On Being Gluten-Free (Which We're Not)

A Facebook friend of mine posted this article last week and I can't get it out of my head.  Essentially, it's on the popularity of the gluten-free diet these days.  The author, comparing it to the popularity of MSG-intolerance a while back, postulates that in many cases, gluten intolerance is mainly psychosomatic.  You get the idea that certain foods are bad for you, then you start noticing symptoms ranging from indigestion to the inability to breathe - which he believes is a result of the placebo effect.  You may be experiencing real symptoms, but they're created by your mind.

Interesting, no?

First of all, I do agree that gluten-intolerance is somewhat of a fad right now.  I suspect not everyone off gluten is actually intolerant of it.  Second, I think that's a great thing for those who actually have celiac's disease or are allergic to wheat.  There's a whole industry giving them more options!  And the increased awareness means that eating with others is an easier experience (sometimes).

We're not gluten-free.  Our diet is not too far from it - most allergy-friendly recipes automatically cut out gluten.  Regardless, Kekoa's dairy and egg allergies make a similar point.

Consider the classic church potluck.  This is what Kekoa and I can't eat:

• Potato Salad
• Macaroni Salad
• Fruit ambrosia
• Salads and slaws with creamy dressings (caesar, Ranch, Blue cheese, etc.)
• Almost any Mexican or Italian dish (usually have cheese)
• Fried foods
• Some hot dog and burger brands (some contain eggs)
• Some hot dog or burger bun brands
• Some deli meats
• Flavored chips (sour cream and onion, nacho, etc.)
• Cream based chip dips
• Sweet breads
• Cakes
• Cookies
• Brownies
• Ice cream
• Chocolate (dark only...but who brings dark chocolate to a potluck?)

And this is what we can eat:

• Veggies
• Salads and slaws with oil, vinegar, or citrus based dressings
• Fruit
• Tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole
• Baked Beans
• 100% Beef Burgers (with condiments other than mayo)

You get the idea.  THAT'S the power of the gluten/egg/dairy-free diet.  We don't gorge on potluck foods.  We can't walk down the aisle of convenience foods.  We don't help ourselves to baked goods at a friend's house. 

I make no claims to being dairy- and gluten- intolerant.  But I feel better after eliminating or cutting back on those foods because that automatically eliminates 90% of accessible junk food (you can, of course, buy or make your own junk food alternatives, but they're expensive and/or time-consuming).  

Additionally, even though I don't think dairy is all bad for you, it is heavy and can be difficult to digest (wheat is the same).  And I never realized HOW MUCH the typical American diet includes until we cut it out. 

I can completely understand someone kickstarting a diet by going gluten-free. Dieting based on self-control is too personal.  It requires too much work, and carries with it a sense of shame if you fail.  Dieting based on a medical condition - or heck, even just a hard-to-digest food - is so appealing.

Not only is a medical condition easier to diet with, but people are much more understanding.  I would feel like such a high maintenance little princess asking our host to accommodate a dairy-free diet based on my personal opinion of "healthy."  I'd probably be labelled an obsessed, misguided health nut.  But people are happy to accommodate allergies.  

Why is that important?  Because I can attest that the absolute, most difficult part of dieting - for allergies or otherwise - is watching people eat the foods you love and not being able to eat them.  I rather enjoyed our diet until we had to leave the home.  Eating at restaurants can be torture, as you pick from your tiny store of bland options ("sorry, you can't have anything on the dessert menu") while others feast on rich, creamy dishes.

It also matters how people react to your food choices.  Even I have gotten flak: "Well, why don't you just wean him?  Then we could give him baby food or something and cook normally for everyone else."    We're trying to do a healthy thing here - but people don't like to be inconvenienced by our choices.

*sigh*

Anyway, that's my semi-rant.  Yes, I do agree with the article - I think that gluten intolerance is sometimes not actually initiated by the body.  But going gluten-free, at least for a time? Well, I don't think that's such a bad idea.  We've learned so much more about what we put in our mouths, how it affects our bodies long-term, and how little variety the Western diet actually has.  

I hope to once again have dairy and eggs grace our kitchen, someday.  But in the meantime, we're learning how to incorporate different foods in our everyday diet.  So maybe next time, some of those not-so-good foods will stay out for good.

Cured

For the first twenty three years of my life, I suffered from an acute sleep disorder.  My family, roommates, and husband, however, seemed not to take it very seriously.  In fact they rather seemed to enjoy it.

