Why You May Need to be Grain Free! Watch & Consider

This five minute interview with Dr. Peter Osborne is worth watching. Some quick bullet points it covers:

• Typical gluten free diets include heavy amounts of corn and rice
• Proteins have been found in corn that are identical to proteins in gluten - the gluten-sensitive immune system reacts the same to these proteins, and don't heal
• Lectins, chemicals found in beans and seeds, act like gluten, creating leaky gut walls
• Leaky gut leads to more and more food allergies
• Seeds were created to produce and perpetuate life, and so they have protective chemicals to prevent extinction - when we eat these, they end up in our gut. Don't assume they don't harm you!
• Grains induce intestinal permeability and autoimmune disease
• Study published: 92% of celiacs did not recover on a "traditional gluten free diet"
• In comparison, often when a person goes grain-free, they are healed completely
• "Healthy whole grains" are promoted on commercials... but aren't healthy!
• Gluten is now tied to 190 autoimmune diseases!

My family has been 99% grain free since January (no gluten, dairy, or soy since last year), and it has worked wonders for my health and the activity of autoimmune disease in my body. PLUS, my basically healthy husband has lost 30 POUNDS (with no changes to his activity level - just food alone), has no more foot pain despite his 6-7 miles of walking on concrete floors at work each day, and more energy each day.

There is something to this, guys. Please watch and consider for yourself.

Super Easy Designer Salad

This is what I'm eating for lunch today. Currently. As in, between typing sentences I'm taking bites. Yum :)

And yes, those are SUNBEAMS shining on that plate. We are finally seeing some real signs of spring up here in the Pacific Northwest! I just sat outside for fifteen minutes enjoying a nice sun bath. My body just craves those warm rays of light and the Vitamin D that comes with them. I am happy to say that I've improved from my last post, I didn't have to get Prednisone or anything else that drastic. Unfortunately though, the other day I was exposed to gluten through cross-contamination by a well-meaning hostess, and it's been a rough week! Moving through my daily routine has been like dragging a bag full of rocks everywhere I go - ah, I forgot how icky it feels to "get glutened!"

To segue... Hence the need for a quick, easy, healthy meal like this fantastic salad :)

Salad does not have to be boring, bland tasting, or unappealing. The stuff that cafeterias peddle as "salad" - you know the kind: some chunks of sad iceberg lettuce, a few carrot shreds and a pale tomato slice - is far from the full potential of a true salad. This here stuff I'm enjoying right now is my family's go-to meal when we're tired, hungry, and running low on food. If you've got greens and a protein of any kind, you can make it in about two minutes.

Even if you have plenty of food and time, this is a great place to start for a salad worthy of a dinner party spread. My husband makes a huge, loaded salad every day for work ("designer salads" as I've started to call them) and varies the ingredients day to day, and he always comes home telling me about the drooling comments he gets from co-workers.

Have fun with it; the possibilities are nearly endless!

What you need:

• Salad greens such as organic baby spinach, spring mix, red leaf lettuce...
• Shredded/sliced meat or fish (chicken breast, turkey breast, beef roast, steak, even canned tuna or salmon or perhaps leftover halibut, tilapia...) 

AND/OR

• Sliced hard-boiled egg
• Nuts/seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, walnut pieces, pecan pieces, dried coconut shreds...
• Dried fruit - no added sugar if possible. Raisins, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, goji berries...
• Healthy oil such as olive, walnut, avocado...
• White wine or balsamic vinegar, if you are so inclined and it doesn't bother your health

What you do:
(The ingredients I used today are in parentheses following the steps)


First, create a base by filling the bottom of your bowl or plate with greens (organic baby spinach and spring mix).


Next, toss on your shredded meat and/or egg (chicken breast).


Follow that by sprinkling on nuts and seeds, and dried fruit (raw sunflower seeds and organic seedless raisins).


Finally, drizzle oil over the salad (my new favorite: walnut oil. Not to be used with heat but perfect for salad!)

And there you have it. You'll get your dietary needs of protein, vegetable, and healthy fat fulfilled, and you can adjust the ratio of meat-greens-oils to your personal preference and needs.

Did you ever think that a delicious salad meal was so easy and versatile? I find those two traits are actually pretty common in healthy whole foods cooking, especially when you keep a good stock of the right foods on hand. (For help on that, check out my master shopping list)

If the sun is shining where you are today, get out there are enjoy it! The Vitamin D is so good for you! I think I'll get back out there and soak up some more for myself :)

On the Right Track!

Great news: I'm coming out of the "gluten fog!"

I'm starting to be convinced that no one needs gluten. I read some interesting theological and nutritional writing this week arguing that God never intended us to eat wheat. I'm still exploring that idea, but I do know for sure He never intended us to eat grains the way they are now -refined, processed, genetically modified and bearing no resemblance to ancient grains. I'm happy to be free of gluten in our home as a family-wide commitment, and I'm really looking forward to our first 100% GF Thanksgiving. Good things are ahead!

