My Recent Travel Revelation

As many of you know I do not consume gluten. In 1999 I became very ill breaking out in hives whenever I ate bread, cookies, crackers etc. Symptoms progressed to upset stomach, digestive issues, brain fog, insomnia, terrible acne, fatigue, etc as I continued to eat wheat. I became VERY, VERY sick. This was a huge surprise as I had eaten wheat all of my life without any issues. So I gave up wheat (even before it was trendy). It wasn't until several years later that my naturopath diagnosed me as being severely gluten intolerant so then I gave up gluten completely too.

But then in 2007 I went to Austria and Austria has many delicious pastries and breads just like Paris. Everyone told me to try Sachetorte. And I did! And I didn't get sick! I saw so many beautiful breads and pastries and said, "I don't know when I will be able to try these again; they are so unusual." So I splurged, fully aware of the consequences. But I didn't get sick! So I tried more and more desserts and loved them without even one upset stomach afterwards!

I concluded that I had "grown out of my gluten-intolerance" or had healed my gut so I went back home to Connecticut and began eating gluten and wheat again concluding that I could eat it again.

As soon as I ate gluten in the US. I got so sick! I tried something else and I got sick again! I was defiant. But I had lots of gluten in Europe how could this be???

I was so confused! How could I eat anything with gluten in Europe but everything in the US made me sick and my symptoms escalated quickly?

It was the grains!

The grains in the US are GMOs and full of pesticides are not regulated and the grains in Europe are regulated and they do not allow pesticides or GMOs in their food. Their standards are a lot higher for their food.

So I tried the same experiment on my last trip to Europe. I went to Portugal and Spain. In both countries I tried the breads and pastries even croissants which I have not had in about 15 years. And did not have any symptoms!

At some places they did offer the option for gluten-free bread with your meal and I did find a great gluten-free bakery for celiacs but it became so crystal clear to me in Europe I can live like I used to live years ago eating whatever I like. What a big door to open!

Just goes to show how important the quality of our food is. The US is great country but it is horrible what we put in our food from pesticides to chemicals, articifial colors and flavors and unhealthy preservatives so that food can last months/years on the shelf.

I wish the US would adopt the same safety protocols for our food. I am clear that GMOs and pesticides make my body very sick. And it's not necessary! I wish we didn't have to pay more for organic; I wish that it was the norm like in Europe. I wish more Americans knew that they can enjoy gluten abroad.

***Of course if you have celiac disease which is a genetic illness of untreated gluten-intolerance that has been based down for generations or if you have a wheat/gluten-allergy which causes you to go into shock or your throat to close up or your face to swell you should not try gluten abroad as that is a more serious condition but if you are like me with simply "gluten-intolerance" you can live like a normal person and try baked goods abroad without worry. (Non-packaged, made in Europe of course.)

Of course now that I am back in the US I will go back to only consuming only gluten-free products from the health food store or gluten-free bakeries but I look forward to my next adventure in Europe. Hopefully soon! And doing whatever I can to educate how important good food is for our health. You are what you eat! And it's important to know that pesticides and GMOs are not natural substances for our bodies. Organic food should be the norm, the ultimate standard, instead of a trend. It should not cost more, but less! Unhealthy substances must be banned! And research should be done from a neutral outside company.

I wonder how many illnesses are caused by consuming unhealthy poor quality food. Probably more than you realize. And ironically most of us are not aware that our food is poor quality. We assume that our grocery stores have high quality safe food.

I am so happy I took the risk to try some delicious food abroad! It was so good! It is such a great feeling not to feel limited! And so eye-opening!!