Gluten intolerance is a big hoax

I absolutely love ginger. Sliced, minced, candied, boiled. The spicy and warm sensation just makes me happy. So, I thought I'd make my beloved Ginger Almond biscotti. They are delish, and with this thundersnow swirling around outside, I needed something to go with my non-stop chai tea addiction. 

I fist-bumped the air after checking my pantry and noticed that I had almond flour and tapioca starch. I remembered how hard it was to find these two products and how many stores I had to visit before buying them. That was probably six months ago. I stocked up because I didn't want to play treasure hunt again. 

Now, you may be asking yourself why in the world would somebody go through all this trouble to find these weird-sounding ingredients? Perhaps the need to blog about a trendy and hip eating phenomena is clouding my mind. 

Actually, mind fog (that's a real medical term) is one of the reasons I've tried to incorporate gluten-free ingredients into my diet. I've heard and read about how gluten can make people feel sluggish, in a daze, cause bloating, inflammation, and all sorts of other things, and then I scoffed. I figured they had too much time on their hands or were very self-absorbed. We all know that gluten intolerance is a hoax.
Your brain on gluten: Allergicliving.com
Everything changed when I talked to somebody who told me that her life had drastically improved after removing gluten from her diet. It was a chore to walk across the room. She had to crawl on her hands and knees to the bathroom every morning because she was in so much pain. I saw the before pictures, and they weren't good. She wasn't trying to sell me anything or persuade me for her advantage. She was just telling her story. 

So, I thought it wouldn't hurt to disprove the notion that gluten could be causing my joint pain, back pain, constipation, bloating, fatigue, and brain fuzz. I stopped eating pasta, pizza, bread, muffins, and the like. My belly got slimmer! That was a wonderful benefit. But, I noticed my energy improved and I wasn't aching and I could think! The skeptic in me thought these improvements may have been attributed to something else. So, after a week of eating normally, I repeated the experiment with the same results. Now, I'm hard-headed and slow to believe anything. So, yeah, I tried it a third time. Same thing.  
Now, I don't know exactly how all of this works or why. I'm just a wife, mom and part time teacher who strives to eat and feel healthy and I want the same for you. I don't have Celiac disease, but I am sensitive to foods that contain wheat. After doing much reading and personal tests, I know what gluten will do to my body. I'm done judging and rolling my eyes at people that order their pizza with a gluten-free crust. 

Anyway, I need to mix up these ingredients and start the baking. I can't wait to lick the spoon!

Now, what about you? Do you experience any of these adverse effects after eating pasta and bread? I'd love to know your story! 

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