I consider this by far the most important thread I have posted on ATS, Why? Well, I feel like a new person.

For approximately 20 years, I have lived with a fogginess and lethargy that I could not relieve myself from, even exercise didn’t seem to eliminate the issue. I have also dealt with a bit of mild depression from time to time, that I had no idea what caused it. I figured my emotional and physical state were just normal and somehow related to genetics, also everyday stresses and issues.

A typical day would always start out as OMG it’s time to get up again. Typical morning lag/fogginess until I had a shower and my second espresso. About 11am I would need another shot of espresso, to keep the wheels turning, then again at 3pm, and finally 6 pm before my workout. Yep, 5 to 6 shots a day. During the course of the day I would get that heavy headed feeling, whole body felt like heavy weight. Forgetfulness often consumed me, irritability, insecurities came out of nowhere, stupid little things would set me off and small issue seemed rather large at times.

That was 60 days ago, all of those symptoms are gone.

So what have I discovered? Life Changing Food Related Issues.

I know that have found the solution to my anxieties, mild depressions, fogginess and some irritability. I am feeling after 60 days of zero wheat and gluten, and no GMO products like a new person. All of my fogginess is gone, I am thinking clearly. l have tons of energy. I wake up early in the morning and have no tired issues throughout the day. Any unfounded insecurities I used to deal with are all gone. Little issues don't bug me anymore and I laugh a lot more now. And that overwhelming urge to take a nap is gone also, even though I never had the time, lol.

I have tried many things over the years to combat my issues, exercise, herbs, essential oils, nutritional supplements, meditation, you name it I tried it.

What turned me on to this way of thinking? Synchronicities were overwhelming for about 6 months, so I figured I should try to eliminate these things from my diet.

Which item caused it?

Wheat, Gluten, or Genetically Modified Foods, I really don’t care because of the way I feel and if you ask me will I ever go back? Hell No!

Will I go in to get tested for Allergies? Why should I, I have figured it out myself, without them poking and prodding.

What does my diet consist of? Everything that is organically grown, no wheat, or gluten anything. Plenty of recipes online and books to use.

How hard was it? It was not easy the first 15 days, but I was determined and even after 10 days I noticed a huge difference. Think about how many things you eat with wheat in it?

My best friend is gluten intolerant so i have tried his diet and i agree with you on how hard it is.
The health benefits from cutting out wheat products have been quite amazing for him.
He lost a bit of weight at first but now is very lean with barely any fat on him at all.
We used to work out together and he is actually in better shape now without working out.

I think alot of health ailments are from being gluten intolerant as well as maybe even having celiac disease and it is such a shame doctors don't pay much attention to that.

Good for you man!!!!

Star and Flag!

You described for the most part my current lifestyle, particularly the coffee as necessity. I am seriously going to look into this because I had heard a few of my relatives have gluten free diets due to an intolerance. If it's genetic it's entirely possible it's floating about a few other family members too. Shouldn't be too hard to spot them, it's probably the surly, lethargic ones!

Great post

I'm very interested in doing this, need to get back into better shape, more energy etc.

The hardest thing for me is a structured diet, mostly because my family eats all the "normal things" so it makes it hard.

Could you post maybe the top 5 or 10 things you do eat? Kind of the main things? Or what your weekly shopping list looks like? That would help out a huge amount, especially someone that is already doing it.

I've noticed a lot of people on a gluten-free diet recently, a good trend, but it's not the only thing people should look at either. When I was having digestive issues..(I think it was some kind of food poisoning)...I went on a raw food diet. Probably one of the best things that I've done for my health. I didn't stick with it, but I do give it credit for detoxifying and increasing my energy levels over all. Now I just try to have a higher raw food vs cooked food ratio. And I have minimal gluten intake... Eliminating gluten is just another way of helping you detox.

Congrats on taking control of your intake. And may you continue to feel better each day.
Here's to living Claratin clear as they say, only without the Claratin. LOL

Thanks to the OP for starting the thread and perhaps making a positive difference in someone's life!!

I also know of people that have had to go gluten free due to allergies. The difference was amazing. To tell the truth, at the time I had considered it, but I was so used to feeling crappy that I didn't realize it could make a difference for me too.

A short time later I started on a weight-loss diet that centered around cleansing and happened to include ingredients that were naturally processed and pure. I shed almost 30 pounds and the difference to my digestive tract was incredible. It wasn't until I was no longer bloated, in pain and sucking down tums all day long that I realized how bad it had gotten. After a short few months, just the thought of eating a plate of greasy french fries or pizza would make my stomach ache.

