Recently went to a gluten free diet, seasonal allergies disappeared (allergy, skin)

[smarino]

After suffering from seasonal allergies for many years, allergies that just got worse every year as I aged (grass, ragweed, Mulberry, etc), I went to a gluten free diet and after just a few weeks my allergies went away! I was hesitant to say anything because I made the switch in the low allergy season here in Florida, but the allergy count is relatively high now, and has been for a while, and they haven't come back. Over and over, whenever I mention this to people, they say the same thing happened with them or it happened to a friend or relative. My wife is finding out that her arthritis is much better w/o gluten as well. Even Walmart now has lots of gluten free products, so shopping is not that difficult.

I went to a gluten free diet for other reasons, so having this happen wasn't planned. I just figured that wheat has morphed into a Frankenwheat, and wheat or gluten is in EVERYTHING these days. We get too much of it, so it seemed like a good thing to get away from. I also changed my diet quite a bit to counter a GERD problem I've also had for a long time, and had been treating it with Prilosec daily. There's just too much evidence now that taking Priolsec for extended periods is a health risk, and we need a fair amount of acid in our gut to counter bad bacteria in food. Going to a GERD diet meant cutting out or drastically cutting back on caffeine, onions, salt, sugar, processed foods, spicy foods, fried foods, garlic, heavy oils, and a lot of other foods I loved, but it has been an easier diet to adjust to than I had figured on because I feel so much better now. And if I stick to it, the GERD issue, which was pretty severe, is completely gone.

This has also made me much more aware of how nearly all of our diet in this country is just crap. Now I try to buy organic or non GMO whenever I can, and wash our veggies real well if they're not organic. Fruits like apples, pears, etc I peel to get the toxic skin off. We have a good water filter on our home faucet now. And due to ethical and health reasons, we eat a basically vegan diet except for eggs. If I can find eggs that come from a cruelty free environment, which is impossible when you buy them from a grocery store, I buy 'em. We have several Saturday markets in our area, and I asked the sellers "are your chickens in a hen house, or do they run around free"? Many of the people told me that their chickens were free range, but when you question them on this, they are as sneaky w/ that term as the corporations are. They kept describing unusually small spaces for so many birds. Finally, I met someone that said their chickens were on the roof, in the field, all over the place. The eggs from these people are just the best! This is how chickens are supposed to live. Lately I get to the market too late and they're sold out, so I broke down and bought some organic, vegetarian, free range eggs at Publix and they are just awful. Just totally watery.

So diet is the answer to a lot of our health problems. Who knew? Yes, I have to do a lot more food preparation, but it's fun. And it's more expensive to eat this way. But you can pay for it now, or you can pay for it later when you have to go to doctors.