Gluten-what??

::Sigh:: When I saw this today on my newsfeed, it was oddly fitting to the changes I had decided to make in my life. I can't go back in time and change my eating habits to avoid the thyroid problems and issues with my weight that I have today. I can't go back and force myself up off of the couch to go for a walk. What this made me realize, however, is that I CAN start making changes TODAY that will affect my health for the rest of what I hope to be a long life. I have the power to re-write the path that I am heading down. All by making some basic, yet very difficult changes in my daily habits. I, Vanessa Marie Coughlin, lover of pasta, assorted subs, and all things carbohydrates, am going GLUTEN-FREE. 

*Dum, dum, dum* 

"Why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks would you do that?" I've recently learned that auto-immune diseases such as hashimotos, can be directly affected by gluten. Basically, what I've summarized, is that the more gluten you eat, the more it hinders the functions of the thyroid, which causes you to need more medication to make the thyroid work properly. I also have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and I wonder if it isn't all connected somewhere, and if that connection may just be gluten. So, as thoughts bounced around my head this morning, (which they have more time to do now with my son D being in preschool-YIPEE!)I decided I needed a place to lay it all down. Like my disappointment when I realized that the Pioneer Woman Spagetti Sauce I was drooling over was probably a big, gluten-loaded, oh-so-delicious no-no now. Not counting the glorious heap of pasta that it lives on. (Yes, that's a link to deliciousness.)

Ahh, pasta. I'm an Italian girl, raised on Sunday dinners with my closest family, my grandmother making her special Sunday sauce, lasagna, or mac and cheese, laughter, and love. Gluten-free pasta and breads make me feel unsettled, such like alcohol-free beer. Just not as good as the original. Did I mention I work at a restaurant that specializes in pasta? 

::Sigh:: (again.)