My motivation for writing my blog post this week is the extreme lack of motivation that I feel today. I feel very tired despite having slept a solid 7.5 hours last night. This is not uncommon for me; I often feel tired, but I can typically rally and get myself moving. I was listening to a book the other week where the author mentioned that her husband was having issues with fatigue. The author’s husband cut gluten out of his diet entirely to see what would happen and for him, she claimed that it worked. After the change, he had more energy and all around felt healthier. I have heard a lot about gluten for many years, but I have never investigated it in detail. I know it has something to do with wheat and bread (bread always seems to be the culprit when it comes to dietary issues). So, my lack of motivation today motivated me to read up on gluten and gluten free diets.
What is gluten? It is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye).1 There are specific medical conditions that require a gluten-free diet including celiac disease and gluten ataxia, but in more recent years, gluten-free diets have become more popular among those with non-medical conditions as well. According to mayoclinic.og “The claimed benefits of the diet are improved health, weight loss and increased energy, but more research is needed.” Increased energy! It is worth a try, right? It couldn’t hurt, but I know it will be difficult. Wheat and bread are a part of almost every meal for me. I eat fairly healthy overall, but my meals are often selected based on convenience. Bread and wheat containing items often offer me the most convenient meals.
The mayoclinic.org site gives a brief overview of a gluten-free diet and lists some of the allowed and non-allowed foods. It was interesting to read the allowed foods list which includes obvious items like fruits, vegetables, and meats, but also includes certain starches or flours like cornmeal, flax, quinoa, millet, and rice. The gluten-free flours that are ok to eat are rice, soy, corn, potato, and bean flours. It sounds like there are a lot of options and alternatives, and since a gluten-free diet has become so popular, foods are often specifically labeled gluten-free or produced intentionally to meat gluten-free diet requirements.
Some surprising foods that were on the do not eat list were salad dressings and sauces (including soy sauce), this is because wheat or wheat gluten is often added as a thickening or binding agent. It is not an easy task to eliminate all the do not eat foods. For me, I know it is not something that I can do instantly. My house is stocked up with gluten containing food, I would have nothing to eat without a major overhaul of my pantry (which I cannot afford right now). What I will start doing, is for each meal, I am going to write down the food I am eating if it contains gluten. I will analyze why I chose the food item (likely convenience) and list alternatives or research a non-gluten containing food substitute. For example, instead of ramen noodles, I can select rice noodles which are gluten free. As I use up the food around my house, I can slowly start replacing it with gluten-free alternatives. I am interested to see if I will detect a health benefit from this method since it will be a long, gradual process. If I see any kind of improvement or even a small decrease in fatigue, it will be worth it.
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