16 Mar 2021

Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance Part 2

 

 

So let’s get down to business with my amazing discovery.  As I told you in part one, I found that every time I gave Jenna some bread or crackers, she would have a devastating breakout. Her skin would first become dry, then her back and belly would start to get tiny bumps over her skin.  She would tell me..” Mommy I’m itchy” while scratching her legs wildly, then go back to playing of course.  (Kids are amazing!) However, this would send me into a frenzy as I still could not put two and two together.  

 

 

I decided to make a list of all the common ingredients in each of the foods.  I found: High fructose corn syrup, food dyes, yeasts, and enriched wheat flour.  This would be the new basis of my analysis and controlled experiments.  I would allow Jenna and Isaac to eat or drink a small amount of food containing only one of the substances then log their reaction the next 30 mins.  My first thoughts were concentrated on high fructose corn syrup.  Too much of my surprise, after giving Jenna a cup of juice, she did not scratch or itch.  Next was food dyes. I tried Kix Berry Cereal and still no reaction.  I started to think I was crazy.  

 

 

During this time I went to North Carolina to visit my family with the kids.  I kept thinking to myself, “ I need to figure this out”. Upon our arrival, I was so anxious to give her anything in fear she would have some terrible reaction.  I only knew a few things.  Fruits, veggies, rice, and corn cereals were not affecting her skin or irritating her skin.  My sister who had recently finished nursing school told me that my research was starting to sound familiar to something she had studied.  “Jennice, this sounds like a celiac disease,” she said as she rushed to grab her study book.    People who suffer from celiac disease cannot digest things with gluten.  Gluten?.. The aha moment had finally happened.  I quickly did a search and asked what kinds of foods contain gluten.  Wheat was the first thing that popped up.  Gluten is also found in barley, rye, and crossed contaminated or highly processed oats.  

 

 

At this time I had not tested enriched wheat flour.  Jenna had a few saltine crackers and within minutes, she was complaining about her ankle itching and those little bumps returned.  I had finally stumbled across a valid solution that I could work with.  That entire week my family and I created a menu for Jenna that consisted of meats, fruits, veggies, rice, and cornmeal.  An amazing thing happened.  The scars on her ankles became smooth, her skin irritation was almost zero to none most days, and her face began to glow.  I was elated.  

 

 

So it’s clear that Jenna doesn’t have celiac disease, otherwise, she would have had serious complications.  Continuing my research I found out there was such a term as Gluten intolerance. This encompassed all the guidelines of the previous diet we came up with, but with less severe consequences.  Someone with Gluten intolerance will become internally inflamed and will experience a variety of symptoms.  In this case, I believe the gluten was triggering Jenna’s immune system and therefore causing her to flare up.   

 

 

Isaac has adopted this diet and I have been truly thrilled with the results.  I am so grateful for discovering this new way of eating and taking care of my family.  If anything should apply to you or if it’s just something you haven’t thought of, give a gluten-free diet a look and record your results for yourself. 

 

 

Remember to live Healthy one day at a time.  

 

 

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