Goodbye Wasabi Peas

It's late.

I'm hungry.

I want my wasabi peas.

But soon, I won't be able to have them anymore. They are made with several ingredients that react with a disease I have recently been diagnosed with called Celiac Disease. So as of January 1st I will not be able to eat any foods with gluten in them anymore, wasabi peas being one of the many.

Such sadness it brings to say goodbye to many of my old friends... granola, bagels, white bread, wheat thins, pizza, pastry, cake, brownies, cookies, and of course wasabi peas.

Most of these items can be bought or made in a gluten-free version which I will be trying with excitement as to perhaps find some new favorites. Also as you can see most or pretty much all of those items aren't healthy in the first place so I'm sure cutting them out completly could have positive effects in the waistline.

But the best effect will of course be the lack of symptoms that I will hopefully experience after being gluten-free for several months. Having the knowledge that I am significantly lowering my likelyhood of getting gastro-cancer, ulcers, and other life threatening diseases is a perk as well. Untreated Celiac Disease can increase the risk of certain cancers by up to 50%! It can also cause neurological defects, depression, joint pain, terrible skin rashes, and many other terrible conditions. So it is imperative that I take this very seriously and not ingest anymore gluten after the start of the year. Hopefully in as little as six months I will begin feeling better, and although I still have Fibromyalgia (which can be caused by Celiac Disease), I will hopefully only be dealing with the symptoms of one disease and not two.

I really look forward to feeling better and if it meant eating nothing but dried worms and toe jam I would do it. I wouldn't enjoy it, but I would do it, and this I will do also and may even perhaps find joy in my new lifestyle.

Look forward to many new recipes and insights as I begin my gluten-free journey. It's a bright path and a long road and I look forward to enjoying the ride.

Gnite!