Health Update

I haven't blogged in a while, and felt you were all due for an update. The short story is that I've seen my hepatologist and been to the hospital a lot more than I like to lately, and I've had blood draws, an MRI, a liver ultrasound and a liver biopsy, all to tell me that the autoimmune disease I had in my old liver (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) has returned, the bile ducts in my liver have narrowed from scarring, and there is already some liver cirrhosis (scarring in the liver tissue) present. Bummer, yes. BUT- I have way too much joy, purpose, and blessings in my life, and I'm not going anywhere!

All of this nonsense couldn't be happening at a better time. God knows what's happening, and He goes before us. The Sun Stand Still series we are going through at church is EXACTLY what my family has needed to be able to go through this season the right way. Each day and each week that passes, we learn more about audacious faith and big prayers, and I've been simply glowing with faith that my God REALLY, TRULY WILL supply ALL my needs. He is El Shaddai, the God of more than enough. And He does exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. What a treasure to know Him. People tell me I am strong, but that wouldn't carry me through this kind of challenge [for the second time in my life] without the hope of Christ. Check out this past Sunday's message (Sun Stand Still Week 5) and the previous four On Demand here! My little family gets a shout on in Week 4 - PK shared our miracle Victory story. To God be the glory!

In the meantime, life goes on. Hubs was doing a little web surfing about PSC (by the way - never do that with your medical ailments; it's bound to be more frightening than helpful!) and he came across a website from the UK. It specifically stated that PSC is now being linked with Celiac disease. Now, I won't talk about how angry I was for a day or two, thinking about how ten years ago, when I had a perfect, new, healthy, clean liver to work with, I didn't know this. The important thing is, I know better now. I've been eating mostly gluten-free (about 80-90% of the time) for a year or two. I've had my cheat days, and not obsessed over restaurant ordering. But I'm done with that. I haven't gotten support from my doctors over the past few years to look into the Celiac possibility fully and seriously. But I know better now. I have Ulcerative Colitis, PSC, arthritis, possibly fibromyalgia and most recently, MS symptoms- I'm finding that all of these are tied with Celiac and gluten intolerance. Well, that's more than enough motivation to go gluten free.


Hubs made the decision for all of us. He said, "We're going gluten free, period!" [A note to the ladies: you know you've got a good man when he leads the way on something this major for the health of you and your whole family!]

Sure, it's a bummer thinking about how for ten years, a seemingly harmless substance has been slowly tricking my body into attacking itself, and I didn't know.
The important thing is, now I do know, and I'm moving forward without looking back. I'm convinced I have Celiac, and I'm okay with that. I'm going to take on the gluten-free life, and with that life, my husband, my daughter and myself will be healthier than ever. It's going to be awesome!

------------------------------------

Update, December 2011:
I have a fantastic new gastroenterologist and he ran the HLA DQ2/DQ8 gene test for me. It was positive. This further confirmed the likelihood that I have Celiac. This is actually great news to us. Answers are always a good thing!

Hmm... Gluten, Dairy, & Sclerosing Cholangitis

I am searching for articles and information that connnects sclerosing cholangitis (the disease that ruined my first liver) and gluten and dairy foods. I found Dr. Sandra Cabot's website www.liverdoctor.com and got two of her books about a year and a half ago. Her work is the first I'd ever heard of that connected diet to SC (Sclerosing Cholangitis). My liver numbers had been creeping up over time since Fall 2008, and I was interested in finding out ways that I could change my behavior and possibly help my liver. I don't get any help with that from the medical end, because they are so wary of or out of touch with nutrition and diet as treatment for digestive and hepatic diseases (well, other than avoiding alcohol, I suppose). Since my food allergy diagnosis last summer, I've been much more aware of symptoms from my reactive foods. And I really have a hunch that, although I tested negative two years ago for Celiac Disease, that in fact I do have it - I wasn't eating gluten at the time of the test, and my doctor said it did not matter. I've since found out, of course it matters! I wish I had the official diagnosis, but I don't really need any more evidence for myself. I do have a dairy allergy diagnosis, "officially." I was abstaining from it for quite some time, until I got pregnant and couldn't stomach anything but Greek Yogurt, fresh fruit, and everything bagels with cream cheese. Oh, and since we ordered the chicken nachos at our local Mexican restaurant. Oh cheese, how you entrap me...

Anyway, sometimes finding out that my hunches are more than a hunch helps me to get on track. I have found some intriguing information today, and it is motivating me to get back on board with healthier, allergen-free eating.

Here are some of the articles I found:
Gluten and Liver Disease

Sclerosing Cholangitis by Dr. Sandra Cabot

Celiac Disease in Patients with Severe Liver Disease: Gluten-Free Diet May Reverse Hepatic Failure

Gluten Sensitivity and Liver Disease

EOSINOPHILIC COLITIS AND SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS IN A PATIENT WITH ATYPICAL CELIAC DISEASE