So, I am very gluten intolerant. Apparently since wheat has changed in the 60's and 70's to be modified for current use many people have grown gluten intolerant. My dad and I were talking about this at Christmas and he said I sounded like my uncle that was allergic to nightshades. He said with a tone that implied, "that crazy hippy..."
He thought that the reason so many kids are allergic to things these days is because they aren't exposed enough to the foods and therefore they never grow out of the allergens. He said that when they were kids they ate through the allergens and many people in his generation don't have the allergens that kids have today.
Well, some of this might be true. However, our food supply has changed dramatically since my dad was a kid. Foods have been genetically modified, engineered, given antibiotics, and growth hormones. Wheat isn't the wheat it was when he was a kid, meat isn't the meat it was; a vegetable just isn't a vegetable anymore. Not there's pesticides, chemicals, funky chemicals actually in convenience foods...Going to the grocery store is like navigating a minefield.
I digress...
So, again I am very gluten intolerant. All growing up, I have had very dry skin. Now I grew up in Minnesota, so some of this is just par for the course. However, I had such dry skin that my legs itched like crazy! I tried so hard not to scratch them, but when you're sleeping you can't control what you do...or when your mom isn't looking...she can't control what you do. Honestly, every winter, I was miserable.
I cut out all perfumes and could use only extremely sensitive skincare, and even some skincare that was sensitive was too much for my skin.
Then when I was about 27, when I started dating my husband, I decided I wanted my clothes to smell good for a date. So I put fabric softener in the dryer....OH. MY. WORD. Biggest mistake ever. My skin just freaked out and freaked out for over a year. I broke out in hives if my skin even came close to some allergenic perfume. My husband had to re-wash all his clothes in fragrant free detergent. I mean, if I hugged someone that had some sort of perfume on there skin, I instantly broke out in hives. I could only use fragrance free cleaning supplies. If my skin came into contact with something that was too chemically or fragrant...hives..
Isn't that romantic to have your first year of marriage covered in hives? It was just so delightful.
Then a year ago I started to learn about wheat intolerance. And for about 3 months, before the first trimester of my pregnancy, I completely cut out wheat. I can not tell you how amazing I felt. My skin completely cleared up. Even my feet that were sometimes often rough become as soft as my daughter's baby bottom! I felt clear headed and well... awesome - no more hives! Even after re-introducing some wheat into my diet, I still don't break out in hives. I do have the driest skin even though...just like when I was a kid.
So, Christmas is over. I've been eating gluten for the past 3 months, and I figure it's time to get checked for Celiacs. I mean, maybe if I know how horrible it is to have gluten in my system it will keep me more committed. Either way, I know that I have to cut gluten out.
Another problem I had with my first daughter was my milk supply. She lost so much weight the first couple of weeks that I supplemented with formula. (I mean...if you know me...then you know that this is against all my core beliefs...) I thankfully learned about Weston A Price foundation formula recipe so that I could give my girl real foods that mimicked real breast milk instead of all the awful things found in formula. I mean...it just breaks my heart that I had to do that. But you just don't know what to do when your already small newborn daughter is losing more weight than the midwives wanted.
So I've decided I wanted to do some research about Celiacs and nursing. I haven't done my research yet, but here is my hypothesis: If you have celiacs you are unable to absorb nutrients; if you can't absorb nutrients, doesn't it make sense that you wouldn't be able to have a strong milk supply for your baby? I'm really interested in seeing how cutting out gluten will affect my second child's and my nursing relationship. In a way, I feel like finding out if I have celiac's will answer a lot of health questions for me.
Also, I have thyroid issues. My temps are always extremely low and I am iodine deficient...maybe I'm deficient in everything if I have celiacs... So if I'm gluten intolerant, or have celiacs, my body is creating antibodies in my system that could potentially fight against my thyroids health. Isn't that insane??
A great way to get your iodine healthy is to eat lots of fish broth. In Japan - where they eat a ton of fish, there are very minimal thyroid issues. Eat your fish (or your fish broth) ! It keeps you healthy! If the idea of eating fish broth is disgusting, mix it with some chicken broth (homemade...so good) and it will lighten the flavor. Add in some raw cream and veggies and it could be seriously delicious! Mmmm... I think I might go to the fish market and get some halibut bones!
To conclude, I will be getting checked for celiacs in January. I'm going to locate a local doctor and set up my appointment for sometime early next week. I have a FSA that will help as well as better insurance. I should be able to get some work done. My husband too...he needs to get his thyroid checked and deal with some things like that. I'm excited for a new year of health and answers. It will be good.
