Menopause & Gluten Free : a successful marriage



It has been almost two years since I had the first signs of #menopause: my menstruation started coming at irregular intervals,  more abundant than usual and more often than not I felt uncomfortable under the heat waves.



I was also constantly exhausted, did not sleep well anymore, waking up tired and with instant headaches that would last the day. I would go completely out of my mind for minor incidents, the implosion following the sudden explosion would be equally striking. By 5 o’clock in the afternoon I was at the end of my resources and my ability to concentrate on work was gone.
My body was aching all the time, my belly swollen , my wast waist gone.
I would see myself aging when looking in a mirror in a way I sensed unnatural. My normally soft skin was rough and showing red spots everywhere. I also believe now I often had blood in my urine.
And I all blamed it on a my upcoming #menopause.

The previous Summer  I had met a Sicilian woman on  the train from Eindhoven to Brussels. We apparently had been on the same plane coming from Trapani in Sicily. She talked me into a wine tasting course at Piola Libri starting the next Fall. Though we had been planning for months to meet  for dinner, it wasn’t till a year later we finally made it.

Rosella  made me come to an Italian restaurant near the Ixelles cemetery. When I arrived, she was waiting for me at the entrance. She mentioned the place was a gluten free Italian restaurant and that she was allergic to gluten. I remembered Djokovic , the Croation tennis player being allergic too. Already being ranked # 1, it wasn’t until he started following a strict gluten free diet he won his first grand slam. I figured it would do me no harm and gladly joined her.

 
I woke up the next morning without my usual headache and I felt relaxed for the first time in what seemed ages. Without a second thought I linked it to the gluten free dinner.
I searched for ‘gluten allergy symptoms’  on Google and was not even surprised I ‘filled’ the entire list.  For three consecutive days I voluntarily went on a gluten free diet and found both my mental and physical condition rapidly improving .  On the fourth day I cooked myself and my daughter some regular pasta, based on a moment of doubt and catering to Nerjis’ love for penne and spaghetti.
I was shocked to realize how soon the headache returned.

I called Rosella and explained her what had happened. She advised me to arrange for a blood test, and if positive, a biopsy. Though my appointment wasn’t till a month later, I stopped eating gluten right away. The doctor’s assistant told me not to, but how would I possibly want to continue feeling that awful for one more month.

It was amazing to see how soon and almost instantly I felt better. My skin became much softer, I started sleeping like a rose, gone is my bad breath smell, my aching muscles, my lack of concentration. I see no longer signs of menopause, no heath waves, no aging skin, no nothing; only the occasionally abundant menstruation tends to annoy me. My body is lean and slender. Respecting a gluten free diet meant the return of my hourglass figure. The moment I sin, I see and sense it immediately. I will not feel sick, but instantly tired like someone knocked me down !

Rosella referred me to celiac heaven  in Brussels, ‘La Solution’ ( obviously meaning the solution ). 


Conveniently located at only 100 meters away from my regular supermarket Colruyt,  I shop here at least once a  week. I discovered organic buckwheat milk I eat with my gluten free  3-grain almond muesli; I switched from Schâr’s to Viazzo’s precooked rice pasta; the same store also carries a whole series of super foods like chia seeds, maca powder, hemp seeds …  which  I add to my  morning muesli, bread, smoothies, pies… 


A whole new world has emerged and I am happier & healthier than ever.  Understanding the need of eating well, I now serve a complete, delicious gluten free breakfast to my ever growing number of gluten intolerant guests.

So if you have the slightest doubt of being gluten intolerant,  want to avoid the health issues that come with aging as a woman, detox your body, develop new tastes..
then say goodbye to gluten. What follows next is killing the cow !