Gluten-Free Living 101: A Step by Step Guide is Here!

Four and a half years ago I started to do research about gluten. After I learned the basics, I continued to research every aspect of gluten I could. Though the conversation about gluten was limited to Celiac disease and a few other disorders, I could sense the movement towards understanding the far range connections to gluten and illness.

Gluten-Free Living 101: A Step by Step Guide

As I became well versed in how to live a gluten-free lifestyle, Dr. Cynthia Costa, D.C. suggested I take all this knowledge and  write a book. Who know it would take 2 1/2 years to complete that task. 

The original version of the book was an accumulation of all I had learned about gluten and was 100's of pages long. As I stared down at the first draft of the book, I knew I did not want to  publish another lengthy book that would take weeks to read and longer to digest. 

Dr. Costa had also suggested I become a gluten-free consultant (coach), which I did. Working with my clients and blogging with other gluten-free people, I began to understand the difficulties people faced when trying to learn how to live a gluten-free lifestyle. 

I set out to create a way to streamline the process. My new book, Gluten-Free Living 101: A Step by Step Guide, makes the process of learning how to live gluten-free simple. 



Gluten-Free Living 101: A Step by Step Guide covers all the things you need to know about living gluten-free:
 
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: Educating Yourself

CHAPTER 2: Gluten-Related Medical Information

CHAPTER 3: The Emotional Journey
 
CHAPTER 4: Living Gluten-Free

CHAPTER 5: Cross Contamination

CHAPTER 6: Eating Out

CHAPTER 7: Baking Basics

CHAPTER 8: Recipes

CHAPTER 9: My Favorite Things

Thank you all for being a part of my  journey!

My Response to the Negative Media About Living Gluten-Free

I have been very frustrated the last few weeks because I could not type. I have wanted to respond to all the negative media about living a GLUTEN-FREE life. Maybe I needed the time to figure out just what I want to say.

First and most important, is the lack of knowledge that the general public and many doctors have about diseases and disorders directly affected by consuming gluten. Even a few people with Celiac Disease have responded by saying it is hurting those with Celiac Disease when so many people use the GF diet in order to lose weight, etc.  This remark excludes those of us who also have diseases, disorders or health issues that are affected by eating gluten. 

The Media & Gluten-Free Living

Yes, there are those people eating a GF diet because it is the newest fad or weight lose idea. 
So what, the truth is that wheat in its current form is very difficult to digest.  Even if a person does not need to be on a GF diet ,they may receive health benefits by eliminating gluten.

Yes, people on a so called GF diet sometimes do not even know what gluten is.
It sounds ridiculous but maybe these people will start to learn what it is and will help educate others.

Yes, the media is all over the gluten-free way of life.
It was the media that started to shine attention on Celiac Disease and Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS). Because of this attention, more research about a gluten diet is now being funded. I guess we have to take the good with the bad.

I know what I know and I will not let others belittle it or make me doubt myself. I don't have Celiac disease. I have an autoimmune thyroid disease called Hashimoto's and Leaky Gut. Some doctors do not think gluten affects Hashimoto's, others do. I have met many people with Hashimoto's or another autoimmune disease that feels much better after eliminating gluten. That can not be questioned.

I know what I know
Eating gluten makes me sick. 
Cross Contamination of gluten, makes it difficult for me to swallow and my skin gets rashes. 

Since I stopped eating gluten:

• I no longer have difficulty swallowing
• My digestive issues are gone
• My eczema is gone 
• No more brain fog
• No more arthritis pain 
• the list goes on and on. 

Check out July/August issue of Simply Gluten Free magazine. 
Dr. Alexander Shikhman, founder of the Institute for Specialized Medicine and  board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology, is the author of the article called, Gluten Intolerance and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  In Dr. Shikhman addresses how gluten can affect the body and may be directly related to other autoimmune diseases, especially Rheumatoid Arthritis. I enjoyed reading his ideas and theories.


Dr. Alexander Shikhman has a self assessment Gluten Intolerance test on his site.   

Please stay true to what you know works for you!