Goodbye Gluten

Dear gluten,
       I don't think we can see each other anymore. Its not you. Its me. I hope we can still be friends (and maybe meet up for an occassional late night bready call) .
Your friend, 
Carissa


That's right. I think I'm breaking up with gluten.

Gluten Free Brownies for me please!

What exactly is gluten?  Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barely...breads, pasta, etc....  It is a major culprit in Celiac's disease and now public-enemy-number-one in many "gluten-free" foods.


So why the sudden split for me?


For the past 2 weeks, as part of our clean diet, I have had very little gluten. The few carbs I had came from oatmeal, brown rice, fruits, and sweet potatoes. On my cheat day I gobbled down my processed friend gluten...chomp, chomp, chomp. And then I looked like I had a food baby and I felt lousy. I really did. I'll spare you the gruesome details.


So I used my advaced knowledge of science and hypothesized that possibly gluten was to blame for this pain. Possibly.


I talked to my friend Kim who suffers from Celiac Disease and she let me know that gluten sensitivity is not uncommon. (ps- I have a great post from Kim written about dealing with Celiac's tomorrow. Don't miss it!)


It has been said that 12% of the general population (outside of Celiac sufferers) may have gluten sensitivity.  12 out of 100 people!  That's a lot!

Even if you don't suffer from gluten-malaise, I feel confident that eating cleaner and less processed is important, healthier, and will help me and you feel better. So im kicking gluten to the curb!  The cavemen didn't have gluten and they were pretty cool. Right?


I think it's important to talk about gluten, because the prevalence of "gluten-free" foods is increasing.  Going gluten-free is not a diet and it probably won't help you lose weight.  Celiac Disease is a real disease that 1 in 133 Americans suffer from.

Gluten Free goodies

I'm all about education.  Maybe you've been suffering and didn't know it could be from gluten.  Maybe you didn't know what the buzz about GF foods was.  Maybe you just wanted to be sure you could nail any gluten question on Jeopardy. But there is power in knowledge, so I hope you can share your knowledge with someone you know.  


Tomorrow's post will talk about how to live and thrive gluten free.


Love and coconut flour, 
Carissa & Kyle


Coupon Alert- Udi's is a GREAT gluten-free company.  Click here for a $1 off coupon for any Udi's product.  Make sure you print it twice!