Mine and my body's decision to go Gluten and Dairy FREE

Many months ago there were so many different things changing in my life. I was moving (again) and for those of you not following along I move A LOT. I currently live in Minnesota for the summer as the NHL season has been shortened by what we know as a pandemic of COVID-19. Crazy is an understatement of how this year has gone.

Back in October I started to notice changes in my body and mind that were things I needed to to grasp on before they got worse. I have had a strong wellbeing for mental health these last few years and how thankful I am for that is beyond belief. But that doesn’t change that fact that sometimes my old ways of struggling with mental health don’t rise to the surface. My body was changing in ways where eating food was no longer a pleasant thing for me as I was constantly having reactions to it, therefore causing me not to each much throughout the day. For many weeks this went on, but I knew that not eating was NOT the right answer. I did lots of digging in my field of study, which for those of you that don’t know I am a few weeks out from graduating in my Master’s program in Sports Performance and Health Science. This knowledge that I’ve learned during this program has shifted me in many different ways. Eating healthier is something we all wish to do, but know it’s a lot easier said than done. You are not alone, I struggle with this too.

For many weeks I was eating minimal things and losing track of being healthy. I knew that I needed to dig a little deeper and see what the problem was. I looked into many medical tests that were all related to food sensitivities and allergies. These tests can get very expensive, but when it’s talking about my health and wellbeing I was willing to splurge. I did lots of research on the best that would fit me and couldn’t find anything that was showing the signs and symptoms that I was having.

Some of the signs and symptoms were loss of appetite, not being able to keep food in my stomach, not wanting to eat because I knew I would feel gross, and trust me the list goes on. After weeks of altering my diet to what I thought was going to help, I started eliminating out foods that made me feel crappy. I knew that I was having a reaction to eggs and milk so I slowly took those out (which let me tell you is not easy cause these two ingredients are in EVERYTHING). I also thought that red meat was making me have a reaction so I took that out as well.

After a week or two of doing this, I found it so hard to keep up with foods that were good for me and not making me feel crappy. I later decided to look into Everlywell which is a brand that provides lots of health related tests for people like me. I was recommended that their food sensitivity was a life changing experience and decided to give it a shot.

The package was sent in the mail very quickly and all it required was some blood samples from a prick of your finger. After you sealed the blood samples there was a return label already created for you to slip into and send back. About a week later I got my results back…

So turns out like most people dairy and gluten were highly reactive foods for me. In easy terms, I was about to have a dramatic life change by taking out gluten and dairy from my diet. Now this is something that I never had done before, but read a lot about in school.

This process was HARD.

I started by taking out milk and eggs completely and reading boxes of food before I was buying them. Though I managed to keep a pretty healthy diet throughout the last few years, this was a life changing diet that I was not used to.

I tested positive for being highly reactive to wheat, barley, rye and all gluten as well. This was the easier part of the two cause I knew that in today’s society many brands and foods were giving alternatives of a gluten free option. Dairy on the other hand was not so easy. Milk and eggs are in a lot of foods… more than you may know. I did my research on finding out what things I can eat and started to slowly eliminate foods I was eating that contained these ingredients.

Here is a snapshot of what I eat that follows the guidelines of GF/DF:

• GF pasta

• Natural Tomato Sauce (get this at whole foods)

• DF coffee creamer (almond milk based or oat milk based)

• GF bread (usually find this in a different aisle than the rest of the bread)

• Peanut butter, honey, olive oil (essentials to my diet)

• NATURAL FOODS (fruits, veggies, potatoes)

• GF Crackers (as long as they don’t contain milk, eggs or cheese)

• Salads (no croutons, wonton strips, and dairy free dressing)

• DF ranch (actually not too bad as an alternativ

e)

Main thing is I eat a lot of fruits, veggies, and NON processed foods. This is important to stick to if you want to change your diet. Don’t get me wrong here and there I defiantly eat things that contain dairy mostly, and sometimes gluten, but I think moderation is KEY.

Now don't get discouraged if you aren't able to keep up with this for a few weeks. This process should be slow and you should ease your way into it. Start finding alternatives that you like and slowly eliminate out the bad foods. This process took me many weeks and months to get a good grab on and I don't want anyone to feel discouraged by this process.

I do have to say though, now in March and doing this for almost 6 months it has been a complete life change. I have had way less stomach aches to where I almost never get them, my skin is soft and clear, my workouts are a lot more power fueled, and I overall feel healthier.