My New Normal

My story is like so many others. If you are reading this, it may be like yours. Still, I'd like you to know who I am, and why I am doing this. I can not remember when I was not a foodie. Growing up, I learned how to cook at a very young age, and was always very adventurous when it came to eating. My oldest friend (known her the longest, not longest alive) still brings up the time, as a teenager, I rejected a $7 pair of pants for being too expensive, and then immediately spent $5 on an ice cream from Haagen Dazs. My passion for food eventually led me to a career as a food and wine writer and restaurant reviewer.
 There was another constant in my life; my health issues. I have always had digestive issues and a lack of energy. I battled depression, joint pain and frequent headaches. I was often nauseated, and I began suffering moderate to severe upper abdominal pain about six years ago. I never put the symptoms together, but rather, over the years, tried to deal with them separately.
 Everything came to a head in mid-January of this year. I began the year on a 10 day "Daniel Fast", a program that excludes all animal products, all sugar, and all leavening agents. It was intended as a spiritual discipline, to start the new year in the right frame of mind. I felt fine during the fast, and even enjoyed adding a few wonderful vegan dishes to my repertoire of recipes. When I broke the fast, every health issue I ever had intensified. I couldn't stand or work for more than 15 minutes or so before I had to sit down. My depression was the worst I could remember it, and my stomach pain was constant and unbearable. I went to a doctor fearing the absolute worst. The only thing I could think of that would cause such severe and unrelenting fatigue was cancer.
 After weeks of tests, including visits to the cardiologist, it was discovered that I had allergies to eggs, cow-dairy, peanuts, and a mild wheat allergy. The wheat allergy was so mild that the PA I was seeing said it wasn't really an issue. I immediately cut eggs and dairy out of my diet, in addition to the sugar that had been cut out for Lent. I felt slightly better. I was still having fatigue and unremitting stomach pain. Because I was so limited in what I could eat with exclusion of eggs and dairy, that I became hyper-aware of what I was eating. This led me to figure out that wheat and wheat products seemed to make my stomach-aches worse. I decided to cut out all wheat products and see if that helped. I can not stress the difference that made. Two days after removing wheat from my diet, I woke up with more energy than I had had in years. The depression was gone; so were the joint aches, the headaches, and the nausea. I wondered if it was an anomaly, one long overdue good day. I woke up the next morning, cautiously taking note of how I felt. I felt great and continued to. After about a week of no wheat, I made myself a barley pilaf. The symptoms returned, worse than before. I could barely get out of bed, and my stomach pain was awful. A quick internet search uncovered that those with gluten sensitivities should not eat wheat, barley or rye.
The problem now seemed to be gluten, not just wheat. As I learned about Celiac and gluten-sensitivities, so many things made sense, like my sever nutrient deficiencies, the digestive issues that went all the way back to childhood, and the lack of energy that plagued me my entire life.
 So now, I am one of those people I felt sorry for. I am a label-reader, a waitstaff questioner, a salad-because-there-is-nothing-else-safe-on-the-menu eater. I have food allergies. I feel my best on no wheat, no eggs, no cow dairy, no sugar. I suspect there will be some more things that have to go. I am too much of a foodie to succumb to a life of bland tasteless food. I am learning a new way to cook. I will post recipes for my friends, new and old, who would like to know what I and my family are eating. Many recipes will be vegan. Some will contain sheep's or goat's cheese. All will be gluten-free. I will do my best to make them delicious, but I'll be honest about my failures. As I come across good resources I will let you know. I'll also probably whine from time to time.
 But, I will also get used to this new normal.