I’m not a doctor, so I’m not about to give medical advice. That said, I discovered my wheat allergy on my own, no doctor could help, no tests showed an allergy. Ultimately it was me trying to help myself, realizing that if I cut out wheat the eczema on my hands and intestinal upsets disappeared.

It’s been 5 years since I left wheat behind and let me tell you, before all these great gluten-free products were out, it was near impossible. But what about all these new gluten-free products? Are they really giving us what we lack with grains? They seem like a reasonable alternative, especially when you are allergic and want a sandwich. What I have found (using my own body as a test subject) is that MOST gluten-free breads, cookies, cereals, and pastas don’t contain a lot of fiber. In fact, they contain another culprit in the obesity dilemma – starch and high calories.

Most gluten-free products are made from rice, potatoes, corn, or tapioca. All refined. All are starchy. None have any fiber. For me, it’s like eating white Wonder bread.

Last October, my sister’s boyfriend (who is from Denmark) brought us some rye bread straight from Copenhagen so he could make us smørrebrød; open-faced sandwiches that have toppings like liver pate, curried herring, and hard-boiled eggs with dill and mayo. I was at first thinking that I would react to this meal, but when presented with no gluten-free bread alternative, I threw caution to the wind and tried it. I had no reaction and better yet, felt good and pardon my mention of it, had one of the best bowel movements ever the next day.

I thought for sure I would react to rye since rye is a part of the gluten family. Somehow I forgot about this and moved on with my daily life until several months later I started having terrible digestion issues and not only that, my doctors started telling me that I needed to eat less carbs and starchy foods and more veggies, meats, and grains.

I hit my rock bottom (bloated gut) when I was in Hawaii. I work out a lot and eat really well, but for some reason my gut was distended like a pregnant woman’s. I was uncomfortable and feeling so bad about myself. I racked my brain and settled on going to the store for some Metamucil fiber. That, in of itself, worked. I also started taking acidophilus daily and eating plain Nancy’s yogurt.

When I returned to my hometown of Seattle I started looking into fiber more and decided that I was going to try eating some pure black rye bread (when I say pure I mean, no wheat is added). This bread is FULL of fiber, does not convert to sugar, is not starchy, and tastes good. I’ve been eating this bread for several days now and I’m happy to report that I’m not allergic to it.

So like I said, I’m not a doctor, but it may be worth looking into your gluten allergy. It may not be all gluten, it may just be mold, or starches, or just wheat. Allergies are complex, sometimes giving us no reaction at all and other times severe reactions. All I know is, us gluten-free folks need to be taking fiber every day (preferably psyllium seed husk) to make up for our lack of grains.