Going gluten-free isn’t easy. I will be the first to admit it. For me the first effort was just mentally painful and every single piece of bread or cracker took on a life of it’s own. I didn’t even like cookies that much and I could easily have hurt someone to get to a single crumb. I didn’t last long…maybe a week before I went crazy on every carb I could. The second attempt was better but during a coaching session with someone who was explaining the importance of it to me I may or may not have called him a name while asking “Is it REALLLLLLY that important? I mean REALLY?” That attempt lasted about two weeks. While making these half-baked efforts my health continued to go downhill. I had heard going gluten-free was a good idea but just in terms of general health. I had no idea how important it would be to me personally. After 6 years of undiagnosed symptoms (pain in joints, gas, constipation, fatigue, weight loss, hormone irregularities etc) and 20 doctors I was finally diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis in 2005. I was told to take a medication while I waited for my thyroid to die off from the autoimmune attack and basically just keep on living like I was. I was floored that there was nothing more given to me to help me get well. No one told me the impact food could have on my health and that just by removing gluten I could slow or even stop the attack on my thyroid. I wasn’t informed in any way about the chemical similarities of gluten and the thyroid and how every time I ate gluten my body mistakenly thought it was thyroid tissue which just exacerbated the attack! I consider Chris Kresser a pioneer in all things health related and I trust his information 100%. He says the following: “What explains the connection? It’s a case of mistaken identity. The molecular structure of gliadin, the protein portion of gluten, closely resembles that of the thyroid gland. When gliadin breaches the protective barrier of the gut, and enters the bloodstream, the immune system tags it for destruction. These antibodies to gliadin also cause the body to attack thyroid tissue. This means if you have AITD and you eat foods containing gluten, your immune system will attack your thyroid.” This was a game changer for me. It changed everything about how I felt about food and what it can do for me. In one day I changed my entire diet. I stopped gluten, soy, dairy, sugar and all grains. I did this for a couple of weeks and it was terribly hard on me and my family. I was angry, frustrated and confused and felt like the more I learned the less options I had for food. I had done elimination diets in the past but never lasted more than a week because I was told what I could NOT have and not what I could. So I decided to slow down and do it my way…the slow and easy way with a list of what I COULD have and I stopped focusing on what I couldn’t have. I kept gluten removed from my diet but otherwise I went back to the foods I wanted temporarily. I replaced the “important” items that I was stuck on with a gluten-free option and every week or so I would try something new and throw out something with gluten in it. I did this with soy as well because these were the two big ones for me. I was already pretty much off all other foods like high fructose corn syrup and white flour so I focused on learning more and more about inflammatory foods and how they affected healing. Maybe the third time was the charm but I believe it was more that I took the “emergency” out of it and worked at my own pace but I became successful at removing gluten from my diet and have been healthier since. Stress only makes any gut inflammation worse so I reduced the stress in my life by following my instincts on what I could do without stressing out about it and it worked. As a health coach who eats a paleo style diet (mostly veggies, quality meats and some starches I tolerate well) I understand the importance of removing foods we may be intolerant to. I won’t even work with people who are totally against giving up gluten and soy because I know how damaging it is to our guts and our hormones and I don’t believe someone can get well while still eating those two foods. But as a person who failed multiple attempts at going gluten-free I knew I had to find a better way for people to ease into this lifestyle if I was going to be able to help them. I decided to coach people “backwards”. Now some doctors and practitioners may not agree with me but my success rate is pretty high so I feel like I am making some changes with people who otherwise might never be able to stick with it. About 85% of my clients give up gluten and soy for good by the time our time together ends. Most of the time people who are seeking better health are given an elimination diet by their doctors and they leave with a long list of things NOT to eat and usually a bag full of expensive supplements and powders to help them along. This visit usually ends in tears and an emptier wallet which in itself is stressful. My plan takes out one thing at a time (instead of the HUGE list of things people usually remove right away like gluten, soy, corn, eggs, sugar etc) and my clients are required to keep a journal so they can track their progress. We find out if a client feels better just by taking out gluten? Great! Does the client want to see if they can feel even better? Then we take out soy next. During the removal process they are being educated about all foods that can be causing issues…..learning why these changes are important and they have my support while they do. I also encourage them to work with their doctor on getting appropriate labs during this process. Learning what works takes education and commitment but it doesn’t have to be mentally and emotionally stressful at the same time. Eating gluten-free is like being pregnant…you either are or you aren’t. You can’t do it halfway. The effects are the same if you eat one grain of gluten or a whole cake. The body knows that poison is poison. Hopefully the articles below will help clarify why going gluten-free (and soy free too!) is so important for everyone but especially for people who are dealing with disease of any kind or struggling with a weakened immune system. It just doesn’t have to be THAT hard. Mindfully, Carmen Hunter www.carmenhunterhealth.com Twitter: mindfulnut http://chriskresser.com/the-gluten-thyroid-connection http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/wheat-gluten-research http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2010/August/stress-and-the-sensitive-gut
My own health challenges have paved the way for me to better understand the pain, frustration and hopelessness one can experience from being unwell. I have deep compassion for those who feel lost or like they don't know where to go next. I have been there and I know I can help you find your way back to healthier living.
I also enjoy mentoring other health coaches and helping them dig deeper into complex issues with clients by going beyond how food affects us and really getting into the other aspects of how to live better.
