Wheat-Free Journey {Part I}

Last week my sister called me to talk about something she found in a book called Wheat Belly Cookbook.  She had read that the consumption of wheat can lead to depression.  That was a huge red flag for me since Doug has been fighting it for two years now.  I bought the cookbook and the book Wheat Belly and began my own researching. The evidence both in the book and online was mind blowing.  I was shocked at how negatively wheat can and does affect us.  I won't go into it here but I'm all for it.  I'd certainly recommend the book! I began the weekend by dropping all wheat that I consume and have reduced the amount that the kids intake.  Doug did it slower as well since some of the side effects can be pretty harsh.  I had a headache on Saturday which was remedied by water and an Advil.

Yesterday I purchased a few different flours such as buckwheat, arrowroot and spelt.  I made wheat/gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies right off the bat and this morning I made buckwheat pancakes.

I'll admit, the taste is a bit different, but different can be good.  I think with time, we'd simply get used to it and it would become a way of life.

"The essential reference book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, states, “Omit wheat products from the diet. Wheat gluten has been linked to depressive disorders” (p. 317 in 3rd ed.). Julia Ross, M.A., author of The Mood Cure, describes the link between wheat consumption and depression:

“Dozens of studies confirm that depression is a common symptom of gluten intolerance, one that usually disappears when wheat and the similar grains are withdrawn. People with gluten intolerance have low levels of the . . . brain chemical serotonin, and gluten has been implicated in mental illness since at least 1979, which is when I first noticed psychiatric journals reporting tremendous improvement in the symptoms of patients with depression and manic-depression . . . who had been experimentally taken off gluten-containing foods.” (p. 126)

The above notes are from HERE.

I'm on day four of my wheat-free journey.  I'm excited to see what's going to happen for me and my family!