I have never had any airborne allergies and always thought I was relatively lucky. However, as I got older a developed a few food allergies such as MSG and sesame (my mom is allergic as well). Last summer, I spent two months in Paris for a study abroad program. So of course, my life for two months centered around food. I am in love with Paris, like any true francophile, and so I was busy trying to jam a life time of Paris into two short months. However, I started feeling so tired after my morning French class that I would forgo shopping at Bonne Marche to take a long nap. I would sleep for hours on end, only to wake up feeling even more worn out and falling back asleep for a few more hours. I figured this was due to the heat (Paris does not believe in air conditioning...or ice cubes) as well as living in a country with a different language and different customs. About a week before I was scheduled to return home, things took a turn for the worst. My stomach felt as if someone had inflated a balloon inside of me. It was so painful that I could barely move, let alone navigate the metro. This happened a few more times after the first incident, but luckily never to the same degree.
When I returned home, I spoke to a family friend who performs acupuncture and who focuses on the relation of the body to nutrition, etc. He said that it was most likely an intolerance to gluten, a condition that often develops later on in life. I promtly cut out gluten from my diet and I was feeling better within a matter days. I regained my energy and my stomach stopped hurting. After a few weeks of trying to avoid gluten completely, I started testing my limits to see what does and doesn't affect me. For example, a slice of sourdough bread does not bother me at all, but a bagel causes my stomach to turn against me.
When I returned to school, I was at a loss for how to continue eating gluten-free. I had Jamba Juice for lunch everyday because it was close by and I couldn't think of anything else to eat. While I love Jamba Juice, the thought of only consuming that for the rest of my life made me a little hysterical. The thought of drinking Jamba during a snow storm brought tears to my eyes. So I made an appointment at the health center and ended up getting a blood test. Three days later I was calling everyone who had been a victim of my selective diet to invite them out for cupcakes. No Celiac markers to be found.
Since being tested, I went back to my regular diet (or non-diet, you could say). I have had a few "relapses"since last fall. After eating a bagel a few months ago, my stomach "balloon" inflated again. I had many bagels in between my negative Celiac test and that particular bagel, but for some reason, at that time, I was susceptible to it. The other week when I decided I needed to eliminate gluten again, I was feeling tired again. I am a college student, so not being tired would be a weirder symptom. But gluten-induced sleepiness feels different. It was that same feeling of just wanting to go home and never get out of bed, even though that doesn't feel too good either.
As you can see, I am still trying to find my balance. I have begun to find some great resources as well. Follow Sarah on Twitter for tons of great recipes/information @glutteny. And check out Helene's blog "Tartelette." She sometimes posts gluten-free recipes such as these Nutella Cupcakes and her photography is to die for.
As for me, this is one bad boy I can't wait to test out:
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