Why Did I Do That?

“It’s the holidays—why can’t I have a piece of shortbread?” That’s how it started. You see, this year I discovered after a month or 2 of ancestral eating that I have trouble with wheat. Long-standing health complaints disappeared and I felt better than I could ever remember.

So, walking around a store last week I saw Walker’s shortbread and thought, “Maybe if I just eat one cookie per day it’ll be fine.”

Day 1 – I ate one cookie and felt fine afterward. Maybe this’ll work! Yay!

Day 2 – Woke up with a stuffy nose. That’s not so bad—I’ll take that if it means I can have a cookie every day. At bedtime, I noticed a little itchiness when I changed clothes for bed. Also a light hacking cough.

Day 3 – Nose a little stuffier. Went for Mexican food and had 2 tacos—the shells were crisp so I assume they were corn. (2 hours later) Itchy! I want to scratch myself bloody! (5 hours later) Woke up in the middle of the night and my hip was killing me. Also noticed a little heartburn.

Day 4 – