Wheat Intolerance and Addiction to Wheat

After dairy allergy took away my beloved cheesecake, and caffeine and chocolate sensitivities put the kibosh on those particular indulgences, bread and pasta seemed like just about the only foods I was passionate about eating any more. "Thank heavens I don't have wheat intolerance," I would say with heartfelt gratitude as I wolfed down half a loaf of plain, unadorned bread in one sitting.

"Wait," I can hear you asking. "Half a loaf? In one sitting?"

Yes, that's right. Believe it or not, I didn't see anything odd about that. If you'd asked me, I would have told you that I liked the taste. Even though I'd been through the food allergy/sensitivity thing several times already, I didn't make the connection that eating huge amounts of bread or pasta, and feeling unsatisfied if I didn't eat wheat multiple times per day, was a big ol' RED FLAG for wheat addiction, which in turn is a big ol' RED FLAG for wheat intolerance, wheat allergy, or celiac disease.

But, even though I'd cut out all of the stuff that I knew was making me sick, I would still have unpredictable and unaccountable bouts of digestive discomfort and illness. Finally, it was enough to penetrate even my thick skull and make me say, "Hmm. Maybe it's gluten."

I didn't want it to be wheat intolerance or gluten allergy. Oh, how I didn't want it to be either of those things. So I went on a quest to find out as much as I could about wheat intolerance. One of the things I found out is that when the body is sensitive to wheat or gluten, it causes pain and inflammation in the gut (well, okay-- I actually knew that part!). And when anything causes pain and inflammation in the body, after awhile, the brain tends to say "Aha! That idiot is eating wheat again. This is gonna hurt, isn't it? I'd better send out some endorphins to block the pain of the wheat intolerance, so I don't have to sit here saying ouch for the next few hours. Yay, endorphins!". And then the brain sits in the corner sucking it's metaphorical thumb for a while and reveling in the shiny, shiny endorphin buzz. (Endorphins, for those who don't know, are a class of brain chemicals which resemble opiates. Think heroin. Think morphine.)

So, yeah. Eat wheat = get high. Suddenly, the attraction of eating half a loaf of bread in one sitting makes much more sense... and is much more embarrassing. So, I cut out wheat and other foods containing gluten. And here are my blindingly obvious words of wisdom for you: cravings are not fun.

That said, my wheat intolerance symptoms went away. And, I was lucky in that it was wheat intolerance, as opposed to celiac or severe wheat allergy. Meaning that I've been able to reintroduce small amounts of wheat (maybe once a week or so) back into my diet. Also meaning that if I accidentally get a dose of gluten from a restaurant or something, I'm not going to end up in the hospital (as is the case with dairy, for me).

It could be worse, certainly. But I sure do miss my heaping plates of buttered noodles.