There seems to be a common theme building in my mind these days. What exactly am I eating and where did it actually come from? I spend so much time looking at food and questioning it on a daily basis while reading labels, but for some reason I am not satisfied by the easy answer. I feel as though I need more information. I want details like location of the ingredients somewhat similar to a bottle of wine and knowing it’s vintage. I want to know if I eat a piece of fruit that it has good energy from growing on a sunny tree. I want to know that it passed through only a few gentle hands, gracefully, preferably locally and above all organically. I need to know this information so that I can become more personally connected to my wellness via my food.

Maybe it is the new year and talk of resolutions that is feeding my appetite for this additional food knowledge. The one thing that I do know about myself is that I get somewhat impatient this time of year if I don’t have a plan as to my hopes and wishes for the coming year. I also get frustrated as to the cold hard and painful fact that I still don’t feel well. So it makes me want to go back to the source. What am I putting into my body? What is the response of the food that is going into me?
So I am digging deeper and into “My R&R Mode” – reading and research mode. I have been reading some very interesting articles and books about the food we eat. One article in particular is embedded in my mind that was posted recently -

Dr. Mark Hyman’s article – “Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You” posted on the Huffington Post on January 2, 2010

I have seen it posted at least a dozen times on Facebook and yet it doesn’t seem to have caught other people’s attention like it did mine. I think it might have to do with timing but whatever was in the news that day or a few days to follow may have allowed it to just not make the top of the list. Well, it has been on the top of my list of discussions with everyone that I talk to these days.
Dr. Hyman shares some very important information about a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association from 1969-2008. The study proves that Celiacs are not the only ones that have to been cautioned about consuming Gluten. It states that all forms of Gluten Sensitivity and Intolerance are affected but in disguise as other chronic illnesses i.e., IBS, autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease just to name a few. Dr. Hyman also questions the cause – Gluten – Why are we so sensitive to this “staff of life” the staple of our diet?

I actually think there is more to it. I think there are more foods that we should question because the more people that I talk to that know they are Celiac or Gluten Intolerant, the more I am finding that they too have multiple food allergies. The FDA’s list of the top 8 Food Allergies – Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Fish and Shellfish. I find it frustrating that Gluten is not on this list. Don’t you? (I think the list should be updated to add – Gluten; which includes wheat barley, rye, spelt, kamut, malt, and oats. Corn, Rice and Yeast because they are also high on the food allergy list as well.) I really want consistency of information.

My hope this year is to create a deeper dialogue between the Gluten Free Foodies so that our voices are heard and we can give support to each other. I want to create more awareness about the risks of undiagnosed Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance. I want us to be able to find healthy Gluten Free Food anywhere we go. My wish is for all of us to be well and eat good, healthy food so that we can do the things we love and live a balanced life.

What are your thoughts? I want to hear from you. I want to know what foods are on your list of additional food allergies. Please email me at glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com and share your thoughts with me.

I look forward to chatting with you!

Lisa

For more information about the GLUTEN FREE FOODIES  events or to chat with me via email glutenfreefoodie@gmail.com .  I look forward to hearing from you!