In my last post I mentioned my transformation to a low carb way of eating. In essence, I eat whole, non-processed foods (except for cheese). During the last 30 days I’ve eliminated all wheat products and most grains. I cooked my meals from scratch and monitored the ingredients I used.

What I’ve Discovered

Over this past month my lactose intolerance disappeared. Along with it went my stomach bloating and irritable digestive tract. I stopped taking the digestive enzyme HCL and have lost a few pounds (I have to get to the gym to see exactly how much I lost).

All in all, I feel great!

Adding Things Back

Since I felt so great, I decided to slowly add back one or two of the items I previously ate. After the first night of re-introducing a gluten-containing product, my stomach reacted strongly. It was the worst night’s sleep I had in 30 days. I spent most of the night in the bathroom.

It doesn’t take a team of medical experts to tell me that I’ve got a sensitivity to gluten. Who knew?

Looking Back

This 30-day experiment caused me to look back over my life. For as long as I could remember I suffered with intermittent bloating and digestive issues. Depending on the restaurant, we used to take bets on how long it would take after completing a meal for me to make the mad dash to the bathroom. We found the cheaper the restaurant the shorter the time between the meal and the bathroom trip (Pizza Hut was the worst).

Not thinking gluten, I cut out all of the low-cost dining experiences and would only eat at high-quality restaurants. After all, when I dined at a quality restaurant, I usually had seafood and vegetables. I never had adverse reactions (try getting salmon and grilled veggies at Pizza Hut).

There were times I’d suffer from bloating and stomach distress from a home-cooked meal, but never made the gluten connection. After all, I bought organic whole-wheat flour and only purchased whole grain breads.

Gluten Free Lifetime Change

I feel great without gluten. My research tells me that reintroducing gluten to my diet will cause a more noticeable reaction because I now know how good it feels to live without it. After living gluten free for 30 days, I have no desire to go back to feeling and living the way I did with gluten.

Who knew that a 30-day low carb/primal/paleo experiment would lead to such life-changing results? And the journey continues…