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Rice is the spice of life, especially after menopause
My mom got a gluten allergy after menopause. Just all of a sudden after she had any gluten, she’d have digestion issues and sometimes a rash. At first she didn’t connect the two, but then while she was getting her kitchen remodelled, and she was eating sandwiches multiple times a day, she noticed her symptoms getting increasingly worse. It was only when she cut out the sandwiches did she begin to feel better.
Yet she’s not alone, because according to the National Library of Medicine, it is suggested that up to 6% of the population has “non-celiac gluten allergy” — which we actually think may be higher, because she’s never been to a doctor for diagnosis.
And while my cheeseburger loving mom, still indulges in gluten bun every now and then, it’s taken her years to come to terms with sending back the bread basket and ordering the chicken risotto over the spaghetti bolognaise. She now sticks to mostly to whole foods when eating out, like grilled fish, leafy vegetable and summer berries (don’t forget the large glass of wine, wine has never been an issue for her), and has really learned to love the taste of simply prepared fresh ingredients — no extra nasties, that mostly contain gluten, to hide the food’s flavor — with now one of her favorite carbohydrates being rice.
