Last week, I sat down with Robin, Holistic Nutritionist to talk about all things gluten free. Robin is like the girlfriend I wished I’d had when I went gluten free. Void of any judgement or agenda, Robin is super knowledgeable and also fun to talk to – not to mention, she has so many creative ideas. Her program, The Power of Food Education, is designed to empower individuals and their families to tune into their greatest power, the power of choice!
We explored several hot topics surrounding what it means to follow a gluten free diet. We even talked about the F word, yes I said it, FIBER! Fiber is that something that was missing from my diet for years and contributing to my symptoms of IBS. I thought the fiber in all the vegetables, nuts, seeds I ate was enough. What I didn’t realize is that it is more complicated than that!
Sometimes it takes us all different ways to get to where we need to be – different paths, different timing, different inspiration. In order to create real, sustainable change, I believe the key is staying committed to YOUR own journey, at your pace.
Here are some the key take aways from my conversation with Robin:
- We all have the power to choose – choice is our greatest power. Use it to heal and nourish your mind, body and spirit.
- Talk to your kids about the reasons behind our food choices – about what foods make us feel good, be smarter, be stronger, be happier! Teach them how to make the connections between our bodies and how we nourish it. So, rather than thinking of them as rules, they will begin to FEEL the difference and make their own smart and empowered choices.
- Reading labels and understanding how to read them, despite how time consuming or overwhelming it may be, is empowering! Get help if you don’t know where to begin.
- Your body knows best. Tune in and listen to the signals it’s giving you about what foods work with it or against it.
- Drink lots of water and exercise whenever you get “glutened”. This will help move it through your body quicker so you will feel better sooner!
- Dandelion and parsley tea also help detox your body from gluten or other inflammatory factors.
- If you feel better without gluten, trust your intuition and your body – even if you don’t have test results that say you have to be gluten free.
One of our listeners brought up an excellent point around people not wanting to find out if they have gluten allergy or even intolerance. The fear of something being wrong, of being different and the resulting feeling of, then what….will I have to give up all my favorite foods? This definitely does stop some people from testing for gluten sensitivity or from adopting a gluten free lifestyle.
If you feel like you don’t want to know…..think of that as giving up your power. Knowledge is power, and the most powerful knowledge comes from your own body. Do an experiment even for a few days to see how you feel. Once you’ve tuned in to your body, trust what it’s trying to tell you. You never know, it very well just might change your life forever. It definitely did mine!
Since we didn’t really get to cover ALL things gluten free, stay tuned for more….
Xo
Suzie, GF Guru Mama