Six Food Intolerance Living

I got glutenized!

Yup. And it was all my fault. I can admit it. I'm mad at myself, but hey, it happened, I can't take it back, but I can try to learn from it.


So, Hubby and I were having an errand day yesterday. I made a point to eat a large brunch before leaving. I made a point to bring snacks. I was really trying, seriously.

So, we finally get to our final store, Ikea. Hubby spots their Pasta Marinara with Swedish Meatballs and really wants them. He also ate well before leaving, but we had been running around a bit and who knew how long we'd be in Ikea (I tend to get lost in there ... but that's a whole 'nother story!) Anyway, I decide to give in and let him eat there. He hates shopping with me, but does it because he knows that I like to have him there, to chat with, bounce ideas off of, give me his thoughts on items, etc. So, I thought the least I could do for him was to give in and let him eat what he wanted. At first, I wasn't going to eat anything. Everything on the menu looked bad - meatballs would have pork and/or breadcrumbs, the salmon had a glaze on it that was sure to have soy oil or butter in it, and the chicken was breaded. ALL their entree salads had cheese on them. I was just going to sit with Hubby while he ate and wait until I got home to fix myself a safe meal. Good girl!

But then ... ugh ... the fries. I watched them being dropped into the oil, saw where they were placed to drain and serve, I eyed them through the glass - they looked safe. So, I got fries. And, I took Hubby's side salad that came with his meal and put a tad of the safest looking dressing they had - Italian (sure to be filled with soy oil and who-knows-what-else). Oh, and a dark chocolate bar (that was only $0.99! How could I resist? :D)

So, we sit, and I start eating. Uh oh. I detected a grainy, crumbly substance on a few of the fries. I looked at them closer. They weren't dipped in flour, there weren't big chunks of crumblies. It could be salt ... or maybe tiny bits of fries? Even if it was flour, it was only a *little* bit ... I had had little bits of gluten when I've been out before ... and, at this point, I had already paid for them and I wanted them. I am a french fry fiend. They call to me ... I need them. So, I ate them.

Bad move. Bad girl!

Within 5 minutes of eating the dreaded fries, my stomach started rumbling, grumbling and then the sharp pokes started in. It didn't feel good. Within 10 minutes of eating, I started to feel grumpy, annoyed and irritable and felt gassy. Within 15 minutes of consumption, I had to run to the bathroom. Also not good. Within 20 minutes, I was tired and just wanted to go home. I was getting less and less calm/patient and more and more irritated.

So, we get home and I crawl into bed. The house was cold, the bed was warm, I could watch TV and best of all, I could lie down. Within another 20 minutes, I was passed out. But it was weird. Ya know when you take NyQuil's or some other sleep-inducing medicine and sometimes your body falls asleep before your brain does? Ya know how you can't move your arm, leg or other body part, even when you want to? And you're fully awake and aware of things you hear around you and what you're thinking? Well, that's how I felt. My body completely shut-down but my mind was still fully aware. It was a strange sensation.

As though it hasn't been proved enough times already, this is even further evidence that gluten is poison to my body.

The thing that really gets me is how it affects my mood. I mean, making my stomach hurt, making me need to use the restroom, making me sleepy - physical stuff - I can get food doing that to your body, but to affect your state of mind? To me, that is amazing. I mean, I've read plenty about it and have felt it, but each time, I am still amazed. I mean, I feel myself getting more and more irritable and I know, logically, that I'm being unreasonable or irrational, but I still feel the way I feel, ya know? I can't change my mood just by wanting to ... but gluten can change my mood. Just by eating it, I am a different person, someone that I don't like, thinking and acting in ways that I don't want. Seriously? I think that it's pure evil to affect someones mood or behavior against their will. Hubby and I discussed this at length after I woke from my gluten-induced coma. It's just not cool.

Gluten IS Evil!