He thought that the reason so many kids are allergic to things these days is because they aren't exposed enough to the foods and therefore they never grow out of the allergens. He said that when they were kids they ate through the allergens and many people in his generation don't have the allergens that kids have today.
Well, some of this might be true. However, our food supply has changed dramatically since my dad was a kid. Foods have been genetically modified, engineered, given antibiotics, and growth hormones. Wheat isn't the wheat it was when he was a kid, meat isn't the meat it was; a vegetable just isn't a vegetable anymore. Not there's pesticides, chemicals, funky chemicals actually in convenience foods...Going to the grocery store is like navigating a minefield.
I digress...
So, again I am very gluten intolerant. All growing up, I have had very dry skin. Now I grew up in Minnesota, so some of this is just par for the course. However, I had such dry skin that my legs itched like crazy! I tried so hard not to scratch them, but when you're sleeping you can't control what you do...or when your mom isn't looking...she can't control what you do. Honestly, every winter, I was miserable.
I cut out all perfumes and could use only extremely sensitive skincare, and even some skincare that was sensitive was too much for my skin.
Then when I was about 27, when I started dating my husband, I decided I wanted my clothes to smell good for a date. So I put fabric softener in the dryer....OH. MY. WORD. Biggest mistake ever. My skin just freaked out and freaked out for over a year. I broke out in hives if my skin even came close to some allergenic perfume. My husband had to re-wash all his clothes in fragrant free detergent. I mean, if I hugged someone that had some sort of perfume on there skin, I instantly broke out in hives. I could only use fragrance free cleaning supplies. If my skin came into contact with something that was too chemically or fragrant...hives..
Isn't that romantic to have your first year of marriage covered in hives? It was just so delightful.
Then a year ago I started to learn about wheat intolerance. And for about 3 months, before the first trimester of my pregnancy, I completely cut out wheat. I can not tell you how amazing I felt. My skin completely cleared up. Even my feet that were sometimes often rough become as soft as my daughter's baby bottom! I felt clear headed and well... awesome - no more hives! Even after re-introducing some wheat into my diet, I still don't break out in hives. I do have the driest skin even though...just like when I was a kid.
So, Christmas is over. I've been eating gluten for the past 3 months, and I figure it's time to get checked for Celiacs. I mean, maybe if I know how horrible it is to have gluten in my system it will keep me more committed. Either way, I know that I have to cut gluten out.
Another problem I had with my first daughter was my milk supply. She lost so much weight the first couple of weeks that I supplemented with formula. (I mean...if you know me...then you know that this is against all my core beliefs...) I thankfully learned about Weston A Price foundation formula recipe so that I could give my girl real foods that mimicked real breast milk instead of all the awful things found in formula. I mean...it just breaks my heart that I had to do that. But you just don't know what to do when your already small newborn daughter is losing more weight than the midwives wanted.
So I've decided I wanted to do some research about Celiacs and nursing. I haven't done my research yet, but here is my hypothesis: If you have celiacs you are unable to absorb nutrients; if you can't absorb nutrients, doesn't it make sense that you wouldn't be able to have a strong milk supply for your baby? I'm really interested in seeing how cutting out gluten will affect my second child's and my nursing relationship. In a way, I feel like finding out if I have celiac's will answer a lot of health questions for me.
Also, I have thyroid issues. My temps are always extremely low and I am iodine deficient...maybe I'm deficient in everything if I have celiacs... So if I'm gluten intolerant, or have celiacs, my body is creating antibodies in my system that could potentially fight against my thyroids health. Isn't that insane??
A great way to get your iodine healthy is to eat lots of fish broth. In Japan - where they eat a ton of fish, there are very minimal thyroid issues. Eat your fish (or your fish broth) ! It keeps you healthy! If the idea of eating fish broth is disgusting, mix it with some chicken broth (homemade...so good) and it will lighten the flavor. Add in some raw cream and veggies and it could be seriously delicious! Mmmm... I think I might go to the fish market and get some halibut bones!
To conclude, I will be getting checked for celiacs in January. I'm going to locate a local doctor and set up my appointment for sometime early next week. I have a FSA that will help as well as better insurance. I should be able to get some work done. My husband too...he needs to get his thyroid checked and deal with some things like that. I'm excited for a new year of health and answers. It will be good.
