In Which All Things Change (Or, the Story of a Vegetarian No More)

About four and a half years ago, my husband watched a documentary on meat that changed our lives. Now, Midwesterners born and raised, we spent our lives up until this point eating hamburgers, roasted chickens, bacon - lots and lots of meat as it is the fruit of our homeland. After learning the horrors of meat and grain fed meat, antibiotics and hormones, removing mammals from our diet seemed to be the only choice we had. We quickly took up a vegetarian diet (pescatarian to be exact - we have always continued to consume fish) and didn't look back.

Until last week.

Upon the recommendation of a weight loss friend, I bought Tim Ferriss's new book, The 4-Hour Body and read it cover to cover. Ferriss is a long time personal experimenter of the human body. He's done something like $250,000 worth of bloodwork to track changes or progress as he tries to do things that Doctors and experts say are not possible with regard to the human body and its systems. Now, I am not one for fad diets and I know that weight loss doesn't come without hard work. So, for those of you who are poo-pooing the book because of the name, wait! What Ferriss describes in his book is a way to revolutionize your life by cutting out bad and poisonous things - bad foods, stress, and un natural living - to become a superhuman. I was captivated page after page - his endless quest to find answers, to not take "that's impossible" for an answer, was enlightening. By the time I was finished, I knew I wouldn't be the same.

After reading "The Four Hour Body", I got "The Paleo Solution" by famed Paleolithic diet researcher and advocate Robb Wolf. Five pages in to this one I was in tears. Fifteen pages and I knew that the next day, things would be changing. In the kitchen. ASAP.

My husband David has suffered from gastrointestinal issues (GI) for most of his life. I'm not talking about a little acid reflux...I'm talking, bound over in pain GI. Last year, he finally saw a doctor to try and figure out what was going on, and the process was frustrating and fruitless. He was told to stay away from rice and cheese (binding agents) and sent on his way. Of course, nothing has changed - while the non-consumption of dairy and rice has given him a little relief on some days, his condition had ben basically the exact same: debilitating pain after eating.

A year or so ago I started to suspect Celiac may be the cause of his problems. I didn't know much about it in the first place, but a friend at work had tried to warn me of the dangers of gluten and explained that he had Celiac disease. I wasn't very interested in hearing what he had to say - I wish he would have talked a little louder then!

Wolf, in the Paleo Solution, brings gluten to front and center very early. His take? Gluten is an anti-nutrient, a poison that no one should eat. Period. I am not going to go in to the advanced specifics of it because it's highly scientific and I will probably transcribe some of it incorrectly. If you're interested in the science behind gluten and what it does to your system, I highly recommend Robb Wolf's book, and you can find it here. The short of it is basically that wheat reproduces by dispersing and germinating. Because it cannot disperse and germinate when picked and eaten by a human, it has ammunition that is released in to our system when we try to eat its "young". This is meant to keep us from eating it (because of the negative reaction it causes) but, most people do not notice it (because they don't ever go without it). Celiac is an autoimmune disorder in which gluten cannot be correctly digested through the small intestine. This causes major small intestinal damage.

Reading this made so much sense, with regard to how David has been feeling. I have seen him daily in so much abdominal pain and felt so helpless about what to do. Doctors have never suggested Celiac. Now, he's gone five days without gluten and has had literally no gastric problems. None.

And with that, our household has become gluten free.

The main reason I am enchanted by the Paleo lifestyle is, absolutely, that my husband is no longer in debilitating stomach pain. The second reason is that the evidence presented by the Paleo community about the dangers of large amounts of carbohydrates (which are just sugar in the end, are treated as such, and cause communication problems between our hormones and our brain), gluten (which is not correctly digested by anyone, even those without Celiac), the incredible danger of soy products, ESPECIALLY for people with hormonal or thyroid deficiency (me), and the advantages of the protein as provided by grass fed/wild meat has convinced me to try this way of life, at least for a little while. The third reason? I gained more weight while being vegetarian than I ever have in my life. There has to be a reason - and now, I believe the reason is that I have been eating the wrong things and causing a hormonal and metabolic disaster in my body. People who have gone to the Paleo lifestyle have dropped bodyfat, FAST.

I think it's ignorant to go on doing something you believe in when new evidence is presented in which that belief is challenged. When we chose to become Vegetarians, we were under the impression that a meatless diet was the most healthy. I no longer believe that, though I do still disagree with commercial farming. Choosing to bring meat back in to our life will be the most difficult part of this change. First of all, I have no idea how to BUY meat - I never have! Second, we are still absolutely anti commercial farming and are still convinced that we do not want to consume hormone filled, antibiotic treated meat that has been fed corn, grain and other meat. As we re-introduce it, we'll be doing only grassfed meats. About dairy - I have been almost dairy free for a long time, as I have always been lactose intolerant. However, I have VERY STRONG feelings toward the dangers of dairy consumption which remain the same as they have always been. I believe that cow milk is not meant for humans (just like human milk is not meant for humans - it's meant to feed our young - and cow's milk is meant to feed calves, NOT PEOPLE). Removing all dairy has been hard, as things like cream or trace milk is in everything it seems. However, it's now banned from my life all together. I am glad for this, finally - IMO milk is terrible, terrible stuff.

Over the past week since we returned to California, I have been working to employ Ferris's ideals in to my life. In the face of all that is happening now in "adult land" for David and I now, all the decisions that must be made, sacrifices occurring, and job hunting, I am repeating this: I am a machine. My body was made to kick ass, move, live, and thrive. Our new, gluten, dairy, and soy free lifestyle is really kickstarting the year.

And with that? It's all getting better from here. I can't wait to continue training and becoming a strong, lean, powerful human; I can't wait to stop allowing the stress of life to keep me from achieving my goals professionally. It's amazing how something like a DIET book can get you so motivated, right? ;p

(I realize I have made many claims in this blog that may sound strange or wrong. I invite anyone to please ask questions about gluten/dairy/soy free living - I am more than happy to provide further resources for you! I look forward to it. )