A Gluten Intolerance And Living A Gluten Free Life

If you have a gluten intolerance you are not alone. Thousands of people are living with this problem and are learning how to live with it and thousands more live with the problem not knowing they have it. Thousnads of people have symptoms that could mean they have a gluten intolerance but they do not even know this.

We are not made to eat gluten. Our bodies are not evolved yet to be able to consume gluten properly. Our stomachs are not able to digest gluten properly. It is no more that 10000 years since we started farming grains. Before that we ate meat, berries, and nuts. Wheat, barley and rye are a relatively new addition to our diet. And we may have been ok eating it if we were still eating the produce of pre World War II. The wheat that our grand fathers ate. The wheat and barley that was not bio-engineered to have much more gluten in it, actually 90% more gluten. That, added to the processing and refining of food has made eating quite dangerous for some people.

When you have a gluten intolerance you find you have head aches, feel nauseous, have aching joints and other ailments. These are all factors that make your quality of life less than what it aught to be. Living without gluten will change all these issues. As our bodies are not constucted to eat the huge amounts of gluten that is found in our food our guts, for many people, begin to object. Often later on in life. Allergies appear. Intolerances appear. All is not as it should be.

However, it you stop eating products with gluten then many of the problems connected to gluten seem to vanish. You have loads more energy and feel far more awake. Gluten free products have a lower glycemic index so they do not cause the highs and lows of the blood sugar like eating process white bread would do. The blood sugar stays more constant and you don't feel the need for that chocolate bar mid afternoon! Furthermore, because of your awareness with what you put in your mouth and the need to be sure there is no gluten in the products you are more careful in getting the right balance of foods. Your body thanks you for this by feeling healthy. It no longer feels bloated by the processed white bread, nor the need to have three pieces of this bread!

Gluten may also be to blame for the extra kilos that we seem to put on through the years. It is very fattening and together with the difficulty that humans have in digesting it I would not be surprised if it is to blame for some of the kilos at least.

Of course, living a life free of gluten will not be the same as you are used to but it does not have to be a great change. Flour replacements and gluten free products are readily available in supermarkets and health food shops. You still need to be careful of gluten that is hidden in products like soy sauce and ketchip but overall it seems to me that living a gluten free life can actually be better.


Copyright (c) 2011 Kat Drew