An Allergy and a Blessing?

Everything happens for a reason, right? That is part of the reason human beings are so resilient: because we can find hope and promise from even the most devastating of situations. Maybe that is just me, but I would rather live in an optimistic frame of mind than a pessimistic one any day.

Take my allergy, for example. I am allergic to gluten: no wheat, rye, oats or barley. It took a while to getting used to not eating bread, pasta, cookies, cake, donuts, etc, but think of this: aren't those all of the foods you should keep to a minimum anyway? These are all high glycemic foods that trigger an insulin response and help the body store more fat. So yes, while reading food labels all the time is a bit annoying, and so many processed food have gluten in them, there is a silver lining. It forces me to eat healthy. Fresh fruit and vegetables are gluten free. Most protein is also gluten free. As a matter of fact, the closer you keep to natural, whole foods (foods as nature intended, not manufacturers) the less gluten you encounter.

So what is my point? I know how difficult it is to modify your eating plan, I have had to do it everyday for the past 6 years or I get physically sick. But once you get used to it eating healthy feels amazing. My mood has improved, loosing weight has been easier, my skin is young and healthy and I don't get bloated with meals. I like to say that my allergy keeps me honest, because no matter how good that basket of bread smells, I can not touch it.

This is a pretty big WHY in my life. It is part of the WHY I use to eat healthy, but believe me, there are still a ton of unhealthy gluten free foods out there, I just know how wonderful I feel when I eat healthy. So I still choose my eating habits.

Which eating habits are you choosing? Why? Remember: nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.