Gluten is a protein in grains such as wheat, rye, spelt, kamut and some others. Gluten-free grains include, rice, corn, buckwheat, millet and some others. Gluten is difficult for our bodies to digest in large quanities.
I am not going to go into detail about gluten at this point. I just want to mention that if you have any health issues, whether it be indigestion, constipation, depression, arthritis, thyroid problems, fatigue etc. I would strongly recommend trying to go gluten-free for a month or so to see if your symptoms improve. From all the recent reading I have done it seems we all have a lot to gain from reducing our gluten intake (and grain intake for that matter). Our bodies are not well designed to digest the large amounts of gluten we take in every day. Some statistics say 1 in 3 people has some kind of trouble with gluten.
You may gasp at the idea of not eating wheat for a month, but I would suggest it is not as difficult as it seems and in my opinion a lot easier than going dairy free, if you also want to avoid soy.
There are a lot of substitutions for wheat that cn get you fairly close to normal in eating bread, treats, noodles etc. For the one month you might consider buying gluten-free bread mixes and cookie mixes at coborn's or J&B and cutting out all other processed food which often has hidden gluten added. There are many sites online to help. But it wouldn't be so hard for just one month. The most difficult would be eating out and avoiding "treats" at meetings and gatherings. So pick a good month. Make gluten-free treats and bring them along for yourself if you think there will be temptations. Eating out Mexican would be the best choice I think and you can ask if things are gluten-free, corn tortillas and chips are ok and Third Street Market Cafe has many gluten free choices. So consider it. You may have a lot to gain. There is endless stories of miraculous discoveries going gluten-free.
If it turns out you have such a story and now need to go gluten-free forever, there are wonderful recipes with rice flours and starches that you can make at home, wonderful dessert options such as cheesecakes and a huge line of store products that allows you to have everything. I have tried a few recipes and they were delicious. I have not tried the gluten-free sandwich bread recipe, but I will update when I do.
