Gluten-Free doesn’t have to be complicated. Or confusing. It can be Simple. It’s about eating Real, Clean gluten-free foods. Not processed, packaged gluten-free foods.
It’s about Fresh ingredients.
Simple ingredients.
Pure ingredients.
That’s what gluten-free is all about.
My whole approach to Clean Eating started a few years ago…when my body started reacting negatively to packaged foods.
Bad reactions.
Like leg swelling with 10 lbs. of water weight at the end of every day. Like I couldn’t (and still can’t) eat anything out of a package. Nope, not even a gluten-free cracker. Not even a simple, little itsy bitsy, teeny weeny cracker.
And no one understood why. Not my family. Not my doctors. Not my co-workers. Not Mayo Clinic.
Not even me.
I didn’t know my own body. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I constantly went from doctor to doctor and searched on Google everyday to pray, hope and dream that somewhere the answer would be hidden and that someone else was out there with the same symptoms.
But they weren’t. I was alone.
And no one believed me. Until they actually did see my swollen legs at the end of the day (every day). For four years.
I hid the pain with my daily smile and amiable personality and wore lots of spandex and loose fitting clothes. But in the back of my mind, each day, every day was “Why is this happening?” I drove myself crazy every night as I laid in bed. ‘What did I do differently today?’ ‘What did I eat today that could have caused the swelling?’
At first it was stevia. So, I cut that out. Then it was all condiments. So, I cut them out. Then it was everything else. Every food. Every beverage.
I asked myself, ‘Did I stand too much, walk too much or sit too much?’ What was causing the bad swelling certain days and mild swelling other days?
No one knew. And it was scary. Very scary. And frustrating and uncomfortable. I just wanted to wear a short skirt with a pair of heals or a nice pair of fitted pants. But I couldn’t. And I didn’t. For four years.
Until this month…
And then the swelling stopped. (I thought I was hallucinating). Four years of swelling and it just stopped. You can only imagine the look on my face….
I went out and wore a skirt and a pair of heals. And it felt so good.
Ya see, back in May I turned to Eastern medicine… Working with an amazing MD specializing in integrative medicine. No pills, no drugs, no nothing. Just simple, pure cleansing vitamins and holistic drops to get my lymphatic system working. And a process called chelation, which draws the mercury out of my body.
That’s right.
It was mercury accumulation and all heavy metal accumulation — off the charts accumulation. So, my mercury fillings were removed from my mouth and I started my cleansing process. My leg swelling just stopped two weeks ago. And I’m a new woman.
Seriously, I’ve been OUT the past two weekends on a Saturday night in Manhattan. Still sippin’ seltzers while everyone else sips martini’s but I don’t care. Alcohol never agreed with my tummy anyway.
Guess what?
I’m Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.
That’s right.
Amie is Back.
And after four years of struggling with every doctor all over the country and even ventured out to a week at Mayo Clinic, no one in Western medicine could figure me out. All it took was a simple flick of the switch to Eastern Medicine. Where my doctor determined the underlying cause…
I stayed strong; kept on eating clean.
And it was then, just then…I realized how important food has been my entire life and how lucky I am to have grown up in a family that eats clean and healthy. Because without that, who knows where I would be right now. Or if my body would have been able to fight for those many, many years of unanswered questions.
I have food to thank. Because gluten-free is not about the gluten-free cookies and packaged, over-processed foods. It’s about eating Clean. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats. And that’s exactly what I eat.
And I love it.
It makes me happy. It keeps my tummy happy. And in the end, that’s simply all that matters. There’s a smile on my face. A big smile. Because I’m Clean. I’m a Clean Eater. And have been for many, many years.
And I’m proud of it.
Are you?
Amie I love your story it has a happy ending which most of us are looking for I to have gluten and tryin to figure out things which are right or wrong but I follow you and your receipes and hope I can heal my stomach soon. Thank your for all your different receipes and encourging people. God Bless
Awe; thank you so much Beverly; so great to hear from you! Thank you for your kind words. I hope you enjoy my recipes and hope you feel better soon; keep your head up and stay positive!
xoxo
wow – what a journey you have been on. You are sounding stronger and richer than ever. You go girl!
Thanks Sherilyn; so great to hear from you! I miss you darling and hope all is well. Have a fabulous day. xooxo
You are so inspiring and I am so happy for you. 🙂
Thank you Jo-Lynne; so nice to hear from you and I greatly appreciate your comment…hoping to inspire others that are dealing with health issues to let them know there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.
xoxo
Have a great night!
Thank you for your story..it sounds like I wrote it.I have been struggling for more than 4 years and have been involved with alternative medicine for years. Western never really did too much for me unless it was an acute situation.
I am familiar with chelation and my doctor does it in his office, but it is expensive and I have no means for it. I am so glad that helped you so much and am so happy for you. I believe something (possibly an answer, a new idea,something)is coming to me as I have searched for years. My comment would be for anyone is to never…ever give up. Your miracle may be only minutes away.
Thank YOU, Cathy! Your comment means so much to me. I am so happy to hear from you and I’m delighted that you have found an answer through Eastern Medicine, as well. It’s sad how many years we’ve all been suffering and visiting every doctor — not getting any answers but just getting told we’re crazy or there is nothing wrong with us…it’ so sad, isn’t it?
Happy to hear you are feeling better; I love you for saying to NEVER Ever give up. I agree; it’s about staying positive and keep searching for the right answer.
xoxo
Have a great night!
Aims
Amie, I am so glad you have finally started to feel better. It’s such a struggle and so hard to stay positive when you go on and on with health issues that no one can figure out. I went years with tummy issues, and continued to have issues even after going gluten-free. Only after truly getting back to real food, visiting an integrative medicine doctor, and basically throwing all conventional wisdom out the window did I finally find myself on the road to health, and this has only been fairly recently. It’s such a joy to finally feel “back”, isn’t it?! Congrats.
Alta,
Thank you so much; so happy to hear from you. You are such a ray of sunshine in my life and I love getting your comments. I am so sorry that you faced the stomach troubles, as well and I hope you feel better soon. Please let me know if there is anything I can ever do. Happy to hear you are on your road to health; we’re in this together, darling!
xooxox
Muahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I’m so incredibly happy for you. I love stories like this. I hate that you had horrible swelling in your legs for 4 years but I love that you figured out what the problem was. This made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I just feel so happy for you! I couldn’t imagine not being able to wear shorts in the summer or wear a cute dress out on the town.
I’m still have issues with my stomach and not sure what it is wrong. I’m thinking I might have more food intolerances than I thought. Just like you, trying to elimate one thing at time to figure out the issue. I’ll get there just like you did! Have a wonderful week and show off those legs, lady!! 🙂
You are so kind; I love you!!! Thanks so much for your kind words; I’m gigglin’ from your comment; you are so fabulous. We seriously need to meet!
xoxox
Thank you for making me smile.
Amie I’m so happy for you!
I went through a similar situation- I was ALWAYS bloated and feeling really boggled down. I tried everything and went to every doctor possible. It wasn’t’ until I took control- started to eat clean and do yoga which really changed my life.
I’m so glad your back to your old self again : )
ps–I’m making your Rockin’ Ratatouille tonight!!
Awe; thank you so much Jocelyn. So great to hear from you and I LOVE your blog, as well. Thank you for sharing your story with me and I am so happy to have connected with you!
Enjoy the Ratatouille.
xoox
What an amazing story! I cant wait to hear how you continue to recover and return to your beautiful self again! Looking forward to reading your blog.
Awe so great to hear from you and fabulous meeting you at BlogHer Writers this weekend. You are fabulous and I can’t wait to see you again in NYC.
xoxo