If someone had told me a couple of years ago I'd eventually be following a dairy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free diet, I probably would have told them they'd mistaken me for somebody else ...
While I've always had a passion for nutrition and diet in relation to personal well being, I always viewed my dietary guidelines through the lens of the standard American food pyramid. I was a huge believer of "everything in moderation." As far as I was concerned (or so I thought!), I had no reason to ever consider omitting whole food groups from my diet.
Then a couple of years ago I was having difficulty combatting certain ailments with conventional modern medicine. I thought I was eating balanced, getting enough sleep, and exercising moderately, so it was driving me crazy that I couldn't get myself feeling better.
Finally one day I stumbled upon a blog (I don't remember which one) that spoke towards one of my ailments. The blogger claimed that eliminating dairy from her diet in turn elimated her pains and symptoms. I naively thought it sounded ridiculous that dairy could have so much bearing on one thing, but I figured after months of suffering it was worth a try. Needless to say ... four days after eliminating dairy from my diet, things I didn't even know where bothering me felt better! I transformed into a completely different, healthier person.
After twenty five years of living a certain way, it was a complete and utter challenge to entirely revamp my eating lifestyle. I read books, blogs, internet articles, educating myself how to continue to properly nourish and fuel my body without dairy. Did you realize that dairy is in practically everything?? I had to train myself how to re-cook the simplest meals, and do without American staples like maccorini and cheese, in addition to eliminating foods from my Italian heritage like pizza and baked ziti and chicken parmigiana. It was a little overwhelming in the beginning to say the least ... fortunately Ryan was nothing but amazing and supportive through it all (Mind you, eating lifestyles certainly affect the people you live with!).
Then as time passed and I was better learning the roots of my ailments, my dietary research progressed. I found numerous resources stating that the elimination of wheat and gluten from the diet only furthered relief and symptom decrease. At the time I almost hoped that wouldn't ring true for me, (How could I ever become dairy-free, wheat-free, and gluten-free??) but I knew it was something I had to try out ... how couldn't I after my positive experience with dairy elimination?
Well ... it worked. I've been DF WF GF for only a short period of time now, but my body feels so much more at peace with itself. The enhancements to my health and overall well being that I've experienced because of these dietary changes make the extra meal planning and specialty shopping all worth it. And no, I don't miss any of the foods that are no longer in my diet! They made me feel sick! Really, in this day and age you can buy dairy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free anything ... just look at my food blog ... I can eat any type of food I want! And in actuality, I'm finding it easier to cater to a DF WF GF diet versus a DF diet because many food products marketed as DF are also WF GF, and I don't think I was paying much attention to those in the past.
Adapting to a DF WF GF lifestyle is a huge change, but I'm learning it's not as hard as it seems. I look forward to sharing my favorite food products with you, and maybe my not so favorite, that allow me to find variety and balance in a DF WF GF world ... And maybe you have some you can share with me? =)
It's all in the name of health ... and what better cause is there really?
While I've always had a passion for nutrition and diet in relation to personal well being, I always viewed my dietary guidelines through the lens of the standard American food pyramid. I was a huge believer of "everything in moderation." As far as I was concerned (or so I thought!), I had no reason to ever consider omitting whole food groups from my diet.
Then a couple of years ago I was having difficulty combatting certain ailments with conventional modern medicine. I thought I was eating balanced, getting enough sleep, and exercising moderately, so it was driving me crazy that I couldn't get myself feeling better.
Finally one day I stumbled upon a blog (I don't remember which one) that spoke towards one of my ailments. The blogger claimed that eliminating dairy from her diet in turn elimated her pains and symptoms. I naively thought it sounded ridiculous that dairy could have so much bearing on one thing, but I figured after months of suffering it was worth a try. Needless to say ... four days after eliminating dairy from my diet, things I didn't even know where bothering me felt better! I transformed into a completely different, healthier person.
After twenty five years of living a certain way, it was a complete and utter challenge to entirely revamp my eating lifestyle. I read books, blogs, internet articles, educating myself how to continue to properly nourish and fuel my body without dairy. Did you realize that dairy is in practically everything?? I had to train myself how to re-cook the simplest meals, and do without American staples like maccorini and cheese, in addition to eliminating foods from my Italian heritage like pizza and baked ziti and chicken parmigiana. It was a little overwhelming in the beginning to say the least ... fortunately Ryan was nothing but amazing and supportive through it all (Mind you, eating lifestyles certainly affect the people you live with!).
Then as time passed and I was better learning the roots of my ailments, my dietary research progressed. I found numerous resources stating that the elimination of wheat and gluten from the diet only furthered relief and symptom decrease. At the time I almost hoped that wouldn't ring true for me, (How could I ever become dairy-free, wheat-free, and gluten-free??) but I knew it was something I had to try out ... how couldn't I after my positive experience with dairy elimination?
Well ... it worked. I've been DF WF GF for only a short period of time now, but my body feels so much more at peace with itself. The enhancements to my health and overall well being that I've experienced because of these dietary changes make the extra meal planning and specialty shopping all worth it. And no, I don't miss any of the foods that are no longer in my diet! They made me feel sick! Really, in this day and age you can buy dairy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free anything ... just look at my food blog ... I can eat any type of food I want! And in actuality, I'm finding it easier to cater to a DF WF GF diet versus a DF diet because many food products marketed as DF are also WF GF, and I don't think I was paying much attention to those in the past.
Adapting to a DF WF GF lifestyle is a huge change, but I'm learning it's not as hard as it seems. I look forward to sharing my favorite food products with you, and maybe my not so favorite, that allow me to find variety and balance in a DF WF GF world ... And maybe you have some you can share with me? =)
It's all in the name of health ... and what better cause is there really?
