These days you hear about people eating gluten free left and right. Some think it's a fad, others think it's a serious condition. I always lay right in the middle of both. From my understanding of how our modern food systems operate, I know that there is more gluten in processed foods than we are meant to consume. Just as type 2 Diabetes is the result of too much sugar in our diets, gluten sensitivities can be the result of too much gluten in our diets. There is also Celiac disease, which is a much more serious condition. I was one tested for it, and luckily came out negative. However, as the doctor explained, the test will only come in positive for gluten sensitivity if you have consumed gluten prior to it, and being that I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours, we couldn't really tell if that was an issue or not.
As you all know, I love food. And in my quest to eat the most delicious and nutritious foods, I don't necessarily eat too much refined sugars or flours. However, I do eat a lot of grains, the occasional pasta dish, whole wheat toast with breakfast, etc... So gluten is definitely present in my daily diet.
One of my coworkers suffered an injury similar to mine many years ago. Much like myself, she is in pain everyday, and her pain worsens when she works longer days on her feet. We check in with each other everyday, and try to see how much the weather or barometric pressure actually affects us, and are usually surprised to realize that we do hurt more on the same days. Needless to say, we have developed a bit of a complicity. We actually really understand how the other one feels when it hurts more, or when we have worked a particularly long day or week. A few weeks ago however, I was in excruciating pain, and she wasn't hurting at all. She told me that she had been eating a gluten free diet for 3 days, and that whenever she does this, the pain is much less, even after as little as three days...
She explained she had once done it for over a year, and then gave in to the temptation of cakes and breads, but that after the last few weeks, in which we have been hurting a bit more than usual, she just had to try it again.
I went home that night with the though in my head, and the next morning did a bit of research. Turns out, one of the manifestations of a gluten sensitivity can be joint pain (as well as headaches, fatigue, and countless other symptoms we don't usually associate with diet). So if I am indeed gluten sensitive, the pain might get better with a change in diet. If I'm not, then it will most likely not help at all (although it might still have an effect in other areas of my body).
I decided it was definitely worth a try.
So on Sunday, I went to the store with the experiment in mind, and on Monday, when cooking for the week, I made sure to prepare a little more food than usual, all gluten free.
My first funny "gluten free" moment, occurred on that same day. My husband absolutely LOVES White Castle (his sister in law thinks it's a family thing). For those of you not familiar with it, it is a chain of fast food burgers. Needless to say, we do not frequent it often. There are no White Castles in San Francisco, however, there are plenty of them here in Chicago. So since we arrived, he has been trying to figure out when and how he will be going there. We were at the hardware store getting some gardening supplies, and he realized we were just a few blocks away. Sure, why not, let's go. I don't eat that stuff (they are known in the urban legend world of the USA as the "crap" burgers, not because of what they are made of but because of what they make you do...), but maybe I'll have some onion rings.
I remembered my experiment and thought to myself, " Wow, am I really going to be THAT person? The one that walks into White Castle and asks if their onion rings are gluten free?".
As we approached the register I decided it sounded better if I asked if they had flour. The lovely lady behind the counter (must of been around her 60's, wearing her hairnet as fashionably as some would sport a tiara) said: " I don't know! Hey Mary! Will you show this lady a onion ring?!" So Mary opens the freezer drawer and pulls out a frozen onion ring and holds it up in the air for me to inspect...
It was quite the moment. I decided against it, and as my husband enjoyed his sliders, I snacked on some almonds I had brought with me for our adventure...
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