Wheat

I think I have confirmed that wheat is my problem. 

Let me backtrack a bit.  About 16 years ago, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).  Long story short, over the years I have tolerated pain and other digestive issues.  My main "irritants" have been stress and greasy or rich foods.  In the last 5 years, I haven't been paying close attention to any triggers.  I've just been eating and drinking what I want, figuring that it is my lot in life to have irregular digestion (and all that entails...ahem). 

For a few years now I have suspected that I am, at the very least, wheat intolerant.  However, I haven't been motivated enough to seek out the professional opinion of a naturopath to confirm this.  I have the phone number for one, I just haven't called.  Part of the beauty of this detox was that I was going to be taking out dairy and wheat...two things that cause problems in many people.  Now that I'm eating clean, I'm committed to staying gluten-free as much as possible, because I like the way I've been feeling.  Same goes for dairy.  I love goat cheese, and there are so many options, I don't feel cheese deprived.  (I love cheese)

However, all along I've said I'll have to be reasonable with the gluten-free thing.  Since I don't have a known allergy/intolerance, I would be as careful as possible, but if I'm at a restaurant or at a friend's house, I won't choose to not eat just because there may not be a gluten-free option.

I may be rethinking this attitude.

Yesterday, I FINALLY received my free Kashi cereal sample in the mail.  Yay!  I was excited about this, as I chose to receive the honey almond flax cereal.  It's full of good things...lots of good grains, flax, almonds etc.  At first, I kind of panicked...how would I eat cereal without having milk???  Fortunately, I remembered we have almond milk in the fridge.  Crisis averted.  So today, I decided to have the cereal...about a 1 cup serving size...for my breakfast.  After eating the cereal, it occured to me to read the label. At this time, I realized the cereal had wheat in it.  Duh.  By the time lunch rolled around, I was in quite a bit of pain, and this pain lasted most of the afternoon.  Come to think of it, I still have some residual pain going on. 

The wheat is the only thing I've had that's different.  So I'm self-diagnosing, and am even more committed to staying gluten-free now.