Living with Celiac, Jody from Gluten-Free Eugene

Jody is the mastermind behind the website Gluten-Free Eugene, a website dedicated to living a gluten-free lifestyle in Eugene, Oregon.  If you live in the Eugene, OR area or plan on ever taking a trip through this part of the world, Jody’s site could prove to be vital to your success as she has a wealth of information on support groups, stores, restaurants, health stores and products produced and available throughout Oregon and beyond. 

Of all the information available on Gluten-Free Eugene though, what impressed me more was the simply stated and beautifully photographed “What to Eat?” page. 

To quote her directly:

”One of the simplest things you can do for your health is to eat whole foods.  Then you will know exactly what you are eating.

The only whole foods that are not naturally gluten-free are wheat, rye, and barley.  There are hundreds of other whole foods to choose from.

Many time the diet we are accustomed to (SAD) is not healthy, because of its emphasis on breads and grain products.

The fastest way to return to health might be to focus on vegetables and fruits, meat and dairy, nuts and seeds, gluten-free grains and other whole foods.

You can eat them steamed, baked, sautéed, some of them raw, or however you prefer. You can combine them, add herbs and spice, marinate or ferment them. Be creative!

When you are the processor, you can make a difference in how quickly you find better health.”

I especially like her last line.  Processing our own food from scratch has become a vital part of our daily ritual.  Once driven to find the best replacements for old (SAD) favorites, I have learned that the best foods, more importantly the safest foods cannot be found in a box. 

 The following is an adaptation from my interview with Jody.  I hope her story can help you as she has helped so many others.

Photo Credit: Jody Hoag

Jody:

I have been living with celiac for more than 30 years, as of now I am the only one in my family who has been diagnosed with celiac disease.

Tale tale symptoms of my prognosis included dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), rock hard stools, hair falling out, bloating, gas, difficulty eating and what I did eat ran right through me.

After my diagnosis, I first thought “I can do this, all I have to do is eat processed GF foods and I won’t starve to death.” It was a relief to have finally found what was causing me so much grief, but back then there wasn’t much to be found in the way of gluten-free packaged foods.

Then I began to suffer from a terrible yeast infection which was related to the type of foods I was eating.

With some help from a nurse practitioner, I was shown how easy it was to eat whole foods, natural foods.  With that, some L-glutamine powder and enzymes, I started to recover and eventually got healthy.

The most surprising thing about celiac disease is how much good food there is to eat!  Even though I am very sensitive to processed foods and can only really eat foods with one or two ingredients, I can eat whole foods, natural foods and have found happiness doing so.

I would like to thank Jody for her time and desire to share her story.  I have said it, many other celiacs have said it, and Jody makes it clear; the best food is completely natural, and the best foods are naturally gluten-free.

 If you would like to share your story, please contact me here.  I look forward to hearing from you!