Gluten-Free by Choice: My Story

I was browsing the book aisle at my local Costco sometime in 2011 when my eye caught a small unobtrusive book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. Intrigued by the title, I picked it up thinking I was just going to read the front and back and discover it was another lifestyle guru selling some quack ideas. Instead I was transfixed to the spot as I read the first 20 pages breathlessly, digesting the information shared on those pages.

For context, I had just experienced a serious health scare which necessitated several scary diagnostic procedures. Thankfully, the end result was a recommendation to make lifestyle changes and I had militantly embarked upon a regimen of diet and exercise. Brown bread, brown rice, brown everything. It was summer and I was wearing white but not eating white. Twice-daily workouts. I was losing the weight and impressed with myself and then I hit a plateau.

What I read in the book that day made me pause. Dr. Davis was essentially saying that the modern wheat we have these days is very different from the wheat of centuries ago. To put it simply, the chemical structure of the wheat grains and the processing techniques had all been tinkered with and the end product was contributing to inflammation in our bodies and bloating of our tummies. 

He mentioned one or two countries in the Middle East where wheat was still processed in the older way and noted that bread made from such wheat did not have these effects on the body. In that book, he recommended ancient grains if one had to eat wheat bread and/or researching the few independent farmers in the US who still grow older strains and process wheat the old way. (Note: In updated versions of the book, he has since proposed the avoidance of all grains, obviously I do not subscribe to that.)

As someone who had grown to become highly suspicious of Big Pharma, Big Farmin' and Big Conglomerates, I did not need much convincing. Their bottom line is all that matters. This was also around the time when a number of documentaries were being churned out on Netflix about the dubious practices in the Agro & allied industries. I felt Dr. Davis had made a compelling case for a second look at wheat and chucked my beloved brown wheat bread out of my diet. I noticed that my weight loss was ignited again and my bloating issues phased out.

Over the years, I have periodically cheated for long spells and paid the price. Does that mean I have a clinical condition related to gluten? I don't think so, but I don't know for certain. I prefer to refer to my condition as "Gluten-Free by choice". I can tolerate it in tiny doses, but I would rather not.

I believe that there are many more people out there in this somewhat gray zone, comprising people with discerning palates who just want to eat wholesome, delicious baked goods with ingredients that are largely beneficial to their bodies. Right now, these people make up more than half of our customer base. Ours are the only GF products they consume, and they otherwise eat a regular diet. For some of them, it is the discovery that treats do not have to be overly sugary to satisfy their sweet tooth that has made them loyal fans. For others, it is the satisfaction of consuming so much fiber in a truly delicious wholegrain treat.

Having said that, I continue to be deeply concerned about the huge population out there for whom this is a very serious and scary problem - the GF by medical necessity, and it's not just because I have family members and friends in that category. In operating a gluten-free bakery, we have these people in mind as we get intentional about making every effort to completely eliminate any risk of cross-contamination during production. To buttress this point, we have begun the process of obtaining a guaranteed GF certification for our entire line of products.

So that's my story! Whether you're gluten-free by medical necessity or gluten-free by choice (or taste), we invite you to join our tribe and savor the goodness of our unbelievably delicious, low-sweetness, organic oats-based, GF baked treats. If you are that person who thinks gluten-free is equivalent to bland-tasting, we assure you that one taste of our goodies will change your mind forever. Try us, you have nothing to lose!

Be well!!

Christine@ The Good Blondie