Gluten Free: NOT a “fad diet!”
In March of 2013, several parents of children attending Ceda
rburg schools came together to support one another with a shared challenge: staying healthy in a world filled with a substance that makes us and our families sick: wheat gluten.
Cooking. Eating out. Sleepovers at friends’ homes. Well-meaning but ignorant relatives and friends. The holidays. Traveling. School outings and birthday treats. Affording gluten-free foods. Making lunches for the kids. Missing school from being sick. All of these situations provide daily challenges, in avoiding this ubiquitous protein that’s added to nearly all processed foods, and which makes us ill.
How ill? Symptoms of gluten poisoning number around 100. Just within our small group, these run the gamut from mildly irritating to debilitating and even life-threatening. Some research shows that exposure to gluten protein causes progressive damage. Initially, it paralyzes the celia lining the small intestine. Repeated exposure can eventually cause permanent destruction of the lining the intestine — full-blown celiac disease — a serious and life-threatening illness. The symptoms found in our group, initially number less than half a dozen families, include:
- Migraine and other headaches
- Stomach aches
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation)
- Irritability and Anger
- Debilitating Depression
- Insomnia
- Painful skin rashes
- Fatigue/ lethargy
Some of us and our family members are severely sickened by just the smallest amount of gluten. Some have just recently identified gluten as the source of our while others have been gluten-free for decades. We decided to form this group, open to anyone in Ozaukee County who shares our desire for healthy living, gluten free.
Hope you can join us!
Gluten Free Ozaukee 