2 Months Gluten Free - My Experience

It has been two months since going Gluten and Dairy free, and boy has it been a roller coaster. For those of you that don't follow my youtube channel, I decided to go GF/DF after 6 months of struggling with Seborrheic Dermatitis and seeing it get increasingly worse. No skincare product I was using was helping, so I decided to take drastic action.

I love cupcakes. They are one of my favorite things in the entire world. And bagels. Oh my goodness. If you had asked me in June if I would go GF, I would have said 'No way, I love cake too much!' But that was before my skin got so bad I couldn't take it anymore. Deciding to give up my love for traditional sweets was challenging, and the first month of being GF was even more challenging with how emotional it was for me. My diet did a 360 in the first month and I not only went from not eating gluten or dairy products, but went to eating mostly vegetables and little to no sugar at all. 

I was fine the first two weeks, but after that, things went downhill. I still hadn't seen an improvement in my skin, and I thought for sure I would have. I started getting incredibly discouraged and decided to cut out all sugar for a few days. For those of you that don't know, Seborrheic Dermatitis can occur randomly because of a yeast overgrowth. To help eliminate the yeast, it's recommended to follow the Candida Cleanse, which cuts out gluten, dairy, and all sugar. I know when you eat healthier foods, you feel better, but I was miserable. I cried almost every day and I just wasn't happy. Part of this I definitely think was from the sugar withdrawal. I decided to introduce a little fruit back into my diet, and immediately I felt better. So, I definitely don't avoid it now. My body is fine with natural sugars, but my SD goes CRAZY with artificial sugars. (After Halloween, my skin was a nightmare for a few days after).

Along with being GF/DF, I introduced some supplements into my diet. I'm someone that doesn't like taking unnecessary pills unless I really should. I stopped taking a multivitamin earlier this year in order to find one that was had vitamins derived from whole foods. I found one and took it for a little but, but gradually stopped. 

On September 24th, I started taking Caprylic Acid (about 14 days after starting the GF diet). Caprylic Acid is a natural acid found in coconut oil. It is supposed to clear out the bad bacteria in your gut, and has notoriously helped SD sufferers. I read about the Yeast Die-Off side effects, but decided to try taking it anyway. The first week of taking the CA was awful. I experienced all of the symptoms of Yeast Die-Off - I was so tired, bloated, got hungry incredibly fast, got a fever on the 3rd day, and more. After a week the symptoms started to subside, and I haven't had any die-off symptoms since.

On October 8th I started taking probiotics, to introduce good bacteria back into my body and help balance my flora. I then started taking my Calcium pills again, with vitamin D3. If someone has low Vitamin D3 levels, it can make SD worse. To be honest, I'm not sure if taking these pills is making a difference in my face. A combination of everything I've been doing has been making it better, but not as well as I hoped it would look at this point.

I will admit I ate incredibly clean my first month of being GF. I still do eat clean compared to what I've eaten in the past 2 years, but I do let myself have more grains than I did the first month. I hardly eat anything from a box, and my body seriously loves me for it. I haven't had any stomach problems or stomach aches, and I used to get them frequently (I was already lactose intolerant). I don't feel sluggish during the day, or guilty after I eat. My diet consists of mostly eggs, arugula, homemade minestrone soap, homemade vegetable pizza, fruits, vegetables, and a decent amount of grains. I limit my caffeine now, and drink coffee only 1-2 times a week, and all my tea is caffeine free. And, only natural sugars. (Have you seen my favorite coconut flour cupcake recipe?!)

I have broken my diet and eaten gluten two times since going GF. I ate fried rice, totally forgetting that most soy sauce has wheat (Aaron and I get the GF one), and my SD swelled up for the following two days. My stomach also felt like a balloon was being blown up inside me. Then, in the beginning of October, I was at my Nana's house and decided to try my tolerance with some pasta she made. I ate 6 pieces, and the following week my SD was AWFUL. I used to think 'Oh, a little won't make a difference', but it really does. It introduces the gluten back into my body and it makes the process of fighting off the yeast gradually harder. My skin was incredibly itchy and red for days after.

Overall, although my SD is starting to spread because it's getting colder, it has definitely gotten better than before I went GF 2 months ago. It's been challenging, but I am also very lucky that my mom is GF and has been very supportive. We're making some great GF recipes for Thanksgiving!

Regarding skincare (hence why almost none of my videos lately have been on skincare), it's because I've been constantly changing my routine. The next post coming will be everything I've tried!

Are any of you GF/DF? Why did you decide to go GF/DF? Share some of your favorite recipes!