True, certain events did seem to add a little spice to life.  For example:

• My pillow mysteriously turning up in various places all over the house - my brothers' bathroom, the couch, my dad's office.
• The time the jet plane crashed into our dorm room and I implored my roommate to help me "pick up all the little crystal bubbles" that were scattered in our room as a result.
• The time I shared a room with my Grandma on vacation and sat on her in the middle of the night.  Fortunately, her heart is fine.
• The time my roommate, convinced I was asleep, absolutely refused to make eye contact or conversation with me to prevent any odd behaviors.  (the next morning: "Haha, last night you just insisted that you were awake.  It was so funny"  "Um.  I was awake. Just using the restroom.")
• The time Rodents of Unusual Size (or possibly snakes) swarmed into our apartment through our window AC unit and I woke Josh up to save us.  He, confused and clearly not comprehending the danger, proceeded to rifle through the picnic basket.  I was livid that he would mess around with a picnic basket while leaving me exposed to the ROUS's (or snakes).
• The (two!) times I read Dracula.  HUGE mistake for a sleepwalker.

But for the last thirteen months I've been absolutely incident free.  No mysterious pillow migrations, no nocturnal wanderings, nothing.  And there haven't even been any recorded incidents of sleeptalking.

Yes, I think I can finally say that I'm cured.  I owe it all to Kekoa, I think.  Something about that maternal instinct that is always aware, even in sleep, of the presence of a little person that needs protection.  I thought at first that when we moved him out of our room I might start up again, but nope.  If anything, I sleep even more lightly.

So hurrah!  It's nice to not worry about where you'll end up by morning.

In case you thought long luscious locks were all fun and games...

Warm summer afternoons + naptime = this.

"If I smile will you leave the tangles alone?"

In other news, the new words are coming steadily now.  We get to see not just what we say often, but what he interprets them as meaning.  Sometimes quite revealing as to how he's learned to get our attention/affection.

For example: "I did it!" ("dadatet") means, "I need praise and affirmation and attention, so I'm going to do this thing that I think you'll be proud of and then come get my hug!"   

"I got you" ("agachoo!") means "Hey, can you get off the computer and play tickle fight instead? I'll start things off by grabbing your feet" (An unfortunate discovery on his part: my feet are highly reactive)  :/

"Amen" ("hahama") means "This is a weird kind of peek-a-boo.  Why don't we just say peek-a-boo like usual?  But whatever, I'll play along."  (bonus points: I can say that my child says "Amen" at the end of a prayer.  See what good spiritual parents we are?  Never mind that he thinks it's a game...)

"Mama baby" ("mama behbeh") means "Pick me up please, I need some nurturing!"  Usually accompanied by the universal "pick me up" sign of upraised arms.  After a few days of this, I suddenly started noticing that when he's hurt, I say, "Come here, baby" and then cuddle him.

I really enjoy this phase - it's fun and helpful that he can tell us whether he wants more food, his water, or Daddy.  He can also tell us if he very much disagrees with our decisions.  Fun times.

Summer Doldrums

I love summer.

More accurately, I love the concept of summer.  It's the reality that I don't love so much.

I also love storms.  I love walking in the rain, watching it pour off the roof in sheets, listening to the thunder.

More accurately, I love the concept of storms.  In reality, I'm one of those people who tends to get migraines when the barometric pressure changes.  And then I pout on the couch and wish I could go walk in the rain, but expend all my energy trying to keep my brains from exploding outside of my skull.

We've had a lot of storms in the last couple weeks.  After three straight days of thunderstorms last week, I emerged, groggy and morose, to discover that my kitchen looked like this:

And the rest of the house looked like this:

 And then a couple nights ago Kekoa refused to eat and had a low fever, which I attributed to teething.  He was fine yesterday morning except for some congestion.  And then around noon I discovered that his temp was 102.7.  Forget the housework - we spent the afternoon rocking in the rocking chair while he sat limply in my lap.  Once the acetaminophen kicked in, he felt well enough to yell every time I put him down.  Poor little guy.

So for the Fourth this year, we're doing...nothing.  Absolutely, gloriously nothing.  I think we're a little bit in survival mode right now, and a day off is a wonderful thing.  So we're dressed in red, white, and blue, eating waffles, and vegging.  I heard a rumor that family naptime might be in store for this afternoon...woohoo!!!  We know how to par-TAY.

Happy Fourth!