How Going Gluten Free Cured My Asthma, Insomnia and Bloating

Did you know - you are what you eat.Now when I was a kid I had a hard time picturing that. I used to envisage myself eating a hamburger and becoming one!

LOL!

But it’s true: Sugar makes us wired up and then tired.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive drug. It is legal and uncontrolled, to the point where that extra cup can actually make you tremble and shake.

White flour adds an excess of sugar to your diet leading to blood sugar blues.

Whereas green leafy vegies give you energy to get through your day.

I’ve followed many eating styles over the years.  I was a vegetarian at one point, I’ve done organic, gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, grain free.

Sometimes I’ve had to ask myself – what do I eat?

Now it wasn’t always like that.  You see I grew up eating very healthy food like my mother served and when I started raising kids I served only the best.  

But then you know I had 2 and 3 and 4 and more kids and life got overwhelming!

I started serving what was easy and fast.  Sure, chicken and rice at least once a week but also pizza and lasagna and anything the kids would cheer for when they saw it.  I mean you’d have to be a miracle maker in order to serve gourmet meals with so many little kids. (Ha Ha)

You know around this time frame I happened to be having a lot of gas and bloating, and my childhood Asthma had come back in full force – I was using the highest dose on the strongest puffer.  

I also had terrible insomnia, and as exhausted as I was I just couldn’t fall asleep for hours at night and then I’d wake up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall back asleep.  

That’s not fun when you have a newborn and 3 toddlers. I mean was just so tired all the time and I had a lot of little kids. I was either pregnant or nursing and I wasn’t sleeping. It was rough.  

I remember that feeling every night after dinner of just pure exhaustion. I just needed to lie down before putting the kids to bed. How I managed to get up at all is a wonder to me.

I went to the doctor and asked what’s causing all this, how do I fix it.  He said “Oh, it’s normal for people to have a certain amount of gas and some people just have asthma and some people just have insomnia.  Here’s a puffer and a sleeping pill.”

So of course, I turned to the alternative world… alternative to non stop pills and puffers that is… and soon we discovered that I had a gluten and dairy sensitivity.

See my blog post How The Body Code Cured My Asthma and Insomnia

Out went gluten and dairy from my diet. Overnight my insomnia went away (no pun intended).  The gas disappeared and slowly but surely after I also removed rice, oats and corn from my diet, the Asthma puffers also disappeared.  

Now this was a big enough miracle in itself.  I mean I would say it’s a pretty basic need to be able to breathe & sleep.

But I think the biggest miracle of all was the boost in my energy level. You know I thought I was always exhausted after dinner because it had been a long day and I didn’t sleep well at night.

But the truth was – go feed someone with a gluten and dairy sensitivity - pizza or lasagna and yeah – they’re going to be exhausted! 

Naps after dinner became a thing of the past and mom became an animated story teller, masseuse, sensory brusher, cuddler, tickler, you name it.

What was the trick? Change in diet.

Now I wasn’t joking when I said sometimes I have to ask myself - what do I eat? It’s tough sometimes.  You can’t just grab food and go.  It needs to be well planned and thought out.  But I’d never go back just because of the energy level. 

See related: How I do It All: House, Meals, Work, Kids, and Me Time

So what’s the secret to how I survive with such a limiting diet?  NO: Gluten, Rice, Corn, Potatoes, Lentils, and Dairy.

Ok, I’ll admit it.  I’m not superwoman (don’t tell anyone!)

Real Food Meal Plans - Miracle Maker Mom

I use an online menu planner. I really struggled for a long time with this diet because of all the limitations but now, using Real Plans, I just enter in the foods that I can’t have, and it spits out menus (and matching shopping lists – I love it!) that don’t have any of the forbidden ingredients.

This is totally a life saver, not only for me, but for the whole family at large, because if you factor in the kids’ food sensitivities we get even more limited.  Like one of my kids can’t have tomatoes or black/white pepper.If you’re struggling with menu planning due to allergies (or just in general) I would definitely check out REAL Plans. And as their name implies, the recipes are all REAL food.

No fake junk. Check out REAL Plans here.The next time you’re feeling tired when it’s time to get those kiddos off to bed, or when your kids are bouncing off the walls or super cranky, remind yourself.  YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. What did I eat today? What did I feed the kids? You know that what you feed your kids can totally change their behavior and performance at school.

But that’s another story! What if I think I (or one of my kids) have a food intolerance? What do I do now? Good question.  See my post 6 Must Dos If You Think Your Child Has a Food Intolerance.

What alternative healing methods have helped you?