I'm Not Your Father

Father Louie Sarducci

Last night while I was grilling, one of my neighbors walked by and stopped to ask what denomination pastor I am? You see, it's chilly here in San Diego and my favorite go-to jacket was a gift from my wife and I were it all the time. It is a black jacket with a silver/white cloth pull strip on the tip of the zipper. I usually wear it fully zipped, so at first glance it kind of looks like a clerical collar.

I often get double takes from people when I am wearing this jacket. People smile extra and sometimes they even defer to me when walking into a room. Then I can see them realize that it's just a regular jacket and I'm just a regular Joe.

What was extra interesting about last nights' inquiry is when he continued by saying that he assumed I was a Catholic Priest because he noticed that I was smoking a cigar and drinking a glass of red wine last Sunday afternoon.

Gluten Talk

In an attempt to humor my wife I recently had some DNA testing for gluten sensitivity. This whole gluten and lactose thing get's the eye roll from me. I think it's just the latest problem for a bunch of whiny people who don't have any real problems. My symptoms are that I feel very full and sometimes bloated after eating anything that contains wheat. Actually, I don't eat a lot of wheat. Very little bread, almost zero pasta. I do enjoy an occasional pizza. So I expected the test to come back negative.

There are three general areas of DNA in this test. According to my doctor (John Tait by the way. Super sharp doc if you're looking for a sports doc), if you are positive in one of the three areas then you probably get some discomfort from gluten. Positive in 2 of 3 and you definitely are sensitive. And finally, if your are positive in all three you are very sensitive and bordering on Celiac's disease.

Here are my results:

So, since last November I have stopped eating wheat. I know that gluten can be found in lots of other foods such as corn. In fact, anything containing a seed has some gluten. But for me, I have found that my symptoms are diminished almost completely by simply removing wheat from my diet.

I think that one big mistake that gluten sensitive people make is to go to a specialty shop and by a bunch of "gluten-free" foods that have the wheat removed and replaced with something else - usually manufactured.

The one exception that I've made is gluten free pizza crust. Believe it or not, Sauce Pizza makes a pretty good gluten free pie.

And since I now take a pass on the 1000 calorie basket of bread appetizer offered at many restaurants, I've lost a few pounds.

But mostly my quality of life has improved and that is great!

Yes, my wife is wise.

I'm thinking of buying a hat to match my jacket

(just to wear on Sundays, of course)