And it is one I have not made yet, until today.
I have always been a relatively health conscious individual
when it comes to food. I do not drink pop, fast food is a rare treat, and I
keep my refined sugar intake to a minimum.
When I was officially diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis in
November 2011, and I was barraged with a load of drug options, I wondered if
there were any kind of dietary changes I could make to help treat the disease
naturally, to minimize my drug intake. I am thirty-five years young and the
idea of being on drugs for the rest of my life does not appeal to me. Actually
it downright scares me.
I asked my rheumatologist about diet choices and she simply
told me that a healthy, everything-in-moderation diet is all I needed to focus
on. Still, curiosity killed the
cat. I wanted to consider what naturopaths were saying, so I researched their
dietary suggestions. And I cried.
The list of forbidden foods cited by several sources in the natural food
world is mind-boggling.
1.
Gluten free - goodbye pasta, pizza, and pretty much all my favorite comfort
foods.
2.
Diary free - goodbye Mozzerella, cream cheese, and Brie, sigh...
3.
Meat free - so I guess I am no longer eating those spicy Polish sausages...
4.
Alcohol free - yeah, like I am going to give up my white wine. Hell no....
5.
Caffeine free - Starbucks, I am going to miss you...
6.
Citrus free - goodbye freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
7.
Corn free - goodbye tortilla chips and barbequed corn-on-the-cob.
8. Nightshade vegetable free - goodbye tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant
Oh I know there are a few more suggestions out there, but
this list encompasses everything that tore my heart out. I was so overwhelmed by it that for the
first few months after my diagnosis, I didn't consider making any changes to my
diet.
Until July 2012 when I had a serious flare up, days of ups
and downs, zero energy along with inflammation burning half way up my limbs. It
didn't take long for me to start researching anti-inflammatory foods once again.
After lots of reading, I have decided to cut gluten out of
my diet. And I am going to reduce
my dairy intake (I am just not ready to cut dairy yet, baby steps people). As
for caffeine, I am limiting myself to one cup a day. I am willing to decrease
my alcohol intake, but I refuse to ban wine from my life. Life is just too
short to go without wine.
I figure gluten free cannot be as bad as the 'Master
Cleanse' I attempted about six years ago, - the lemonade diet where you mix
organic lemon juice with cayenne pepper and organic maple syrup accompanied by warm
salt water in the morning, and a laxative tea at night. I lasted about twenty
hours before I surrendered and threw a pizza in the oven (I am pretty sure it
was the caffeine withdrawal that did me in on that one).
So here goes nothing. Won't you join me in my adventures
into the world of gluten free?
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