Have you ever noticed how your body is really good about talking to you, hoping you will be wise enough to listen?

I was all set to go to the doctor to get medication for what I thought was arthritis and dreading the possibility of having a knee or hip replacement.  However, I was pretty sure that arthritis is not “sometimey”.  So, because I’m used to listening to my “body talk”, I knew I had better pay attention.

In really bad times, the pain was so intense in my legs, knees, thighs, and hips, I thought they would actually break.  It was an effort to walk, sit, stand or even get in and out of the car or bed. Trying to raise my arms in exercise class was so painful I had to stop the lessons.  I was also extremely tired most of the time.  Consequently, I decided to look back through my Daily Food Journal to see if this pain could be caused by something I was eating.  I’ve been keeping a journal for a very long time, ever since I had similar symptoms years ago.  At that time, I was surprised to discover that two of my favorites,  nuts and seeds, were the offenders, so I have carefully avoided them at all cost.

Looking back through the journal this time, I noticed that I was eating a lot of whole wheat bread and many other wheat products.  Sure enough, when I went wheat-free, the symptoms stopped.  But then they would start again, even though I had stopped eating all wheat–or so I thought.  Much to my dismay, there it was in black and white.  The aches and pains came back in spades when I ate couscous or pasta, yes, good ole PASTA.

How could this be?  Well pasta, couscous and a variety of other foods are made from something called semolina.  Without hesitation, off I went to Google and what do you know?  Semolina is the granular product made from durum WHEAT!  Needless to say,  I stop eating the obvious wheat products.  In the process, I learned that lots of foods you might never suspect contain wheat additives and there are many gluten no-no’s to watch out for.

My doctor ruled out celiac disease well before I eliminated gluten; however, I am gluten sensitive and will regret it if I eat anything with gluten. Coincidentally, the biggest revelation came in the form of ENERGY!!!  The extreme fatigue vanished with the elimination of gluten.  For me, being tired was normal, just one of the many “pains” that come along in life.  I thought everybody was tired.  Well apparently not.  Now I can walk from one end of the mall to the other, go up to the next level and do it again, which was totally out of the question before.

Could there be something in your diet destroying your well-being?

Maya Angelou says that when you know better, you do better.  Doing better in your case could be as simple as keeping your own food journal to help pinpoint problems you may be having. For instance, my sister started keeping one and discovered that her “hay fever” was caused by the type of honey she was putting in her tea!

We are victims of so many ailments beyond our control.  Why suffer needlessly from our self-made conditions, when all we have to do is be more attentive when our body is telling us that something is wrong?  Look for the root cause and not merely treat the symptoms!

Since we are all aiming for longevity, wouldn’t it be wonderful to live many more years in optimal health?

Incidentally, I thanked my body for telling me to investigate the cause for so much pain, and oh yeah, Goodbye Arthur Ritis.

Read the posts “Tips-Gluten No-No’s” and “No Wheat, No Weight?- Part 1”and “No Wheat, No Weight? – Part 2”

Click on “Fannie’s Kitchen” for “Savory Gluten-Free Muffins” recipe

I am anxious to hear your story.

More information see:WebMD.com/gluten-free

Images from: 123RF.com

Check with your health care provider before making any major dietary changes.