Who Am I?

Two Months Gluten Free

Posted: June 10th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Celiac | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Two Months Gluten Free

It’s now been roughly two months since my diagnosis of celiac and thus two months attempting to eat and live free of gluten. It’s definitely continued to be a learning experience. I’m still not certain how well I’ve done in my efforts. But I think I’ve done pretty well. We’re still learning how to avoid cross-contamination, the art of reading labels, and techniques for dealing with restaurants (though I have not gone out to eat very much since my diagnosis). I’ve certainly not intentionally ingested any gluten. And I am getting more proficient at this life each day.

It seems most of the short-term benefits were the ones I experienced in the first month. There have been no dramatic or even noticeable additional improvements this past month. I suppose I’ve now settled into the long haul of healing and recovery where progress is measured in months rather than days or weeks. I can live with that.

I met with the dietitian and in addition to outlining the types of food I need to be certain to eat, the frequency with which I need to eat something as my intestines recover, and similar advice, she has me taking a lot of vitamin supplements (and refrigerated probiotics capsules) to try to compensate for my damaged small intestine over this interim period. That too is beginning to settle into a routine, though I’ll be glad when I don’t have to take so many pills every day.

I’m not yet finished with my rounds of new specialists, though. While the results from my bone density scan weren’t horrible, they did show some osteoporosis in my lumbar spine (lower back). So the gastroenterologist is referring me to another specialist. (I believe she’s an endocrinologist.) I think (or at least hope) that we’re done discovering the various things that are wrong with me as a result of celiac disease and can move on toward the part where I start getting better.


You Are What You Eat

Posted: May 28th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Celiac, Fasting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on You Are What You Eat

You are what you eat.

As I adapt to life with celiac, I’ve noticed that every food I eat seems to somehow be in sharper focus than it was in the past. I am more acutely aware of the nature and quality of every morsel I place in my mouth. I’m aware that what I eat truly affects me to my core. As I reflect on this awareness I realize that this is true of all of us. At a very basic level, we actually do become what we eat. As we incorporate the food we consume into our body, we are simultaneously changed be it, for good or ill. I recently heard a story on NPR that exposed that reality. (The first is the shorter segment on All Things Considered. The second is the longer interview on Fresh Air.)  Take a moment to listen to the reports.

Why Do We Overeat?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103862714

Mind Over (Food) Matter: Combating ‘Overeating’
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104068820

Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler has studied the food we eat, even dumpster diving behind restaurants, for clues to why we overeat. He has discovered that the food and presentation is designed to stimulate our hunger, to keep our bodies in a stimulated state. The more we consume, the more we desire to consume. The physical stimulus of fat, sugar, and salt actually conditions our minds, especially when melded with appealing visuals.  I believe this is a facet of the same reality I am discovering through celiac. We are not disconnected or separated from our bodies. As we eat, we are incorporating matter into our bodies. What and how we eat impacts all of us.

In this instance, the folk wisdom is right. You are what you eat.

That’s just particularly true for me. I know that a certain ubiquitous ingredient will poison rather than nourish me. But as I consider the above stories and survey my nation, is that not true of us all? Perhaps it’s not as clearly or sharply defined as it has become for me. But if we were really drawing nourishment at a deep level from what we eat, it seems to me that we would all be healthier than we are.

And I wonder if we still fasted together as Christians if we would not share some level of this awareness. Would fasting bring the connection between what we eat and who we are into sharper focus, especially as lived and experienced the fast as a community? Is this not at the heart of Christianity? We ritually eat the body and drink the blood of our Lord. You don’t get any more visceral than that. We consume God in order to transform our being. We swallow God in order to digest life.

Maybe it really does matter what we eat and how we eat it?


Fasting and Humility

Posted: May 20th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Celiac, Fasting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Only weeks into this gluten free fast, I already begin to understand the reason for the linguistic linkage between humility and humiliation, at least for someone with my longstanding private and often even stoic demeanor. That private aspect to my nature is the primary reason I never started my own blog. Celiac is taking that and stomping it into the ground.

My now familiar litany when I step into a restaurant, especially if I have not had the opportunity to research it online, is: Hi. I have celiac disease. Do you have a gluten free menu? Often, I have to clarify and explain exactly what that means. Frequently I end up speaking to the manager, who consults with the chef or cook to see if they can safely feed me something. The question becomes less about what I like to eat and more about finding something I can eat without damaging my body.

It is unpleasant to have to do that – every time. The great joy for me of the meal at Flemings was that this unpleasantness almost, but not quite, vanished. For a brief time, I felt almost normal. If I’m offered something to eat, I can no longer simply take it and try it. Instead I have to ask what is in it or simply decline the offer. It becomes impossible to simply be one of the group. If food is involved, I am forced to stand apart and always will be to one extent or another.

In a very small way I begin to understand the ‘chip on the shoulder’ that some of those with real disabilities can acquire. There is something soul crushing about always being the one who is different, the one who is limited in some way. My illness cannot even begin to compare to an actual disability. But through it, I can see how the perceived humiliation could easily turn to anger and anger to bitterness. Even though my situation is not a true parallel, I understand now in ways I would not have understood before.

Fasting, at least as described by Jesus, is something to be undertaken with humility. If not, then the recognition and honor you receive or expect to receive from others is all that you will receive. It’s hard to be humble. It’s hard to accept. It’s hard to be forced to expose your weakness and rely on the care and empathy of others – even in small ways. As I proceed forward, I also begin to understand that a little better than I did before.

I don’t know that I am any humbler than I was before, but I have certainly, in some ways, been humbled.


Celiac at Chuy’s

Posted: May 8th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Restaurant Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Celiac at Chuy’s

If you’ve never been to Austin, then you may not have experienced the unique TexMex heaven called Chuy’s. It’s long been one of our favorite places and we were thrilled when a new one opened in Round Rock a few years ago. When my father-in-law wanted to take us out for my birthday a few weeks after my diagnosis, it’s one of the first places I thought of going.

My wife called them and spoke with the manager. I believe her name was Sandy and she was extremely helpful. She knew what celiac was and said they set aside some of their chicken each day specifically to use for people who can’t eat gluten. (Their normal meat preparation apparently includes some type of beer-based marinade.) When we arrived, our waitress recognized celiac and immediately warned us they couldn’t absolutely guarantee there wouldn’t be any cross-contamination. She didn’t know the details, but spoke with the manager to find out exactly what I could have. She came back with the list of sauces I could have. Most of their sauces are thickened with corn starch, so were on the available list. I chose my personal favorite, their hatch green chili sauce for my chicken enchiladas. The rice and beans were also safe. The manager came by to check on us and see that everything was OK.

I knew when I was diagnosed that Austin, being the sort of place is it is, would be an easier place to live with this disease than many other places. And my first experience with a home-grown restaurant bore that out. They knew about celiac, were prepared for it, and were as helpful as they could be. Obviously, the risk of cross-contamination in any restaurant is such that I don’t eat out much anymore and I wouldn’t risk it as a regular event. And my menu choices at Chuy’s were seriously limited (which I knew would be the case). But it was an encouraging encounter. And it’s great to know that I’m not forever barred from Chuy’s. 😉