A little over 4 weeks ago I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet. I armed myself with information and recipes and set off to discover if some of the health issues I’ve been feeling have anything to do with gluten intolerance.

Here is what I experienced: My digestion did not improve. In fact, it worsened. My heartburn did not improve either. My blood sugar may have improved, but honestly, I wasn’t measuring it. None of the other minor issues took a turn for the better either.

Yesterday I decided to eat gluten and see if I would react to it in any way. I had heard that experiencing an averse reaction would be something to be expected. But I braved it anyway. I took a couple of bites of a delicious pizza slice Juan was eating (I ate the edge only). I waited. Nothing; I did not feel bad. Needless to say, I felt relief. This morning I ate a flour tortilla. A whole flour tortilla! And nothing bad happened. I have concluded I do not have a gluten intolerance (yay!)

Freeing myself of gluten did give me one advantage: It helped me realize my intolerance to dairy. So here I go, adjusting my diet all over again, eliminating milk in all forms. I just purchased my first container of almond milk. Not sure I like the idea, but I’ll do anything to improve my digestion.

I will add gluten back to my diet, but I will continue to be careful with carbs in general, reducing them enough to lose weight and lower my blood sugar levels. Also, I bought the book recommended by several friends, Trim Healthy Mama. I will review it once I read it and give it a fair try.