No gluten, no more headaches. That may sound absurd but its true for me. Let me fill you in on how not eating gluten was able to solve my problem!
It was in the middle of January, my senior year of college and I kept getting dizzy spells. My head would hurt but the more frustrating part was that the room just seemed to be spinning constantly. I had thought that it was due to the quick switch in temperature from the warmth to the sudden cold with inches of snow just falling in New England. However, the dizziness would not go away. No matter how much water I drank to stay hydrated, no matter how much sleep I got, and the visits with my massage therapists to help relieve some neck pain, the dizziness was still there.
What to do when you are constantly dizzy? Next step was to seek a doctors opionion. I had an MRI and a CT scan, neither of which showed any problems. This of course causes more stress because you do not know what the underlying factor to all the headaches and dizziness can be. The neurologists had prescribed a medication for migraines, but that caused even more problems. The dizziness got worse to the point that I was having a difficult time doing everyday activities. I no longer could drive because the road felt as if it was spinning underneath me. I was scheduled for checkups once a week with the neurologist to determine if there was ever any change in my symptoms, to understand what could be causing this problem. It was not until the third appointment that she had recommended that I try cutting out specific food ingredients to see whether that can be a trigger to the migraines.
When you are sitting in the doctors office and the neurologist tells you to cut out all gluten products from your diet for two weeks, you can imagine the way I stared at her like a deer in the headlights. I, someone who can eat cookies and cupcakes if I could for breakfast, lunch and dinner, loves fresh bread, toast, you name it I probably like it! Even though I ate healthy most of the time I did like to indulge in certain snacks and treats that contained gluten. I had no clue how I would survive the next two weeks! At this point, I pictured myself eating fruits, vegetables, fish and rice for the rest of my life… I was not to happy about that image.
It was not until later when I went to the store that I realized that there were so many gluten free options offered. I did stock up on fruits and vegetables and I lived off of eggs, fish and rice for the time being with some gluten free snacks as well. My mom even ended up making my favorite home-made Hungarian desserts by substituting regular flour with coconut and rice flour. Trust me it tasted just as good as the original, if not better! That was the beginning to eating gluten free.
For two weeks I stuck to this with only an occasional cupcake from my favorite bakery that unfortunately had gluten in it, but besides that I stuck to it! I learned about all the extra things that are put into foods, even soups that you would not imagine would have gluten in it. After the two weeks, and back into the doctors office, I noticed a change for the better. The dizzy spells occurred less often and I was able to start doing some of the daily activities that I had not been able to previously. At this appointment she was happy to hear about my progress and said, “try to eliminate dairy and chocolate as well”. You can imagine my reaction, but as in the first scenario, there were plenty of alternatives to dairy. I was able to eat lactose free cheese, yogurt made of coconut milk and use coconut milk as my substitutes for the normal dairy products I used to consume.
Believe it or not the migraines and the dizziness began to happen less frequently. I switched my diet around, started feeling better and finally began to do the activities I could not because of the previous migraines and dizziness problems.
So how is it possible that gluten can have this big of an impact on the health of a person? Gluten is “a mixture of two proteins present in cereal grains, especially wheat, which is responsible for the elastic texture of dough” (Celiac Disease Foundation).
What makes gluten so bad? Gluten consists of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. Gliadin is the protein that allows the bread to rise during baking, and it is also this protein that people react to negativiely. Gluten inflames the gut and can cause problems such as increased intestinal permeability, which does not allow for proper absorption of nutrients in the bloodstream. Gluten can cause the autoimmune disorder, Celiac Disease and can also cause gastrointestinal problems that can occur with people that do not have celiac disease such as diarrhea/constipation, heartburn, pain, bloating, sometimes vomiting, etc. Gluten not only causes these above mentioned gut problems but it can also be associated with brain problems such as constant headaches and migraines in addition to skin problems. All in all, gluten causes more damage to the body than good so if you are feeling pain, inflamation or just plain old sluggish lately, try going gluten-free for a month and see how you feel! If you don’t see a difference then go back to eating gluten or if you do see a difference decide which is more important, the gluten filled bread and donuts or not having pain.
Don’t avoid gluten because you want to be apart of the “gluten-free fad”, but rather avoid it to help your health and well-being. I know that when I eat gluten-free I feel a lot better all around, but there will be times that a gluten product slips into my food consumption. I feel sluggish and tiered but it is a healthy reminder of why I switched to eating gluten-free.
In order to track what I eat, I use the ATE app to keep me on path!
