“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:19
I’ve been on a journey to better health and diet for a couple of years now – eating more whole foods, avoiding processed/packaged meals, and focusing on eating organic foods where it counts (meat, diary, dirty dozen).
I can’t really say exactly when my journey began but I can say that things started to change more dramatically when I decided in March of 2013 to go gluten-free. I had been suffering from chronic headaches for well over a decade and God, meeting my needs as He always does at just the right time, placed a new friend in my life who suggested that I might have a gluten-intolerance. I did a whole lot of research on gluten-intolerance and realized I had at least 6 different symptoms of it:
- chronic headaches
- dizzy spells
- digestive issues (gas, bloating, frequent diarrhea, chronic stomach aches as a child)
- itchy skin
- keratosis pilaris (commonly called chicken skin or the little white and pink bumps on the back of arms and on my cheeks)
- anxiety/depression
I remember sitting on the couch with my husband and after reading each symptom aloud, him saying, “that’s you!” Going gluten-free seemed like a no-brainer!
But, I’ll be honest. I am very thankful for God’s grace and patience with me because this is one of those instances where I just dove in head first without really taking the time to pray over it and make sure that it was the Lord’s direction for my life. I do want to put Him first in all major (and minor) life decisions but at that moment was too excited to stop and recognize that He needs to be in the lead, not me…. It is an area that I continue to need major work it!!!
Thankfully, God is merciful and patient with me. Despite my diving in head first, the Lord has blessed me with some incredible changes in my overall health. Here are a few of the results I am seeing:
- significant reduction in daily headaches
- little to no digestive issues
- my skin has cleared up significantly!!!
- I am in the process of going off of my Prozac because I feel my mental health is better than ever before
- increased level of energy throughout my day
Even if I don’t have an actual gluten-intolerance (I will probably never be officially tested for it), I don’t see any reason to go back. All of these changes have been amazing.
I’d be lying if I said that making this switch was easy. I don’t miss bread as much as I thought and when we are eating at home, I can usually find substitute ingredients or alternative recipes for our meals.
However, restaurant eating produces much more anxiety for me. Will there be something on the menu that is “clean”? Will I be sick for a few weeks afterward because I accidently ate something I shouldn’t have? I miss the feeling of going to a restaurant and being able to order whatever I want. I now look at a menu and can immediately rule out 2/3 or more of what’s on it because there is a pretty good chance it will have wheat in it.
Gone are the days of convenient fast food as well. It’s not that I want to eat fast food, but sometimes (like when we are on the road traveling to our cabin or a vacation) we just need to get something to eat while we are driving. Now, I have to be proactive and make sure to pack a meal rather than depend on finding some place we can stop and get a “clean” meal for me. It’s just one more step that I need to remember to do… But, again, with all the positive health changes in my life, I am completely willing to do that!
And, when I have had gluten in the past four months, I have felt MISERABLE! We had an amazing six course meal at a young adults event for our church (prepared by one of the our church friends who is a professional chef). I decided to eat without reserve and figured I would just deal with the consequences later… Well, I spent the whole next day feeling nauseous and miserable. In addition, I had terrible headaches daily for the next two weeks. It was not fun! And that was after being gluten-free for only two months.
For those who might be wondering, my whole house is not gluten-free; though I do keep a close eye on my sons to see if they are showing any signs of it. At this time, there are minimal items in our house that contain wheat or other gluten-y items (yes, gluten-y is a technical term!). 🙂 I think we have bread, a few tortillas, and some breakfast cereal that contain wheat. I don’t want to make the full plunge with my kids unless I know that they need it. But, I think that if we discovered they were also gluten-intolerant, it would be an easy switch.
As always, I am thankful for the Lord’s guidance in my life, His perfect timing by placing that new friend in my life at just the right time, and His patience in me when I think I can be in control. He is my Creator, my Healer, my Protector, and my Counselor. He has blessed me (and continues to do so) on this journey. Without my Lord, there is nothing I can do!
Faith, Food, and Fitness 