6 weeks ago we eliminated wheat from our diets to see if it helped with our 11 month old’s eczema. The 42 days came to an end and we just reintroduced wheat into our diets and now we are waiting to see if the eczema stays the same or worsens before we decide where to go from here.
Some friends told me during our experiment,
- “I wonder about people that go gluten free. What can you eat?
- “I could never do that.”
- “I rather deal with problems or have medication then give up wheat or dairy.”
I’ll be honest. I was dreading these 6 weeks up until we actually committed to doing it. Homemade pizza, alfredo sauce over pasta, naan, cookie dough, and warm bread are all things I thoroughly enjoy. Giving them up wasn’t exactly high on my list of things to do.
My husband and I decided it was worth it, though, to see if our son had any relief on his face from eczema and constant scratching that frequently drew blood.
Many times our diets and the food we eat play a roll in the symptoms that exhibit themselves in our bodies. It could be rashes, behavior, ear infections etc. Food often is not the first thing that comes to mind when we these issues come up. Even if it crosses our minds it, seems easier to treat with antibiotics, creams, or just living with it.
One of my friends has a dog that has had continuous ear infections since she was little. They recently switched her to gluten free food and treats and she’s gone several months without any problems now. I know it might not always work, but sometimes a change in diet can make a world of difference. There are also those with severe allergies to certain foods that don’t have a choice but to make drastic adjustments to their diets and they are lifelong changes.
All that to say, we didn’t know what would happen or what the outcome would be but we decided to at least try and then re-evaluate and see what we needed to do next.
Once we made the commitment and started, I was surprised at how little of a deal it was. The transition was actually easier than I thought it would be. Going gluten free, I’m sure, would be more stressful and little harder on the budget as I didn’t worry about cross contamination for our experiment (I still bought regular rolled oats).
6 weeks of using no wheat went by quickly. The eczema didn’t clear up completely but it’s very slight and my son is scratching his cheeks way less. (You can see after pictures here.) During the process he only had a couple of flair ups and they were mild. We’ll see what happens the next few weeks.
Next week I have 9 tips for how to do a wheat free experiment without a lot of work and on a budget. These are the ideas that I used the last 6 weeks with our family. My grocery budget wasn’t any more that usual. Coming up I’ll also have a list of the recipes that we ate to help you with your menu planning.
I’m curious. Have you ever seen changes because of how you tweaked your diet?
Linking up to these fun parties!
was on my wish list and my in-laws had an old version at their house that never got used. They said we could have it. I jumped on it and has it been put to good use!
! You can make two different types that way and be able to please everyone (or most everyone).
? How often do they get used?
