Beyond gluten-free

Right before my 30th birthday I discovered that I have a gluten intolerance, which was starting to affect my thyroid. I eliminated gluten from my diet and after six weeks, my thyroid was back to normal. I was previously a big believer in the healing powers of food, but this gave me personal proof!

I had already been on the path of replacing processed foods with organic produce and pastured meats, dairy, and eggs since the birth of my daughter the year before. I had been using Nourishing Traditions as my culinary bible and reading the Weston A. Price website whenever I could. I dutifully took my cod liver every day. I even took a great leap of faith and secured a cowshare which provides us with the best full-fat, real milk I have ever consumed.

But going gluten-free was a challenge. Eating out became more difficult. Trying to explain it to family and friends became tedious. And then I realized that more and more processed foods were sneaking their way back into my house!

And then some bloodwork came back, indicating that I was almost pre-diabetic. And then the other shoe fell when my husband's health checkup revealed a whole host of things that needed remedying.

Thankfully we were blessed to be seeing a wonderful holistic family doctor that believes that food can be your medicine. And when I looked at the dietary changes we would be making, I was both excited and petrified.

Here is the general outline:

Organic/pastured meats
Full-fat/organic dairy
Pastured eggs
Organic vegetables and fruits (twice as many veggies as fruit)
Soaked nuts and beans
Only dry red wine for alcohol
Healthy fats (coconut, butter, lard, olive oil)
NO grains of any kind (corn on the cob is allowed, but no wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, quinoa, millet, etc)
NO gluten (found in most grains, as well as random other places like soy sauce, lots of processed and commercially prepared foods)
NO flours of any kind (almond, bean and chickpea flours are allowed)
NO sugar of any kind (no fruit juice, dried fruit, maple syrup, agave, honey, refined or unrefined sugar, regular potatoes, or anything made from these items)
NO artificial sweeteners

Thankfully I had already established a network of local farmers and merchants who could supply me with the proper foods. The hard part was finding recipes and techniques that allowed me to cook them without feeling bored or deprived. (Oh, and try explaining all THAT to friends, family, or your waiter!)