Wheat: my newest enemy?

I'd like to think of myself as someone who gets along with most people. In fact, even the people who drive me nuts are usually not aware of it (no, it's not you!). Enemies have been few and far between in my life.

However, I've just been learning a lot about the most common food in my diet--wheat. And it's scary. Did you know that wheat can raise blood sugar more quickly than most other foods, including sugar? And did you know that our modern-day version of wheat has been so genetically modified that it's not even the same food anymore? In the last 50 years or so, wheat has been significantly changed to produce a higher yield crop, with absolutely no studies on the effects of those changes on humans.

Have you ever wondered, like I have, why on earth so many people now suffer from all kinds of conditions and illnesses that just didn't seem as prevalent in our parents' childhoods? I'm thinking Autism, ADHD, eczema, allergies, fatigue, obesity...cancer.

This book I'm reading, Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, suggests the connection is the modified wheat we consume in excessive quantities. It entered our diets around the same time all these diseases started increasing in numbers. And he uses extremely scientific (read: complicated and over my head) data to back up this claim. From what I can understand from my scientifically-challenged viewpoint (I failed Chemistry in Gr. 12, ok?), IT MAKES SENSE!!

I won't try to tell you what he all says, but I will tell you that I'm convinced. In the last 6 months, I have been diagnosed with 2 separate medical conditions (both autoimmune related), and just recently have been developing an incredibly itchy and annoying rash on my hands (another telltale symptom). For a year now I've been dealing with severe headaches, fatigue, and low iron. Not to mention an embarrassing version of the lovely title-feature of Dr. Davis' book. If wheat is truly causing all of this, as he claims in his book, then I think it's time for me to kick the habit and see if he's right.

Starting today, I'm attempting to eliminate all forms of wheat from my diet, and hopefully from the kids' diets too, but that will have to be a much more gradual process. Somehow every single meal in this family has come to not just include wheat, but be dominated by it. Pancakes, waffles, cereal, toast, bagels, sandwiches, pasta, buns, breadsticks.....pizza. (Oh, dear, sweet, precious, pizza. Not you, too....) It seems daunting to me, I can't imagine my kids' reactions. Marcel, on the other hand, thinks this could be quite easy as he is a "meat potatoes vegetables" kind of man. We shall see....

So far, Day 1 has been more bearable than the experiment I did earlier this week. They say the results are noticeable right away. I've always known that I feel bloated and fat after a high-carb meal, and I have to say, I'm not feeling that today. The withdrawal symptoms are apparently quite brutal for some people, as the wheat effect on the brain involves the same receptors that heroin does. So this will be interesting.

I'm looking for meal ideas, recipes, etc. The idea is not to replace the wheat with other forms of high carbohydrates though, so good vegetable and other grain-free ideas would be more than welcome! Eggs for breakfast is going to get boring reallllly quickly. I need to keep this interesting. I need to be motivated. I plan on keeping this blog updated with my progress, so if any of you want to follow my progress or even join me in my journey, please let me know!

Ok, wheat, I'm building my team....and I'm about to conquer pizza/movie night with chicken breast "wings", veggie sticks, and sweet potato fries...mmm.