This is the first step, and it's really easy... I've been following the "good food" and "bad food" recommendations. In particular, I've come to understand the importance of avoiding gluten -- becoming gluten free! Let me explain my results.
So to recap:
Foods to avoid are:
- wheat
- barley
- rye
- oats/oatmeal, even when it says it's gluten free (oats produce a molecule very similar to gluten)
- fried foods
- oils, including olive oil
- well done meat (grill marks on barbecued meats, well done meats -- rare and medium are ok)
- nitrates (preservatives) in deli meats
- soda -- carbonated beverages, for example, including "fizzy water"
- skin of baked potato/sweet potato; boiled is OK
- eggs, soft scrambled, poached, soft boiled
- butter -- yes, butter!
- salt -- yes, salt!
- dairy
- fish, including canned in water, tomato sauce, mustard (remember, no oil!)
- chicken
- lamb
- beef, rare and medium rare
- veggies
- fruits
- mixed salted nuts - no peanuts!
- nut butters (other than peanuts) with no added sugars
- rice
- millet
- beans
- corn
- buckwheat (isn't wheat!)
- beans
- couscous (made from pearl millet only)
- coffee, tea, green tea, red wine
- 4-8, 8oz glasses of filtered water each day, avoid plastic bottles
- lard
This turns out to be really easy to do -- by eliminating "bread" products and avoiding thickeners in soups, the majority of gluten is gone. Eliminating fried foods and salad dressings got rid of most of the oils. I preferred my meats medium to rare anyway, so that was easy. I rarely ate deli meats, so this too was easy. I had eliminated sodas a long time ago, and drink plenty of water each day.
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| Nitrate free bacon, soft eggs, gluten free toast |
Eating plenty of eggs and natural sources of protein with salads, and keeping some nuts available for snacks added richness to my diet. The "ancient grains" not only taste good, but they are helping my body heal.
This "diet" feels healthy and fulfilling -- I'm really enjoying it!
Well, Dr. G advised that I follow this process for at least seven days, and then test my results by consuming some products with gluten. In the first week I lost 4 pounds.
I was feeling good for nearly two weeks, and just eating the foods with no real thought to developing a "test" when I attended a family dinner that included a birthday celebration. I navigated the main course with ease, and then, when I was offered a small slice of birthday cake, of course I accepted - I didn't even think about gluten! What a mistake that was...
Well, I won't describe my experience in detail, however, it was extremely unpleasant. And it carried on for a while.
I knew in that moment I would continue to be gluten free.
It's an easy choice! I just FEEL BETTER!
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