Years ago I met two people who had wheat/gluten allergies. One person had more severe allergies than the other. I understood that they couldn't have bread or wheat but I didn't think further than that because I didn't have to. When I met my fiance I knew that I needed to learn more. I wanted to be able to enjoy meals with my fiance and I wanted him to enjoy them too. So, I picked up a book called Living Gluten Free for Dummies by Danna Korn. This book gives a pretty good overview of what exactly Celiac Disease is.
Celiacs (people with gluten allergies) have trouble processing gluten. Gluten is type of protein found in certain grains and all kinds of wheat. This includes barley and rye. When a Celiac consumes gluten "it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed." As you can see, this is a big problem. When our bodies fail to absorb food properly it leads to malnutrition which causes all kinds of other problems. My fiance recently read an article (I'm not sure where) that said that when gluten intolerant people continue to consume gluten it can cause colon cancer.
I know that all of this sounds scary, and it is, but the purpose of this post is not to scare you, it's meant to inform you. If you are new to the gluten free lifestyle I highly recommend reading through The Celiac Disease Foundation website and picking up any number of books that give you the highlights of the do's and don't's. It's a lot to take in but fortunately it's not that hard.
Now that I've touched on the basics of what it means to be gluten free, I would like you to know that being gluten free isn't as hard as you might think. Sure, it requires changes and yes, you will want to have an occasional zebra cake or Twizzler but you can get past that. If I can do it, you can do it. All it takes is a little bit of time and effort. You can still have your favorite goodies, you'll just have to do a bit of searching (cooking or baking) to find them in gluten free versions. Be sure to use caution and really check the labels of the products you are buying. I'll explain more about this later.
Fortunately for us there are tons of websites and blogs out there dedicated to helping those who are gluten intolerant. I will post my favorite books, blogs, sites, recipes, and products as I stumble upon them. One of my favorite sites is Amazon. It has a lot of gluten free items and if you join the Prime program, which I highly recommend, you can get the items shipped very quickly to your house for free. I frequently order gluten free flour mixes, GF Bisquick, GF oats, and anything else that I tend to use a lot of. Another feature that Amazon offers is a sort-of subscription program for these products. You can save more money on certain products by having them automatically shipped to your house on a regular basis. Win-win for everyone since finding these products can sometimes be a hassle in the local grocery stores.
My goal for this blog is to give you information that will make being gluten free easier. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, I am by no means an expert so if I post something that is incorrect please let me know (nicely of course).
Your GF Pal,
Shannon
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