It's been a while since I have been able to post on this blog, but last year I got really ill just after Labor Day. My white blood count was at a steady 14,000. The bad news: My vitamin D and folic acid were deficient. The good news: It was not cancer or leukemia. However, when my vitamin D and folic acid levels came back up, my white blood count dropped, but then my iron also dropped. In December, I would get up out of bed only to end up having to go back to bed. I was pale and weak and literally a shell of a human being barely walking around. In January the anemia was at its worst. I actually began falling asleep in the middle of the day, including at church!! Something was wrong. They checked my iron after two months of being on a long-term use antibiotic for which I also take a probiotic, and my ferritin was 41. But I was passing out and fainting. I was miserable. I received my first iron infusion in March this year. My ferritin soared to 283 and I have more life and more energy now than ever before.
Now, I have a different focus for My Gluten Free Life. You see, in December I was confirmed to be on the spectrum. At the age of 33, I am now diagnosed as not only having ADHD, but also having a high-functioning autism. This has changed some things. The gluten free diet helps alleviate symptoms of both conditions, but it's not enough for me.I am beginning a journey onto the GFCF (gluten free casein free) diet, which is good because I am allergic to cow dairy anyway. But to further complicate things, I am now on a crusade. I am trying to eliminate ALL products that contain HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) from my diet. Not only is that chemically processed substance bad for the body, but it tastes gross and makes me more symptomatic.
Why do they still use HFCS? Sugar is now cheaper. HFCS was created in a lab because at the time sugar was expensive due to war-related shortages. But that's not the case now. So why do they still use this offending substance?
So anyway, that's why I have been so silent on this blog lately. I have been processing things and recovering from life-threatening iron anemia.
Oh, I should say that I recently discovered that I was NOT allergic to chickpeas (I now LOVE hummus) or mushrooms (although I'd rather not eat them if I can avoid them). I also discovered that I was NOT allergic to raspberry (I just don't like the taste of it). Each of these were cross-contaminated with gluten containing food products. However, I am developing an allergy to oranges and orange juice. And that is in isolation. So now, I am seeking alternatives to oranges and orange juice to get my vitamin C.
But I'm back and I'm better than ever and I'm ready to start reviewing some more of my favorite (and not so favorite) gluten free products. Beginning with that Against the Grain pizza I had a couple of weeks ago that was so good that I actually ate some cold slices the next morning for breakfast!! Now, I'm going to buy their pizza shell and make my own all natural, dairy free pizza using a new favorite of mine: Daiya. Oh, and what goes better with that than Silk Fruit & Protein in Mango Peach?
