by JanieM
Part One: Bread on the Table
Part Two: Bread off the Table
About twenty years ago I was diagnosed with an auto-immune skin condition. The dermatologist said that as with other auto-immune diseases, the cause was unknown, there was no cure, and the condition might come and go. There were much worse manifestations than the symptoms I had, but there was no telling whether my outbreaks would repeat, get worse, spread, disappear, or what.
The doc did say that there was anecdotal evidence, but no reliable research, suggesting that diet might play a role in triggering outbreaks. I don’t remember which foods were on his list, but I do remember that NSAIDs and food dye were mentioned, and staying out of the sun was strongly recommended. I gave up gardening (my knees were happy about that) and bought a sunscreen shirt and a wide-brimmed hat. I took aspirin and ibuprofen even more rarely than I already had.
I had outbreaks of the skin condition each year for a couple more years. They would start in the spring, evolve over the summer and fall, and fade away before starting all over again the following spring. They were unsightly – tiny raised bumps that gradually flattened into purplish spots all over my hands, partway up my arms, and thick on one side of my neck.
Somewhere along the way, a friend recommended a non-traditional medical practitioner who had helped my friend with some health problems. I decided to consult that person, and she had a lot of suggestions for me, the most challenging of which was to stop eating wheat. (This was some years before “gluten-free” became a buzzword, and a marketing ploy. My consultant was on the front edge of the wave, I guess.)
For a year or so I pretended, mostly to myself, that I was working on it.
But SRSLY, no bread? No pasta?
Riiiiiiiiiiight.