My stomach's almost better, just a little sensitive to some foods while healing (such as seeds & nuts which seem to irritate it). That will improve. I don't know if it distracted my immune system or what, but I've had a bad head cold for a couple days now. To deal with the cold, I've been trying hard to stay on track. I read the can of chicken broth I had on hand, and couldn't bring myself to using it, must have had 10 or more ingredients, many of them avoids. So I went to the store and bought a natural brand with just broth and a little fat. Sure tastes more bland, but I adapted. I added salt, garlic and many different spices, even terragon which I usually don't know where to use, but it needed a sweeter herb. Also fresh parsley and oregano from the herb garden, and some sliced deli turkey (the "noodles"). It did the job, and tasted ok. Nothing has tasted great with this cold, though I've been craving spicy food (I've never had trouble with spicy food). I found some compliant hot salsa with just tomato, serrano pepper, garlic and cilantro and salt as the ingredients. It was very spicy and felt good. I used rice crackers in place of corn chips, and only bit off a tiny bit of the cracker with each big scoop of salsa...they're more crunchy than corn chips, thus, it doesn't take as much to get the same 'bite'.

Today I had a moment of weakness, I was super thirsty at the mall and wanted something bubbly; being still miserable with my cold, I caved in and had a coke. Well, that's my coke for the year. Bad.

I did notice how my celiac reaction differs from my lectin reaction. With wheat I have both types, but the rye only gave me the celiac reaction. The lectins in wheat react within 20 minutes and make my joints hurt, then make me irritable/depressed for about 24 hours. The celiac reaction takes at least a couple hours to start up, and is primarily digestive. First sign is gas, then it feels like I have an alien inside me trying to get out, and I won't go on with the description from there! So, I'm gluten intolerant and lectin sensitive, but hey, when I eat right, I'm healthy! A few years ago I didn't think I'd ever be able to say "I'm healthy". Knowledge is power.

I'll be going into my doctor next week to ask him more about celiac disease and see if it needs to be monitored via blood tests, etc. I figured out that doctors only can pay attention to your primary complaint at a regular office visit, so I scheduled this one as a consult, that should help. He's an osteopathic doctor, and quite good at listening, but it's still good to make sure to schedule enough time in advance.