WE ARE WHAT WE DO AND EAT

How do YOU go about making changes towards a healthier diet?
​Or to a healthier lifestyle?

We are surrounded and at times bombarded with information and success stories of how to live better, longer and happier. Mostly though this kind of news is overshadowed by advertising of goodies we do well having less often.      

And what goes through your head when you hear of people making changes which could benefit you too, but are linked to effort and doing without something nice?     

Almost five years ago I took the plunge. I had never considered gluten a problem in my life though there was a lot of mention in the health news, growing shelves in the supermarket labelled ‘free from’ and occasional encounters with people who were suffering from gluten intolerance.

​The truth was I didn’t fancy standing out of the crowd and attaching another label to myself.  

Anyway, surfing youtube for I-can’t-remember-what I noticed a little video suggestion at the right side. Though I can't recall the details, it listed 8 or 10 symptoms which could be a result of gluten intolerance.
To my dismay I qualified for more than half of them.     
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I felt uncomfortable and though I neither trust these short videos with lists of claims nor do I find it easy to not have foods and drinks I enjoy, I did some more research.

I was particularly interested in Allergies, having had hay fever and dust allergies since my teens. In fact, I had not left the house without a spare tissue since I can remember. ​

All my family braced themselves when they saw me build up for a sneeze and tolerated my frequent nose blowing. That was simply who Michael was.
Of course there were good times too. And I refused to say that I ‘suffered’, except when the hayfever got so intense that I’d lay on my hands to stop me from rubbing adding a moist cool cloth over my eyes.  

Don’t think that I hadn’t been down the medical route for help. In my late teens I had tests and several years of desensitising injections from a specialist. My girlfriend worked in the clinic, so I did stick to the regime. But after three long winters with hundreds of injections we admitted defeat.
The usual antihistamines worked a little but left me feeling groggy.​

Later I got involved with complementary therapies. Though homoeopathy and acupuncture did offer temporary relief at times, they didn’t provide lasting solutions. 
In my forties I had some kinesiology tests. The practitioner was intrigued that it showed sensitivity to oats rather than wheat which apparently is more often the culprit.  
Obviously this didn’t point towards gluten being a problem. Nor did the ‘Hair Analysis’ I sent for just before I saw the above mentioned video heading.

I decided to cut out gluten for a month. And I dropped all dairy products too (this was a suggestion following the hair analysis).
Two weeks in, the change was startling. My sneezing had reduced and the constant nose blowing was much less than it had been on good days before. 
We got more creative in adapting favourite meals to gluten free ones. Soon the family had adapted to gluten free pasta and I was baking my own gluten free bread.
I also focussed more on naturally gluten free grains like rice and millet.

One side effect was that I lost some weight which was not what I wanted. Additionally I am fond of cream and butter and I reintroduced them after several months. Though this means a slight increase in symptoms I choose to pay that price. 
And once a month it is quite possible for me to have ‘real’ toast or pizza or beer without regretting it.
More than twice a month though and symptoms return steadily.   

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​I have never had a medical gluten intolerance test. There is no doubt however that the substance (even if a minor ingredient in pickles) does not like me, or vice versa.

So, there I was, enjoying the benefits of that change in my lifestyle. I hadn’t thought of it before. I had never been advised by medical or complementary practitioners to do so.
I reckon... 
.....sometimes we have to be open to what is around and open to try something. 

A few weeks of “going without” are not the end of the world. But they are a waste of time if we do not do it properly, cut corners or give up after a few days. 
        
Nutrition is important for all of us, keeping our bodies strong. Personally I never paid too much attention to the amounts of protein I ate assuming that a ‘varied, reasonably healthy,  home cooked, ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet provides sufficient protein..... 
Until I researched the loss of muscle mass in ageing people. Providing sufficient dietary protein is a must and absorption often decreases as we age.

I was intrigued that a loss of skin pigmentation could be related to protein deficiency. Over the past three years I had developed several pale patches on my hands which I had been told can happen as we age.    

Nevertheless, this spurred me on to actually check how much protein I took in with my food on an average day. The result was sobering: on a good day I was about a third down on the recommended amount.    

Further investigation also provided some exciting information. All processed gluten free products like pasta or bread use starches from corn, potato, rice, tapioca also. As a result the gluten content of wheat bread is in the region of 12%, in gluten free bread it is between 3 and 4 %. 
This was not the only place where I was short changing myself but it was a point which had not come to my attention before.

So, why am I telling you all this?

When we want to change something our brain puts together all kinds of information in the memory bank, conscious and subconscious. 

Eventually we have to make a decision and act.

So first know what you want to achieve, be specific. “To feel better” isn’t as helpful as “stop sneezing” or “improve my blood count”. 
Then gather the facts, feelings of pain, family and friends’ opinion, medical or other tests, anything that helps you determine the status quo.
     
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Determine WHY you want to make this change and write it down. Record what - why - how - when of your plan so you can remind yourself of motivation and check up on your progress.
 
BE HONEST. If you have to think hard to discern an improvement it’s not good enough. If you believe you are improving but nobody has noticed it may not be true. 
 
Review regularly. Keep going if it’s working. Adjust if there are unwanted reactions. Write it down or your brain will adjust the results without you noticing, hiding unwanted truths or surprising successes.     

Don’t shy away from making changes. They don’t have to be radical. If we made one little adjustment to our eating, drinking or activity habits every month where could we be after a year?

We have a lot of information available to us. Use it but never think you have got to the perfect solution and will live happily ever after. We need to change schedules and plans according to our needs and conditions.    

Also, listen to experts and to people who have come through the problem you are facing. But adapt a plan to fit you, your life, your body, your goals. ​

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Be open to new and old ideas, rethink decisions and: 
  !  LISTEN TO YOUR BODY  !   
It is an amazing companion and teacher.

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Lastly, we make mistakes. All of us. That shouldn’t stop us from doing things, trying the new. But using awareness and moving forward carefully get us a long way.   

Remember: In hindsight we are always wiser.

Btw: there are lots of delicious gluten free foods and recipes around. Give them a try.
And just imagine: ‘Meat, Potato and two Vegetables’ is gluten free too - except for the gravy but it can be adapted!     ​