Why Gluten Free

Why am I doing another blog? Because my twins went gluten free yesterday. They are 6.5 year old identical twins, and they both have asthma. They take Pulmicort in a nebulizer at least once a day and have prescriptions for both Albuterol and Zyrtec.

A couple of years ago, I found out that having acupuncture might help them. So I asked their pediatrician for a referral, which you needed at the time in Ohio, and he said "NO." What??? Something that could help them, and he wouldn't refer them for it? He didn't know enough about it, and he thought they were doing fine on the meds.

Sounds like a doctor, doesn't it? Except that: I don't want them to be on medications. If they can resolve their issues without meds, why not try it? The expense: Pulimort costs over $400 per month for both the girls (together), plus the Zyrtec and Albuterol. The time: we have one nebulizer, and they both have to use it. When we had an older one, each one had to spend at least a half hour on the "fishy face." Now it's about 18 minutes each (not that I'm counting, right?). They cry sometimes when they don't want to do it. Usually, they're pretty good, but it's a real pain in the butt.

I am a massage therapist, and one of my clients is an MD who now does acupuncture. So he and I have traded a few times. The girls did great with the needles, and they saw some improvement. But the good doctor doesn't have time for too many trades, and  it's pricey!

Enter GLUTEN FREE. I really hadn't heard much about it before, and I knew nothing. Turns out that in April of 2009, my mom was diagnosed with gluten intolerance. And corn. No signs of celiac disease, but she had the DNA markers for it. She went gluten and corn free and has since completely weaned off her blood pressure medication and has lost about 30 lbs.

So one of my sisters researched about the gluten and excema connection. Her 9 year old daughter, Claire, has had excema so badly that they used to have to duct tape socks on her hands at night so that she wouldn't scratch herself bloodly. Since they went gluten free on Septmeber 20, Claire has seen an 80% improvement in her excema. Her skin looks great and she seems so much happier (who wouldn't now that they're not in pain?).