When I first went gluten and soy free I had only one aim - to stop feeling so awful. I didn't really think about what else might happen if I eliminated these two common foods. So it was a big surprise to me when suddenly people started saying things like "Wow, you look different, what did you do?" or "You look great!"
At first I dismissed it as their attempts to make me feel good but after it had happened a number of times, I started to take a closer look. It helped that my husband (at my request) had bought me a lighted, magnifying makeup mirror for Christmas! On closer inspection I could see that my skin did indeed look clearer and brighter, my eyes shinier, my hair had more life. Could this all really be from my new eating plan?
I had already seen a couple of major improvements in my physical health that again, at first, I hadn't connected with the no gluten or soy regime. The first was in my fingers and hands. For about a year previous to giving up gluten and soy, I had woken every morning with stiff, painful and swollen finger joints. It had come on gradually but became chronic. I had to work on my fingers and hands each day before I could do anything. I would try to bend and flex them until they felt as if they would move and perform for me. Just a few days after eliminating gluten, I realized that I woke up with normal sized, flexible fingers. It was a miracle!
The second major improvement was even more dramatic. Also for a about a year I had been experiencing frightening and sudden bouts of choking. It could happen at any time without warning. I didn't even have to be eating something. I could start to choke on my own saliva. Swallowing my vitamins became a terrifying ordeal each day as I tried to push them down only to have them come back up into my mouth.
Several weeks into my new eating plan, I realized that I hadn't had a choking bout
in a while and swallowing my vitamins was easy once again. Another miracle! As I thought about it some more and did some research I realized that allergies and intolerances to foods can cause inflammation all over the body. As my finger swelling had gone down, so had my inflamed throat tissues, once again leaving a clear passage for food and drink (and vitamins!).
There is one more major breakthrough I want to share. A few months after eating gluten and soy free, I visited my dentist for my regular cleaning and checkup. For the previous few visits, the dental hygienist had recommended that I have three rather than two cleanings a year because of all the plaque build up on my teeth. This time however, she declared my teeth to be much improved and said I could go back to twice a year cleanings. I told her and the dentist about my different eating habits and asked if that could have made the difference. My dentist replied that it definitely could as what we eat controls the ph and chemical balance in the saliva and the mouth.
So here were some unexpected yet most welcome benefits of eating gluten and soy free. No more dull skin and hair, no more fat fingers, no more frightening choking bouts and less visits to the dentist!! What more could I ask for?
What health improvements have you experienced from eating gluten and/or soy free?