I have continued to use components of this diet for almost two years now, to maintain my health. I have figured out some of the key ingredients to it (niacin plus tryptophan for absorption as a cleanser, for example) that give my metabolism that needed boost....but it wasn't until now that I realized the other aspect. I believe it is gluten free and definately GMO free, and the types of foods that are incouraged with it are also just naturally.

it makes sense now why, when I do step out every once in awhile and eat out (nice restraunt not fast food), my stomach does flips. I'll bet it's the gluten. Now that you have pointed this out to me, I am going to make a concerted effort to eliminate as much gluten as possible from my whole familie's diet and see what happens. I have noticed more and more lately that items are being labeled as gluten free so the awareness is spreading.

Thanks again!

so what exactly do you eat/ drink on a daily basis to avoid all these?

I just wanted to let you know OP, that because of your thread, you have made me look at and think a lot about my diet and what has been happening with me for the past couple of years.

Because of this, I am starting my whole family on a gluten-free (as much as I can) diet, and I have alrready sent my sister info to try and get her to do the same.

Thanks again, you made a difference.

I actually didn't think this thread would go anywhere, even though I posted it was an important thread, but it looks like a lot of people are putting two and two together.

I think everyone hear on ATS would love to hear back on each individual experiment.

Good luck to everyone, I can't stress enough how good I feel these days.

Originally posted by westcoast
I just wanted to let you know OP, that because of your thread, you have made me look at and think a lot about my diet and what has been happening with me for the past couple of years.

Because of this, I am starting my whole family on a gluten-free (as much as I can) diet, and I have alrready sent my sister info to try and get her to do the same.

Thanks again, you made a difference.

Originally posted by usmc858

Could you post maybe the top 5 or 10 things you do eat? Kind of the main things? Or what your weekly shopping list looks like? That would help out a huge amount, especially someone that is already doing it.

Im celiac, so I have been wheat and gluten free for quite a while.

Buy a rice cooker. I grew up in Hawaii, and we eat rice with every meal there. Here in the mainland, you can easily do the same. You can also still have potatos. A really good brand of past is called Tinkyada. Its probably the best of all the brands in terms of tasting like regular pasta.

Buy Glutino products if you want to eat things like pizza. Amy's makes good gluten free microwave meals too, if you dont like to cook, but their GF pizza is not as good as Glutino's. Glutino also makes good pretzels. Cant tell them apart from regular ones. Pamela's makes excellent cookie mix, fantastic pancake mix, and already cooked cookies. Great stuff.

Other than that, as long as you are making the food yourself, and not using pre-packaged food, its not too hard to be GF. Just be aware that "soy sauce" is made with wheat, you have to buy "Tamari" if you want GF. Even regular stores now days have a healthy section that has GF cereals and other stuff.

The biggest thing you miss with the GF diet is bread. Its really hard to find good bread. All the GF brands I have tried are pretty lame. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that GF baked goods taste best fresh and warm. So I am getting a bread maker soon, to see if making the bread fresh will help.

Good luck. Its a really pain in the ass diet. You can have almost nothing in terms of fast food, but if you prepare the food yourself or stick to prepared foods by some of the companies I named, its not that bad.

MODS

Thanks for this post as I am having some of those symptoms myself and would love to change my diet and see where it takes me. Those asking questions such as different types of diets and so forth, I came across an e-book that you might be interested in "Gluten Free for Dummies".

However, I can't post the download link as I will be warned but I know most people would want to get their hands on it. So, I would like to help by providing the link via message but BEFORE I do, I first need to ensure from the MODS that my actions would be OK if I supply the link as per my given intentions.

If this is fine, then by all means ask away! (By the way, I'm on Eastern Time so if I don't respond it means I'm still at work)

Brilliant post! Our diet/nutrition is vital to feeling and being healthy. I have noticed that when I eat wheat i feel sluggish and dopey (more so than usual anyway). My partner and I are trying the paleo/ hunter-gatherer way of eating. This is really hard to do at first as it takes a bit of thought and breakfast is especially hard - a bowl of cereal with milk is so much more convenient and quicker than cookng something or preparing fruit but believe me the extra few minutes of effort are worth it.
One of the key tenants is to eliminate wheat, and on days that i do this i have more energy and feel much more alert.