One day last September, I found myself sobbing alone in my Manhattan studio. I had been there all day, and I was unable to stop crying.
Why? Because I’d been “glutened” the night before at a party by a tiny flour taco masquerading as a rice-paper wrap. It had rendered me both physically and emotionally destroyed.
After more than a year of working diligently on my health — thousands of dollars and countless hours spent on doctors, naturopaths, healers, extreme diets, and exotic supplements — I had finally felt I was getting somewhere. So now getting kicked back to square one by one tiny taco left me feeling totally wrecked by the seeming endless futility of my efforts.
Let me back up. It started in my mid-20s when I began having problems digesting wheat. When gluten became vilified as the culprit for everyone’s health issues somewhere around 2011, I thought “AHA! There’s my problem” and swiftly yet sadly hacked most of it from my diet.
But after breaking up with my boyfriend of five years and dealing with stress, lots of booze, and a lot less sleep, my stomach got worse.
I should also mention that it had been years since I'd had a normal period, ever since I had quit hormonal birth control. But my OB/GYN reassured me that I just needed to wait. Still, I cut most carbs, increased the protein and fats in my diet, and attempted to bulk up my naturally slender frame. When six months became a year and then three without a period, I sought a second opinion...
CLICK HERE to read the rest on Mind Body Green!
Wardrobe Credits || Cienne
Written for Public Goods
Have you ever traveled to Europe and discovered that your food sensitivities evaporate? Turns out, even beyond gluten, there’s more to French bread than meets the eye and it may explain a whole lot about our own issues on American soil…