Could this girl really be going gluten free?

I’ve just finished two weeks of my gluten free test, and things are going well. Now that I’m over the initial hump, that is. The first week was really rough – it took about five days for my system to fully adjust. I’m not entirely sure why; I figured once you remove a substance that is bad for the body, things would improve immediately. But I’ve read that’s not the case with gluten. It can take a while for the protein to leave your body and when it does, there’s an adjustment period.

I don’t intend to start writing a lot about gluten-free living because 1) this is a personal finance blog, and 2) there are tons of amazing food and health bloggers already providing valuable resources who are far more knowledgeable than I am.  But there was a lot of interest in my initial gluten free post, and I do spend a lot of my income on groceries, so I’m going to provide occasional updates on how it’s going. Today’s post will explore some background on why I decided to do this and what the process has been like.

Why try gluten-free? 

Several of my first relatives on my father’s side have been diagnosed with Celiac disease during the past year. Prior to my uncle’s test (he was the first with a diagnosis, in November 2010), I had never heard of the disease nor did I know much about gluten. I got very interested in gluten once I head about the symptoms of Celiac. Digestive issues, excessive bloating, and more seemingly unrelated conditions (…I have several of the symptoms). Plus, it can lead to colon cancer, which both of my grandmothers had (both had their colons removed). Given my symptoms and family connection, I started to think that perhaps I might either be Celiac or have a gluten sensitivity. I did nothing about this thought for a year.

In November, my brother and I took a Celiac test at a free screening. We both came back negative. I did nothing for three more months. But since getting that result I’ve had a lot of people tell me that the Celiac tests are unreliable, and that even if I’m not Celiac I might still be sensitive to gluten. I finally saw my physician two weeks ago, told her about all of the above, and she agreed I should test-drive a gluten free diet. “If you feel great, stick with it,” she said. And so I decided to try it.

The gluten-free diet … the good, the bad, and the expensive

My diet itself isn’t that different from what I was already eating. I have SUCH a sensitive system that I switched to a super healthy diet (for the most part) years ago. (…Which is why I was always baffled that I have such terrible stomach issues.) I basically just substituted all my grains with other grains. The major difference is that I haven’t yet committed the list of gluten ingredients to memororoy, so  eating out is a hassle. But buying stuff at the grocery store and meal planning ahead of time is fine. And it saves me money.

There are tons of good ideas, recipes, and support communities online. And man-friend has been great. He is fine with gluten. And he’s been open to trying new grains. He really doesn’t love most of them, but he still cooks them for me and listens to all the new labeling and ingredients instructions. Some of my relatives have great gluten-free recipes and suggestions, too. So minimal pain there.

From 2007. I love this shirt.

One area that has been a pain is beer. Craft beer is a big part of our lives. Man-friend is now a home-brewer, we travel around the country to visit breweries, and we go to beer events like festivals. I’ve tried a few gluten-free varieties, and I’m guessing they’d be fine if I was a Bud Light drinker. But I love a clean, hoppy pale ale, a dark coffee stout, a tangy sour brown ale … and even the best of gluten-free stuff I’ve tried doesn’t even come close.

But it’s just a test. After four weeks of gluten-free living, I’ll do one week of adding gluten back in to see if I notice a difference. I’m pretty excited to fill up on pizza, burgers, and beer during that week.

As I predicted in my first post, the higher costs of gluten-free foods have been offset by eating out less. I spent $100 more than my budget on groceries for the month of February (ouch!) but I spent $171 less than my restaurant/eating out budget for February and $81 less than my bars and alcohol budget, which totals a savings of $153 for the month from my food and beverage budget.

How I’m feeling

Week two has been pretty great. The changes have been very gradual but I’m starting to see some benefits: I’m sleeping better than I have since I can remember, and I’m not waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. I’m not sleeping on the bus in the morning because once I wake up I’m actually awake. I’m not desperately seeking caffeine at 3 p.m. and I don’t need a second cup in the morning.

I have less stomach bloating. It’s weird, my stomach actually looks flatter to me but I weigh the same. I haven’t had indigestion and after I eat I don’t ever feel like my stomach is going to explode. I haven’t stopped any workouts due to food coming back up or emergency bathroom visits, and my endurance and speed seem to be improving a little. I haven’t had any stomach upset episodes.

I only had one random headache during the past 14 days. I seem to have less “puffy face.”

I was hoping for the bloating, the headaches, and other stomach/digestive issues to improve. I could not have guessed that my sleeping and energy would improve. I actually had to ask my cousin, a diagnosed Celiac, about it. She said her sleep also greatly improved and one way she can tell she’s been “glutened” is because she wakes up in the middle of the night.

Baby steps

I think going gluten-free is a pretty radical step. If you would have told me five years ago that I would be trying gluten free I’d probably have laughed. But after two weeks, I’m starting to feel like this is a step in the right direction, which is better than I’ve felt in a long time.