Call Me Intolerant

In an attempt to humor my wife, I recently had some DNA testing done to see if I may be gluten intolerant. Honestly, I think the whole idea is sort of a "fad of the day" concept mostly invented by people who are way too self-absorbed. Everybody seems to think they're allergic to this or that, to the point that it takes 10 minutes for some people to order dinner because they have the server doing laps back and forth to the kitchen to find out if there is wheat, or dairy or nuts or butter, or, you name it, on their entrée'. When I was a kid, you ate what was served or you went hungry. In fact, it would be considered almost rude not to appreciate what your host prepared.

But not anymore. Today each child gets their own custom menu and neither are eating what their parents are eating. This is the result of too much dining out and not enough eating at the family table.

Sorry, I digress.

I went to see Dr. Tait a local sports doctor who does DNA testing as well as blood testing for food allergies and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. I would have bet big money on the fact that I am not intolerant, allergic or even slightly sensitive to any type of food. In fact, when it comes to food, I can't think of anything I don't like. Some foods I avoid or only eat as a treat - but intolerant? Not a chance.

My results were eye opening, if not shocking.

There are three primary genetic profiles. According to Dr. Tait, if you are positive in just one of the profiles you are someone sensitive to wheat and should limit your intake. If you are positive in 2 of the 3, wheat is definitely not your friend and you will always experience inflammation discomfort in your gut. And finally, if you test positive in all 3, you should completely avoid gluten. And continued consumption will quite-probably result in Celiac's disease - a very serious condition.

Sure enough, I tested positive in ALL 3 profiles.

At first, the thought of never eating wheat again didn't seem like such a big imposition. But as the first few weeks ensued I started thinking about never eating bread or pizza or pasta again. I know there are "gluten free" processed alternatives, but I think one of the big mistakes people make is to start buying processed foods that are supposed to contain wheat, but have something processed into them in place of wheat. This is just defeating the whole idea.

In addition to wheat, there is a long list of other foods that contain gluten. Basically, anything with a seed contains some gluten. But for me, I decided to start out by just removing wheat. I'll think about corn and a few other items in the future.

One thing that I am realizing is that I can eat like a horse and never feel bloated. In the past, when we would dine out, I would devour the basket of warm bread that comes out before your meal (and definitely not count the calories). As a result, I am eating more quality food than ever before and my gut feels great! I think I'm consuming more calories yet, I have lost 8 pounds.

I sure wish I had looked into this much sooner. It's been almost life-changing.

I did try a gluten free frozen pizza that other day. It was more like eating the cardboard that comes under the pizza. Gluten free pizza crust is like fat free butter. Since butter is 100% fat, I wonder what industrial sludge is used to make fat free butter? What I do know is that you can open a tub of fat free butter and place it on the ground in your driveway for a week and come back and it will still be sitting there - untouched. Even the bugs won't eat it. Not going to put that in my body.

My wife is a wise woman. I sure hope she never suggests I get tested for red wine sensitivity.