Since the age of two or three I have had excema. Or so we have always thought it to be such. I used to have it on my elbows and backs of knees. When I was pregnant with Micaiah I got it on my feet. After Micaiah it greatly diminished, but came back with avengence during my pregnancy with Shaylee, this time on my hands. It has not gotten better since then, and might even be worse. It has gotten so bad that people have occasionally asked me if I burned the backs of my hands. It's kind of embarassing.
Over Christmas a good friend told me of a co-worker with a rash on his hands. He discovered it was a gluten allergy or intolerance, and was able to completely get rid of it. So for a little over a month now, I have not eaten any gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats). This means no bread products of any sort. Now, you can buy gluten-free(GF) products in N. America, especially at the ever-popular health food stores. But most of those products are hard to find here. But a few weeks ago I discovered a park that has an organic market on Saturday mornings. There I can not only find organic produce, coffee, milk, cheese, and clothes, but also alternative flours! Amaranth and quinoa flours are originally from Peru and still used readily in the mountains, but here in the city we are "too advanced" for them. Until now! I tried several recipes for pancakes, breads, and rolls, but was still lacking a binding ingredient not available in Peru. But tonight I found a recipe online that looked promising, since it did not call for that ever-illusive binder. I made the batch, and behold! I ate pancakes! Elliott even tried them and said they were good and he would eat them frequently! As I resisted the urge to totally gorge myself on pancakes but settled for licking the plate clean, I contemplated how I was not afraid of the crumbs. That may sound odd, but for over a month now I have been avoiding the wheat crumbs left in my butter dish by my toast-loving husband. But tonight I made a food with crumbs, and I could eat it! It has truly been an exciting day for me!
3 comments:
I'm glad that being a hippie (at least a little bit) is working for you! Is the diet helping your hands?
I'm really enjoying my hippie life, and would be much more so in the States where more alternatives are available. Actually I told Ell this is prep for the States when I go totally crazy. This way he can get used to it little by little. As for the hands, not so much yet. BUt a nutritionist friend told me that because of the way gluten effects the intestines it can take up to three months for your body to totally rid itself. It was almost gone for two weeks, then came back. It this doesn't work I'll try cutting out dairy next.
Fun stuff.
Sorry I haven't been posting- I've actually started 3 and didn't finish them in the last few weeks. I don't realy know what my issue is. I can't seem to decide what to talk about.
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