July 9, 2012
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Celiac disease
I found out Friday that I have celiac disease. It’s basically when gluten proteins cause your immune system attack the villi of your small intestines, the part that is responsible for nutrient absorption. Long term affects is malnutrition, which can cause all types of issues, ranging from headaches to depression to cancer in the small intestine and eventually, death. While there’s no cure, eating a gluten-free diet would give my small intestines the time to repair itself.
Since finding out, I have been reading up in it and learning more about this new change in lifestyle that I have. For a little over a month, I’ve been eating like 95% vegetarian. I lost some weight and felt lighter, but a friend of mine suggested the opposite approach and reintroduce meat in my diet. He told me to read “The Primal Blueprint,” which is a book that mainly talks about the Paleo diet, except not as extreme. Both diets are basically about eating the ways humans have been eating for the past 2.5 million years, mostly meat from hunting and whatever you can get from gathering like some fruits and seeds, but absolutely no grains or legumes.
It’s interesting that after some research, everyone who goes on it, swears by it. Yet those who have never tried it, would think its counter-intuitive where conventional wisdom tells us that consuming mostly fat and protein, and cutting out carbs, is a bad idea. The backers of the primal/paleo/”caveman” diet believe that we have trained ourselves to be a carb consuming society, but our bodies have not adjusted. One interesting point is that there is a correlation between how much insulin your body produces versus how long your life span will be. Those who consume huge amounts of carbs all the time, statistically have a shorter lifespan than those who do not consume as much.
Since I am going gluten-free for the rest of my life, I’m going to try this primal way of eating. Only meat, vegetables and fruits,–basically eating as close to natural as possible. I will be going to a gastro-intestinal specialist and getting a second opinion on this celiac disease. Hopefully, what I have isn’t too serious yet and all I have to do is basically eat better. It seems like its so hard to be healthy these days, because despite how much you try to exercise, your choice in food really does dictate your health.
The saddest part about this whole gluten-free thing, is that I won’t be able to consume any of the beers I like for the rest of my life.
Comments (23)
I have celiac disease. It’s a lifestyle change, for sure. how are you feeling?
Ouch, giving up beers can be quite depressing in itself.
That sounds rough. I hope it gets better for you!
Please take care.
You can check out that book here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cp9troj5ywwzddp
Awe, that sucks! Get into hard cider. I have some friends who have celiacs and they go for the ciders. In Portland it’s hard to find a place to eat out that doesn’t have gluten free options, and it’s hard to find a grocery store that doesn’t have an entire gluten free aisle. It’s crazy here. It makes me wonder, because I’m pretty sure it’s a very small percentage. I know that a lot of people decide to go gluten free because they just want to (a lot of people in fad diets) and that kind of frustrates me because it’s like… people *CANT* eat these things. It’s not a fad. People actually struggle with their diet choices. I’m a little rubbed-the-wrong-way about it, I guess. But I hope you are able to slip into new diet/habits easily enough.
That definitely sucks that you can’t consume any beers you like but have you thought about gluten free beer? I don’t have celiac disease but I’ve just been more conscious about what I’ve been putting in my body so I went to sugar free gluten free products too and i’ve converted beers and even drinks like sodas. It takes time to adjust but i’m sure you’ll get there.
just be alcohol free ma man! and please write more blogs on what you’re eating. it’ll help fatasses like me out
i’m sorry to hear jigg! hopefully a diet change will be all that needs to be done. it will be a tough change, for sure… but at least it’s treatable and preventable and you still have your health. but i’m not gonna lie. i would cry because i wouldn’t be able to handle a complete diet change for the rest of my life. but i feel as if you’ve been eating pretty healthy in general anyway, no?
how did you find out that you had this? you seem very healthy and fit. did you always have it, or did you develop it? anyway, good luck with everything!
@nerdyveggiegirl - I’m not feeling bad. I feel pretty good to be honest. I have not felt any of the symptoms so it’s a bit shocking to know that I have such a disease. I’m pretty upbeat and looking forward to being healthier. I simply refuse to let poor health beat me, simply because I can’t choose to eat better.
@mkazama - Seriously, it’s the biggest set back. I LOVE beer. Would definitely call myself a connoisseur. Oh well, it’s going to be the past now. I’m just glad I got to tried so many great beers. Will miss it, but it’s like smoking to me–I haven’t smoked in 14 years, but still miss it a little.
@lorelei - @superGchik - There are a ton of places here that sell gluten-free foods as well. Even the Chinese supermarket was selling some gluten-free stuff, which was surprising. I’m going to avoid cider, not because I don’t like it, but simply because I’m just going to stay away from excess carbs.
@QxM - Thanks! That’s an illegal download, correct? I don’t download illegally. I’ve borrowed a copy already and about 40% through. Very interesting read. Do you follow it? What are your thoughts?
@BenelliMan - Yeah, I’ve made the choice to cut off alcohol. I’m not quitting, but will do my best to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. I can still drink Scotch and wine, so it’s not the end of the world. I’m just trying to cut out all the excess carbs.
And if you’re fat, do something about it! Read the Prime Blueprint book and see if that will work for you. I’ve been doing all kids of diet testing on my body just to see how my body reacts and low carb definitely seems to be the best way to go in terms of losing weight.
@souxie - I think changing diets is not going to be too hard. It will take a little getting used to, but in exchange for great health, it’s totally worth it. I realized that instant gratification isn’t the way to go… if you have to physically suffer to feel mental fulfillment, it’s not going to be good in the long run.
As for how I found out, so what happened was, I’ve been going to this doctor for the past 2 or so years and each time I do blood work, he tells me that I’m vitamin b12 deficient and keeps on telling me to consume more foods b12 rich or take supplements. Each and everytime, I assure him that I have been eating b12 rich foods (mostly meat and seafood) and finally, I guess he became suspicious that maybe it has to do with me not absorbing it. In order to detect celiac disease, there’s only two ways, blood test or biopsy. He checked my blood and I tested positive. He suggest I go to a gastro-intestinal specialist so I just scheduled an appointment for Friday and we’ll see what happens.
Even if it’s a false alarm, I think going gluten-free is the way to go.
-ray leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@jigg - Well, I didn’t upload it and I’ve never read it.
thats amazing that you’ve had it but never got into serious health issues from eating it.
Primal blueprint is great I dropped 35 lbs on it and just doing the 80/20 rule.
it works like a charm. just be careful not to OD on protein, kills your kidneys.
oh yea, and you can cheat here and there with a beer. just be prepared for the outcome.
I hope you can adjust with your new diet. Gluten isn’t good for anyone. Keep us posted! I want to try to become gluten free too!
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I wish you the best as you adjust to your new diet!
@QxM - I’m like 40% through. It’s definitely worth reading!
-ray leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Sorry to hear about your condition. Please, update on your diet. I am interested to read/hear more on this “caveman” diet.
i met someone who did the paleo diet and she said that she saved lots of money from not buying so much processed and expensive foods like cereals. and she also said she felt great after just a month of doing it.
Yikers, man! I wish you the best! Sorry, I would say more but that’s outside of my field.
wow! sounds like this might be a positive in your life though. but the beer……
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