G-Free Can be Complicated

When I first discovered I could no longer eat gluten, I'll admit I was pretty naive. My thought process was pretty much, "Ok, I'll cut out breads, pastas and fried foods. No problem." I had no idea how complicated it could be. I quickly learned that several every day ingredients, like MSG and soy sauce, were a big no-no. I also quickly learned (thanks to some horrible days of illness), that contamination can be a huge cause of symptoms.

The problem that many face is that the world (or at least the United States) isn't really helpful when it comes to a gluten-free lifestyle. I've spoken with several people on various message boards who were simply told by their doctors to stop eating gluten with no further explanation.

Because of this lack of support, I turned to books. I wanted to read what others had experienced. I learned from my dad that Elisabeth Hasselbeck suffers from Celiac Disease. I had no idea! Many of you may know her from The View, but to me, she will always be my favorite Survivor contestant. I bought her book and discovered that she suffered from horrible symptoms for years, and her time in spent playing Survivor in Australia was when she felt the healthiest. Turns out, they weren't eating gluten in the Outback. It took her a while to piece everything together, but when she did, she never felt better.

For those of you who are just beginning your g-free lifestyle, I highly recommend her book, The G-Free Diet. It's a great reference with general rules for anyone to follow. She discusses dining out, dinner parties and day-to-day family living. It's been a great resource for me, and I'm sure it will be for you as well.