| I guess I'm lucky that my allergy to wheat is | | | | slice if I am willing to be a little sleepy. So I don't |
| quite mild. If I eat wheat, I soon get sleepy but I | | | | feel deprived; I have freedom of choice. I tend to |
| don't have any of the range of truly unpleasant | | | | choose the bread about one fourth of the time. |
| symptoms that many people have to put up with. | | | | He only bakes bread every couple of weeks, so |
| It's not easy to eat wheat-free in restaurants, as | | | | this is not a big indulgence. |
| you never know what might be in a sauce. It can | | | | Now it has reached the point that I actually like |
| be a little delicate if friends invite you over to eat | | | | the way I eat. Wheat-free means I rarely indulge |
| as well; I just tell the hostess that I am allergic to | | | | in pasta, cakes, brownies, cookies, and things of |
| wheat but don't mind watching other people eat | | | | that sort. so I am not eating as many |
| bread, cake, or cookies. It's easy at home, where | | | | preservatives, as much low-quality shortening and |
| I have control over my ingredients. | | | | fats, as much food coloring, or as much sugar or |
| When I found out that wheat was a major cause | | | | high fructose corn syrup, as people who eat a |
| of the sleepiness I experienced, I had two | | | | so-called normal diet. I don't see anything normal |
| reactions. At first, I felt sorry for myself. I was | | | | about those things in the human diet. I am happy |
| "different." But I learned more about the range of | | | | to avoid them. |
| wheat-caused problems, about celiac disease and | | | | What do I eat instead? I eat plenty of |
| gluten intolerance, and I realized I was not so | | | | vegetables, fresh fruit, eggs, dairy in moderation, |
| different after all. Many people have this one of | | | | a little meat, and some nuts. Now and then I have |
| these conditions. | | | | some brown rice or oatmeal. At times, I eat spelt |
| That self-pity gradually turned to appreciation. | | | | products but frankly after several years with |
| Hey, I felt so much better if I stayed off wheat! | | | | minimal wheat, I just don't have much interest in |
| My afternoons didn't always have to include a nap | | | | grains. Feeling good is a great bonus with my |
| if I wanted to think clearly. Over time, it became | | | | healthier way of eating. If someone could wave a |
| natural to me to choose to skip wheat. When my | | | | magic wand and take away my intolerance to |
| husband has just made a warm, fresh loaf of | | | | wheat, I am not really sure I would want them to. |
| whole wheat bread, I know I can have a small | | | | |