The Twinkie Incident

I am starting the GAPS diet tomorrow, January 7, Saturday.  About six months ago I discovered that am gluten intolerant, I have Celiacs Disease.  Since I started eating a gluten free diet, I have seen a profound improvement in my overall health.  I was, in fact, quite ill and had had absolutely no help from the countless doctors I saw over the years.  However in my own quest for better health, I did find a wealth of information about nutrition and some intriguing information about gluten intolerance. 

In my research of this disease I found that there is a tremendous amount of information and knowledge available concerning gluten intolerance although it remains largely undiagnosed in the general population.  I also found some really amazing things about why gluten intolerance is becoming so common and  what actually constitutes a healthy diet.  Two intricately connected subjects as it turns out.  Unfortunately much of this information is not readily available to most of us.  Even more unfortunately, the “healthy” diets and “healthy” foods touted to us are incredibly far from that.    This, I believe, is largely because that unless manufacturers can continue to “new and improve” their products, they cannot make the staggeringly large profit margins.  So they must constantly be tweaking everything to gain ‘an edge’ so they can justify charging more and more from the consumer.   These companies produce food and food products for profit, only profit.  I admit to feeling like I’ve discovered some top secret information. I keep expecting to see two rather large men in black suits and dark glasses to sidle up to me at Fred Meyers and box me into a corner by the Hostess display.    “Hey little lady, whacha doin’?  You can’t go around telling truths like that. This is America! You messin’ with the big boys now.  Huh?  Put the Twinkie’s in your cart and no one gets hurt.  You got it?”  Then they shove a twinkie in my mouth and . . . , Well you watch the movies.  At the very least I feel disillusioned, and at the other end, flat out lied to.  Big fat lies. 

Fortunately I have also discovered some really amazing people and information. Alas, I am not alone in my experiences and there are answers.  Yes.  Answers, help and company, misery loves that.  Among other things,  I  have found many answers as to what constitutes a truly healthy diet and how and why the typical American fare is not making the grade.  The first step for me was to be gluten free.  The next step is to do the GAPS diet, a healing diet, one that will allow my body to repair and heal from the years of damage and to be fully functional again.  I have decided it is worthwhile to try this diet in order to heal from this debilitating condition and to share my journey in the hopes of helping others.  The GAPS diet,  the Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet, purports to heal the gut and to rid the body of toxins by eating basic foods that are prepared in such a way that all the nutrients remain available to our bodies in their most natural and healthful forms.

The healing time varies by individual and since I believe I have suffered from Celiacs for at least fifteen years I am going to give myself plenty of time to heal.   I found several websites that were very helpful to me along these same lines and it is my hope that others will benefit from my experiences.  Thanks for listening.