now, let's look at the good things about gluten intolerance.

In a previous post, I spent some time talking about the bad things about Celiac Disease; the rough things we have to do, the various hurdles we have to deal with on a daily basis, stuff like that. I was trying to put forth a worst-case scenario to make a point about how people who can eat whatever they want just taking that fact for granted.  Now, I'd like to take a moment and talk about all of the positives that Celiac Disease has brought to my life.

• It's taught me that I can't just put anything in my body and expect to be healthy.

For years, I abused my body. I just fed it anything and expected it to run and run and run, go at top speed and stay in mint condition. Oh sure, every once in a while I'd try to make a change. I followed a fad diet put out by a cult leader and lost fifty pounds. I was a vegetarian for about a day and a half. I tried to be low-carb until I saw that "low-carb" meant "no pbj". And, if you've followed this blog at all, you'll know that I followed an IBS diet plan for about two years, back when I thought this was IBS (lesson to you:  Don't self-diagnose; find a good physician).

But this has really forced me to stop and take a good, hard look at my life and my eating. Even back when I was eating for IBS, I rationalized that having a bite or two of "forbidden" food wasn't going to really hurt me that much. But now, I realize that eating gluten will have a very serious negative effect on my health.  Even one bite will have an almost automatic detrimental effect on my gut. Not only are there long-term, shapeless, faceless consequences, but there are immediate short-term consequences. Whenever I want to cheat, I just look at whatever is tempting me and think:  "Okay...do I eat this and have gut-bombs and get cancer, or do I just skip it?"  Let me tell you, the choice is easy when I think about it that way.

• It's taught me that good things can come in oddly-wrapped packages.

For years, I have prayed to God to please, please, please help me lose weight. And this has been my answer. I know...you're thinking, "Why would God send you a disease just to help you lose weight?" But you see, I wouldn't listen any other way. I wanted to lose weight, but I wanted to do on my terms, which in my case meant that I could have ice cream every night and candy bars every day. As long as I was relatively healthy I could rationalize my weight away, even though I was seriously unhappy about how I looked. But now that I'm getting older (forty-two years young), I realize that I'm not ten feet tall and bulletproof. If I want the rest of my life to be happy, healthy, and fun, I need to lose this extra weight. I've lost around ten pounds so far by going gluten-free; add that to the ten I'd already lost, and that's twenty unhealthy pounds gone.  Only...um, a lot more to go.

• It's taught me to make good food choices.

You know how it goes; you're out running errands, and you forget to eat. Suddenly, you find that you're starving. What to do? If you're like me, you often chose the easiest route...hit a drive-thru and order a double cheeseburger, only cheese and onions. Or, if you're standing in a checkout, you grab a bag of cookies or a candy bar. But now with a diagnosis of CD, those options are out. I've found that I won't starve to death before I get home, and I'm really truly hungry to the point of a problem (I have mild hypoglycemia), I'll grab a single serving of string cheese or a banana or a gluten-free snack bar (Larabars are a good option). Of course, I've also learned that I need to be prepared, so I normally have a gluten-free snack in my purse. That's another part of making a good food choice, because if you're prepared with a healthy snack you're much less likely to make a bad food choice on impulse.

• It's taught me that life could be much worse.

Yes, when I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I was not thrilled. Sure, I was happy that what I was suffering with finally had a name, and that it wasn't all in my head like my previous physician tried to make me believe. But, at the same time, I couldn't help but have some days when I just sat around and felt sorry for myself. The more I learned about what to avoid, the more I realized just how many foods contained gluten, including some of my favorite foods. I still don't know how I'm going to handle Thanksgiving and Christmas (I always make homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning...I'm going to have to do some experimenting).

But at the same time, I could have life much, much worse. After all, if all I have to give up is some gluten to have a fairly healthy life, that's not such a big price to pay, is it? Is eating a full-floured cinnamon roll really worth getting cancer for? Is what I'm being asked to do really that tough? After all, it's just food. It isn't the center of my universe. God is, followed by my family.

And that's probably the best lesson of all.