Going Wheat Free

A little over 3 months ago, I visited my allergist for a follow-up from my esophagus scope.  The team reviewed my eosinphillic cell count from 2012 to this recent scope in 2013.  While they said the number of eosinphillic cells had lessened, they said that I was still showing quite a bit of eosinphillic cells. 

Thus, my current 'treatment' of keeping food allergens out of my diet, taking a protonix when I have acid reflux, and doing an inhaler treatment in the morning and evening hasn't been helping enough.  Insert super sad face!

I will be completely honest, I am not that great at remembering to take the inhaler.  I am, however, generally good about avoiding the foods I am allergic to, tomato & coconut.  It's easy for me to avoid those foods because the instant tomato is ingested I have a massive burning sensation in my throat like I just took a bite out of a jalapeno pepper after consuming a tablespoon of hot sauce.

Now, it's been suggested I take a different approach, either I try going wheat free for a month, dairy free for a month, or possibly both to see if that helps.  WHAT?! 

My amazing friend Natalie signed up for a contest at www.aimeemcnew.com for a giveaway to nominate a friend with nutritional issues to win a year of free nutritional counseling.  Umm, guess who won?  NATALIE!  Guess who she nominated for a year?  ME! 

Yes, if you follow me on the blog, Instagram, or Facebook, you would think that I eat super healthy, how could anything be wrong with me?  In fact, after submitting 5 days of a food journal to Aimee, she complimented my good eating habits as well.  (yes, I may have just patted myself on the back).  However, Aimee did describe why the doctors suggested me trying wheat and/or dairy free.  Aimee suggested wheat free for me.

Why wheat free?  Aimee has done a lot of research on this, and I don't want to misinterpret any of the information, but I will try to summarize what I retained.  Wheat is one of the many foods in the US (and around the world) that has been genetically modified to help it be bug resistant, survive in various weather conditions, grow stronger/faster/bigger etc.  It may be that when foods are genetically modified is that some people are affected adversely by the changes made.  When allergies are tested at your office, the tests may not be updated to include the additional substances that now make up the wheat we consume (this is a MAY, so do NOT by any means think that this theory is a scientific fact rather make your own educated opinion).  This is why we could be seeing an increase in certain food allergies.  Again, there are various theories, some facts, and other professional opinions.  This answer made the most sense to Aimee and it makes sense to me as well.

So what to do?  Time to find things that are wheat free.  Currently, I am looking for Gluten free options as I know they will not contain wheat. 

Just look at this delicious loaf of bread I made!  I added 2 T honey to the mix and topped it with brown rice flour and pumpkin seeds.  It turned out AMAZING!

Some things that get my blood boiling to consider about why I was told to go wheat free and it's possible relationship to GMO's:

More than 60 countries around the world outlaw and have bans on GMO Products, including countries you and I have heard about like Japan and Australia.  Yes, I completely get that the number of countries that DON'T have any bans is significantly higher than those that do.   Learn more about non GMO here http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/

In almost every article I find on GMO's, the most basic concern is the affect GMO's have on people with food allergies.  In this article from Oprah (yes I know, not a scientist, but the girl does her research), it states that no one really knows at this point the total effects of GMO products, but some studies link them to kidney malfunction, inflammation, and reduced fertility.  The last one possibly is currently affecting yours truly.

I am no scientist.  I am just a normal girl with a major curiosity about healthy & clean living.  I search for the balance of living a healthy lifestyle and not overly focusing myself on food and exercise.  I watch nearly every single food, happiness, and healthy living documentary on Netflix, and I try to take it all in with a grain of salt & make my own evaluated decisions.

I encourage you to think about what you are eating.  How it affects the environment, your body, & your family.  I don't discourage or dislike anyone for eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, a fast food burger, or sipping on sweet tea, sodas & beer.  I simply encourage you to never over indulge and be mindful of the choices you make & how you nourish your body.