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Thank you for your curiosity about this site and the person who is behind it.
My name is Lillea. I’ve been gluten free for close to 6 years.
Gluten Free Shop Online is my contribution to the gluten free community.
Although there are many sites that offer gluten free products, not all of them are high quality or reasonably priced. I hope that you enjoy your time here and the great gluten free products that you purchase from now on.
I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance by Enterolab. The results of the test simply confirmed what I already suspected, that ‘gluten grains’ (wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, triticale) were causing serious problems for me.
Had I not stopped eating gluten, I might have developed full blown Celiac disease or other autoimmune and neurological problems.
In my 20s I had joint pain that could be quite crippling. It wasn’t arthritis, it was a condition called fibromyalgia, a mysterious autoimmune disorder with no known cure. I had been told by my family doctor that I would probably never be free of it. Amazingly when I dropped gluten, I dropped fibromyalgia along with it. I also stopped getting canker sores frequently (not to be confused with cold sores). I later learned that canker sores can be an immune system response to gluten in some people. The sores were minor compared to fibromyalgia, but annoying and painful, so good riddance!
What most people, including the majority of doctors, don’t realise is that Celiac Disease is only ONE of the possible manifestations of gluten issues. There are many others, including a number of autoimmune disorders and neurological diseases. For example, a percentage of schizophrenia sufferers are gluten intolerant and can be treated with a gluten free diet. Thus, if you don’t have the digestive disorders of classic Celiac Disease and the emaciated appearance that goes along with it, it doesn’t mean that gluten isn’t an issue for you.
I recommend that you get tested by Enterolab because the standard blood testing is NOT the best way to test for gluten intolerance. See Gluten Intolerance Testing: 6 Problems with Standards Tests and 2 Solutions. A growing number of physicians recognize this, but most doctors aren’t up to speed yet.
Is comprehensive testing out of your budget right now?
The easiest and least expensive way to test is to go on a gluten free diet for at least 1 month, preferably 3 months. If you feel better off gluten, then there’s a high chance you’re reacting negatively to it. However, sometimes it takes longer than 3 months to know for sure that gluten is a problem, so a medical test can be the quickest way to get an answer. Also seeing medical test results is sometimes what a person needs to see to fully accept that they have a problem and take action.
Do you feel depressed or angry about giving up gluten foods? It’s understandable if you do. Gluten based foods are often high on our list of comfort foods.
Fortunately there are many excellent substitutes for gluten containing foods on the market now. Gone are the days of cardboard-like, dry gluten free breads, cookies, etc. And there are many delicious foods that never had gluten in them to begin with. You might be surprised by how your tastes change and expand as you move away from gluten to foods that can both nourish and please your taste buds long-term.
I seem to do better on a Primal, or Hunter Gatherer Diet , with some allowable ‘cheats’. It’s also a grain free diet, but sometimes I have a small amount of a gluten free grain like quinoa (quinoa is actually a ‘pseudocereal’ because it isn’t a grass like other grains. It’s a seed). You can learn more about hunter gatherer type diets on this site.
I hope you’ll benefit from the information I provide here. Please feel free to leave questions or comments under the posts on this site, or write to me at ContactLillea.com. I’ll do my best to get back to you within 48 hrs.
Happy to be gluten free! :)
Lillea
P.S. You may have seen me on the web in other spots because I teach people how to set up businesses online using WordPress plus other free and affordable tools and services. If you’re interested in learning more about that, please click here
