Dear Sugar free - drug free family! 

Wait-a-minute....drug free? We are practicing Latter-day Saints. We don't do drugs....or do we?

I am willing to lay bare the affect gluten has on me in hopes that IF you are also suffering from gluten intolerance, but not outright gastrointestinal torture, you will be able to observe for yourself the seductive, gluten prison in which you may be held captive.

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, spelt, barley, rye, oats (unless gluten free), Pero, (Mormon Coffee), Maltodextrin AND BEER! A byproduct of the gluten is called an exorphine. Yes, like morphine's ex! This substance binds to the morphine receptors in your brain. If you are sensitive to morphine, you are probably intolerant to wheat.

 
When I was hospitalized the week before Katie was born due to unknown causes and was in so much pain I asked for a catheter so I would not have to move to go to the bathroom. They gave me morphine. Coming off of morphine the week after Katie was delivered was the most intensely agonizing few days of my life. I ached. I was sick to my stomach. My head was messed up. My body trembled with fearful thoughts about weird stuff!

When Benson was trying to come, but we could not get a Doctor there, they said they were going to give me something for the pain and send me home. I said, "No morphine" as she was giving it to me. Again, I agonized for about three days coming off of it.

 
When I had pneumonia and pleurisy, I emphatically demanded they not give me morphine, and they did not.

 
What does this have to do with wheat? Well, I am going to tell you. When I eat gluten, I get "high" so to speak. Now, this is not something I notice when it is happening. The "high" does not show up until I start to crash. So morphine gets you high and then you crash, exorphine just makes you crash. Both are still bad!! Bad, bad, bad.

When on wheat, my brain tells me I am hungry for more gluten long before my tummy ever grumbles. I can eat a great big breakfast containing wheat and be hungry in 30 minutes. Even if my belly is full....my brain is asking for more food!! I don't just want food! I must have it. I am crabby if I don't get more gluten. I don't just mean kinda crabby, I mean mean-streak crabby. Yelling! Very derrogatory towards those I love. When I have "wheat brain" poor Vic can do nothing right. He's a jerk and why did I ever marry him in the first place?

 
However, when I am gluten free (it takes about 3-4 days to clear out my system now, whereas at first it was a solid week) I am not hungry until my tummy growls at me. Then I look at the clock and say, oh, it's time to eat? I am kinder, more patient, gentler, and not mean. I don't freak out if I cannot eat right away. AND I appreciate my dear husband and children for the amazing people they are. The things that they do that annoy me are kept in proper perspective and I AM JOY!!

As I started to keep a food journal and notice how things make me feel when I eat them, I struggled with conflict with the scriptures and what wheat means for me personally. Here is what the scriptures say: D&C 89:14, 16-17 "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man, but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven and all wild animals that ran or creep on the earth...All grain is good for the food of man;...Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and swine." 

Read it yourself and pray about it. That is what I did. The book Wheat Belly tells about the history of wheat. We have engineered it differently than the Architect of the World engineered it. The wheat today is different than the wheat even 30 years ago! A man won a Nobel Peace Prize for hybridizing wheat to make it shorter and easier to harvest and have more berries per staff for higher yield. His motivation was to end world hunger and that is noble.

Now for a little "Gospel Philosophy" about what has happened to our food source. This is all Joy, not doctrine. Satan is so sneaky. He has had years to observe man and learn his weaknesses. He is a master at making bad things look good, and perverting goodness for his own designs. Food is a wordly thing. He cleverly disguises his plan because not everyone is affected by new wheat. It is ending world hunger in many areas.

 
Let me pose this question: Why do we have food storage? Yes, the Prophets have told us to and that's why we do it.  It's for the tough times, the times when we are going to struggle, the end days. When is Satan going to hit us the hardest? Tough times, times when we struggle, the end days. What has been the mainstay of food storage? Wheat. So if he can pollute our food source....He was there during the Anaconda Plan in the Civil War and he watched what happened with the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The best of soldiers are rendered helpless without proper provisions. Rethink your food storage.

 
For those of us, who refuse to take drugs, alcohol, and other altering substances into our bodies, Satan has perverted even our food sources in attempts to cord us. He had me. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has put so many wonderful people in my path to help me recognize that soft, strong flaxen cord that Satan had placed around my brain. He almost won my marriage and children.

Does living gluten free take all my trouble away? Of course not! But it frees up my brain for higher thinking, better actions and enormously sweeter circumstances. We are still plugging away at cleaning up some of our dumb choices, but we are doing it together and without drugs!!

After attending the LDS Addiction Recovery Program for nearly a year in order to try to understand why I was consistently overeating, this information was given to me. I am sharing so that if any of you or your friends are also struggling with this addiction to gluten, you will know that there is hope. 

Jesus Christ makes us all whole through his Atoning power. Love, Joy 

GF Coffee Cake

1/2 C Coconut milk (So Delicious or Trader Joe's) 
1/2 C Xylitol
1 beaten egg
2 T melted butter or coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use a little less if using sea salt because it has strong flavor)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Cup Chickpea flour
Mix well with a fork and let sit for a few minutes to activate baking powder, then mix again. Pour into sprayed 9x9 pan and spread topping. Bake at 375 for 22-25 minutes
Topping: 
1/4 C Coconut Palm Sugar
1 T Chickpea flour
1 T melted butter or coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix together with a fork and sprinkle over top of batter. 
Coconut milk makes baked good fluff up beautifully! I am sure rice flour would work just as well. 

$$$Tip. Last time I mentioned VegaOne protein powder from Whole Foods. It is 25% less expensive at www.vitacost.com Vitacost is like the Amazon of nutrition. Check it out!! They also sell, coconut amino acids (instead of soy sauce) preggy pops, ear candles.....