Gluten Free Journey
Being gluten free has always been tricky when I am with other people besides my family... though in the beginning it was tricky with them too! With six family members in one household remembering what everyone likes/dislikes is hard, adding a dietary restriction is even harder!
It took getting used to and finding something that I could eat AND that tasted good. Now there are plenty of options available, even at restaurants.
If you didn't know gluten is, "a substance present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough." It is found in pretty much anything that has wheat, barley, malt, rye, or brewers yeast. The gluten protein is also found in foods like processed meats (including burgers), fries, most Chinese food, pastas (of course), anything breaded, sauces (including soy sauce), most "American" food, spices/seasonings, soups (as thickener), drinks, etc. I could go on!
I am going to be open for a moment, being gluten free for me is a need AND a choice! Having gluten causes my thyroid to attack itself and my body. (the thyroid is very important in almost ALL the functions of the human body). About 10 years ago I was having problems related to my thyroid and when I was tested it was discovered that I had antibodies to my own thyroid. The level was greater than 6500!!!
You see, having antibodies to your own thyroid is not good at all, they destroy it little by little. My doctor recommended that I avoid gluten and within those beginning months my antibody level went down to 600. Today my levels are under 20 which is a gift from the Lord!
I choose to live a gluten free lifestyle because I don't enjoy feeling like garbage shortly after consuming gluten, but I also don't want to face more long term problems down the road! If I accidentally consume alot of gluten, I have terrible muscle pains and long term internal damage. If I consume a little I may not feel the pain at once but the gluten will continue to attack my thyroid which causes inflammation,bodily harm, and can lead to cysts of the thyroid.
Having to be gluten free due to health reasons caused me to struggle emotionally, I would get down after many of my friends and even extended family members would criticize gluten free food, always ask when I can have gluten again, and tune out when I would start to briefly explain. It made me feel like it was MY fault that my body acted the way it did. and made light of when I chose to help it "recover" by changing my lifestyle.
Well, let me tell you, it was terrible being gluten free in the beginning. The food did not taste the best, I was tired of people asking the "why" question, etc. But a positive during this whole adventure was that my relationship with the Lord grew and He was my support!
One hurdle that I had to "overcome" was with communion. For the first couple years I struggled with the thought of "God, I know this is between You and I, but why do I feel like people are judging me?" When passing the tray with the bread (which represents the body), I felt the looks and put downs of those around me. I felt like I was being judged. I know that people probably weren't judging but the thoughts would come!
I finally got over the thoughts a few years ago but I still couldn't partake in communion of the body. I had gotten to the point that I was able to partake in communion in my own way (partaking with the wine, his blood)!
Just recently my church decided to have communion become gluten free so that those who have this dietary restriction can finally partake with the church body of partaking of "the body of Christ". It has made me think about my gluten free journey the past few years in regards to communion and reminds me that through a somewhat bad situation (being gluten free) I was able to grow even closer to my Lord and Savior!
Workcited:
"gluten" dictionary.com
It took getting used to and finding something that I could eat AND that tasted good. Now there are plenty of options available, even at restaurants.
If you didn't know gluten is, "a substance present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough." It is found in pretty much anything that has wheat, barley, malt, rye, or brewers yeast. The gluten protein is also found in foods like processed meats (including burgers), fries, most Chinese food, pastas (of course), anything breaded, sauces (including soy sauce), most "American" food, spices/seasonings, soups (as thickener), drinks, etc. I could go on!I am going to be open for a moment, being gluten free for me is a need AND a choice! Having gluten causes my thyroid to attack itself and my body. (the thyroid is very important in almost ALL the functions of the human body). About 10 years ago I was having problems related to my thyroid and when I was tested it was discovered that I had antibodies to my own thyroid. The level was greater than 6500!!!
You see, having antibodies to your own thyroid is not good at all, they destroy it little by little. My doctor recommended that I avoid gluten and within those beginning months my antibody level went down to 600. Today my levels are under 20 which is a gift from the Lord!
I choose to live a gluten free lifestyle because I don't enjoy feeling like garbage shortly after consuming gluten, but I also don't want to face more long term problems down the road! If I accidentally consume alot of gluten, I have terrible muscle pains and long term internal damage. If I consume a little I may not feel the pain at once but the gluten will continue to attack my thyroid which causes inflammation,bodily harm, and can lead to cysts of the thyroid.
Having to be gluten free due to health reasons caused me to struggle emotionally, I would get down after many of my friends and even extended family members would criticize gluten free food, always ask when I can have gluten again, and tune out when I would start to briefly explain. It made me feel like it was MY fault that my body acted the way it did. and made light of when I chose to help it "recover" by changing my lifestyle.
Well, let me tell you, it was terrible being gluten free in the beginning. The food did not taste the best, I was tired of people asking the "why" question, etc. But a positive during this whole adventure was that my relationship with the Lord grew and He was my support!
One hurdle that I had to "overcome" was with communion. For the first couple years I struggled with the thought of "God, I know this is between You and I, but why do I feel like people are judging me?" When passing the tray with the bread (which represents the body), I felt the looks and put downs of those around me. I felt like I was being judged. I know that people probably weren't judging but the thoughts would come!
I finally got over the thoughts a few years ago but I still couldn't partake in communion of the body. I had gotten to the point that I was able to partake in communion in my own way (partaking with the wine, his blood)!
Just recently my church decided to have communion become gluten free so that those who have this dietary restriction can finally partake with the church body of partaking of "the body of Christ". It has made me think about my gluten free journey the past few years in regards to communion and reminds me that through a somewhat bad situation (being gluten free) I was able to grow even closer to my Lord and Savior!
Workcited:
"gluten" dictionary.com
Comments
Post a Comment