity the root cause of the inflammation and symptoms. This is far from a controlled experiment. Other variables I sense that are in play are – getting older, drinking alcohol, harming my gut with (who knows what else!). My husband and I have often chatted about where to draw that line between indulging and enjoying life and being prudent / responsible at every turn. (Yes you’re missing out on quite a stimulating party). I believe these are micro decisions we all make every day. As I have gotten a little older and wiser, I try to tap into feelings of pride and satisfaction (serotonin) over immediate gratification (dopamine) and (mostly!) make decisions that I know will make me feel great in the long term. As it pertains to gluten, I know for myself…if I want to keep the perk of being able to eat bread or other gluten treats on special occasions, I can’t get cocky and mindlessly start incorporating gluten into my every day routine. 🙂
Try going dairy free as well as gf.
I did, tho it was very VERY hard to kick the dairy. (I cheated for years!)
And it very much made a difference! The dairy did a lot of damage; I’m still working on healing that.
Meran