Guest Blog Post by Carol Kicinski, a professional recipe developer, food writer and TV chef all gluten free. Visit her blog at http://simplygluten-free.com/ Carol talks about her journey to health with gluten sensitivity.
Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance can play cruel tricks on the body – despite eating well and taking vitamins and such, our bodies have difficulty absorbing nutrients. This can often be frustrating, especially when one has finally committed to a gluten free diet and is in the healing process.
In simple terms, what happens to the body according to research for anyone with any kind of gluten sensitivity is that the body treats gluten as a toxin, it attacks it and in doing so also damages the small intestine. The damage to the small intestine is what makes it difficult to absorb nutrients and can cause over 300 symptoms ranging from digestive issues, infertility, migraine headaches, exhaustion and a whole host of other, equally unpleasant. The only “cure for gluten sensitivity or Celiac Disease is to avoid gluten – No Gluten EVER!
I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity almost 20 years ago. At that time there wasn’t much information available and a lot of the information that was available was often incorrect. As a result my journey on the road to good health was often rocky with a few big potholes in the way.
I suffered from severe migraine headaches, adrenal fatigue as well as a few other symptoms. I was malnourished and so exhausted I could barely make it through the day. Obviously I was willing to do whatever it took to regain my vitality and good health. Committing to a gluten free diet was of course the first step and one I willingly took.
You can imagine my frustration when after committing to a gluten-free diet I found that my symptoms would disappear and then mysteriously return again, despite my vigilance (or so I thought) and commitment to remaining gluten free.
Make sure the supplements you take are Gluten Free! Many contain fillers from wheat.
As part of my recovery I was told to take certain vitamins and supplements to help my body heal. I took handfuls of pills every day thinking I was doing the right thing. It never occurred to me that the vitamins I was taking would or could contain gluten! But sure enough, after more education, I learned that vitamins can indeed contain gluten and every day I was actually ingesting small doses of gluten which my body perceived as toxic. This is not unlike ingesting small doses of rat poison every day!
At one point I became severely anemic and was told to take iron supplements. I dutifully followed my doctor’s instructions, bought and took the iron and started to get worse and worse. My intestines were in knots and I started to experience horrific pain. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t function. And the anemia was not getting any better! Come to find out that one of the main ingredients in my iron supplements was wheat! It is one thing to get ill after knowingly cheating and eating a gluten-filled cupcake or loaf of bread, it is quite another to get ill when doing what you think is the right thing to do!
Fortunately the awareness of gluten sensitivity has increased a lot in the last 2 decades. With the increase of awareness came the increase of products that are properly labeled for “gluten free”.
Oh! How I wish Wellesse supplements had been available to me back then! Their products are not only gluten-free but are in liquid form which makes them fast absorbing; something that can make all the difference when in the process of healing the body. After all, if the vitamins and supplements you pay for and take daily are not being absorbed and utilized by the body, then ultimately they are just a total waste of time, effort and money.
Even though I am now diligent about maintaining a gluten free lifestyle, my body still needs help in the form of extra vitamins and supplements. Wellesse makes all the supplements I need to maintain my health and vigor including a Multi-Vitamin, Vitamin D, B Complex , Calcium and Iron supplements.
I am personally so grateful to Wellesse. This is a company who really understands gluten sensitivity and what our bodies need in order to regain and maintain optimum health. I am also so grateful that the products they make are not only highly effective but that they taste so good also! I am willing to do whatever it takes to maintain my health, so in the past I have choked down some pretty nasty tasting stuff towards that end – but what a pleasure to take something that is helping my body and actually has a pleasant taste!
In spite of all the advances in awareness of gluten sensitivity, we who suffer from this disease must be our own advocates and ultimately the responsibility of our health and of those of our families lies on us. We need to be diligent, read labels, ask questions and take nothing for granted. However, it is so nice to have a little help and Wellesse is providing more than a little help!
Thank you Carol! Please visit her website for wonderful gluten free recipes http://simplygluten-free.com/