Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Gluten: A Battle Worth Fighting


When my son was a little boy, he would come home from school with a splitting headache. He usually would throw up and go to bed to sleep through the night. We took him to doctor after doctor. We even took him to a headache clinic where the psychologist said we were terrible parents and told us to give him a strong pain reliever.

Being anti-drugs, I went to the internet. For the first time in 2004, I found a funny little word 'gluten'. Hadn't a clue what it meant nor what it did. In January of 2005, I had done enough research to realize that we could possibly have a reason or source to his headaches. Having proposed a two-week trial of not eating any packaged foods or grains, we were surprised to find that our little 9 year-old no longer had any headaches. His father asked if he wanted to continue the diet and he said of course.

In 2005, France and most of Europe didn't have a clue as to what we were doing. We got our testing done in the States. Statistically, it is not possible. I have one boy who is celiac and gluten intolerant whereas the other is only gluten intolerant. My husband is celiac. I have gluten intolerance. What it means in layman terms, is that we eat a lot of potatoes and rice to feel better and be in optimum health. The out come has been incredible.

In Canada, they call gluten intolerance (for the sake of a combining the two) the disease with over 228 symptoms. One of the most extraordinary symptoms is gluten rage. When children go through the terrible adolescent years, parents are often confronted to their eating 'crap'. Our children have given us their share but nothing in comparison to their friends.

There are about four doctors in the world who recognize the neurological transformation of the effect of gluten on the brain. Also remember, the stomach acts as the second brain. Not all just suffer from sitting on the toilet.

I have been off gluten now since 2005. My last grand mal seizure was in 2007. It is strange. I have yet to get it medically confirmed but I start a series of partials 46 hours after having consumed gluten.

You must be saying now, well don't eat gluten. Do you realize it is everywhere? Impossible to rid yourself when there are degrees of sensitivity. The standard deviation of ppm (parts per million) still can be between 20 and 200: degrees of sensitivity and the symptoms.

When the partials start, we count backwards to see what I ate. 99% of the time we can find the source. The good thing is that experience trains the eye. We read labels. Though different countries might not have the same luxury, we read the labels in different languages.

My oldest boy sleeps all day when he consumes gluten. He knows it. He has only the gluten intolerant gene. Unfortunately, he is in his rebellious stage and decides for himself. Europe is far behind the States. His last comment, referring to gluten was to tell me he avoids it before exams otherwise he won't wake up.

My husband is celiac. Over 1% of the world population is allergic to this genetically modified food. The wheat, we ate three thousand years ago, had one- third the number of chromosome it has today. Our bodies have not changed enough. He gets horrible intestinal problems.

As a small introduction to the horror of one's family's health in the struggles of the gluten crusade, it is only the tip of the iceberg. I am not a doctor nor do I have any intention do claim any medical knowledge. I speak from experience and observation of those in my entourage.

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