Isn't every one talking about gluten these days? Or dairy?

Nothing like tempting fate by proclaiming your newly found energy and clear mindedness, of course I was hit with the flu not two days later. I spent most of the weekend in bed, which wasn't so bad really... aside from the nausea on Friday night, it really was one of those wipes-the-energy-from-you flues, so a bit achey but otherwise quite content to sleep the day and night away. A few days later and I am feeling almost back to normal, that is the 'new' normal, high energy level normal. And since a few of you have asked and I know my friends and family are keen on the back story, yep, I cut out gluten for the two weeks my husband was away (I figured it would be easier just making meals for myself, the kids are usually catered to anyway as much as I hate to admit it). For no specific reason, just a lot of little ones - the scary wheat articles I have been reading lately, the fact that bread has always made me bloated and I always know when I've had too much, the annoyance at being tired all the time despite my kids sleeping through the night solidly since before Christmas. Yes, it has been a very busy couple of years and yes, parents of small children are tired but it just felt like more than that, like something not quite right, especially when I knew I was getting 8 hours of good sleep every night. Plus I have some pretty annoying eczema so, although I am pretty sure it is dairy related (and even, possibly, red wine related - god forbid), I thought I'd forgo gluten first in the off chance that I'd be lucky enough to find the cause of that too.

So about a week and a half in, I woke up feeling GREAT. Like, 'let's meet the day head on and get shit done' great. And it continued for day after day after day. And then I got sick. And after three weeks gluten-free, I've had some gluten over the past couple of days - a half a piece of bread here, some soy sauce there - and have had no ill effects (although I'm still not 100% after the flu so a bit hard to judge). I don't know if I truly have a gluten intolerance (as, apparently, 70% of the population do) or if my body just needed a good break and is enjoying the more beneficial foods I've been eating instead. What I do know is that I will be continuing to eat this way in every day life. 'Cause I like this feeling, that every little thing isn't too hard and can actually be dealt with in a timely manner (note: it may seem like I get heaps done and really, I do. But I pretty much do the things I want to and the things I HAVE to and all the other bits get pushed aside to a later date or forgotten about and then weight on me). I mean, look at this - I'm writing a blog post. An actual, fully fledged blog post at 8pm in the evening. I can actually string words together! This, I would like to continue.

Oh and no improvement on the eczema. Trying to cut out dairy but finding it oh so challenging in a way that gluten wasn't. I've even given up coffee for the past week and made my own almond milk (after not digging the store bought kind) but it just isn't for me. I miss yogurt. And cheese. Sigh.