Tuesday, January 8, 2008

The Blessings of Being Gluten Free

Finding out that our daughter was gluten intolerant when I was 8 months pregnant was more than a little overwhelming. But, almost two years later, I can see the many blessings that have come along with the diagnosis.

  1. Firstly, we figured out what was making my little girl so sick. She started gaining weight and absorbing the food that she ate and she's been happier and healthier ever since.
  2. When our son started showing the same symptoms, he didn't suffer for two years before we figured out what to do.
  3. Our kids both eat healthier than they would have otherwise. They get whole foods like fruits and vegetables, meat, and dairy. Many, many gluten free products are also hormone-free and dye-free and preservative-free. There is just less junk food in our house, overall.
  4. Many gluten free products also happen to be organic, which is better for the environment. Bonus!
  5. We've learned how to spend a little more money to get better quality food. As Jennifer commented earlier, cheap food is filled with cheap ingredients. The extra money is often worth it!

I'm sure there are more! Anyone want to share?

5 comments:

huddtoo said...

I hope you don't mind I did a little talking about your blog on my blog. I ran across your blog via Jennifer (fakingitlive) and I have enjoyed reading your blog. While I don't "need" gluten free in my family, I've learned from your site. And I'm definitely a frugal gal, so that's good too. :)

Unknown said...

Yay! Of course, link to me any time you want! And welcome!

Li loves David said...

Eating healthy is inherently frugal, because being healthy is cheaper than being sick. Cutting out the junk (and in our case, the gluten) is cheaper than eating all the bad stuff now and having major medical problems years from now. At least, that's what I tell myself when I buy a tiny bag of rice flour that costs more than the 5lb bag of wheat flour... ;)

Debi said...

I could really relate to your first blessing ... finding out what was making your daughter so sick. My oldest daughter had been sick for quite some time, and although it wasn't much fun to find out she was gluten-intolerant, it was such a huge blessing to see her become healthy again. And when her younger sister started showing some similar symptoms, it was so much easier to identify the problem. Another blessing you can relate to, as well. :-)

Unknown said...

Debi - thanks! BTW, I have been a HUGE fan of your writing for YEARS. It's seriously an honor to have you comment on my blog!

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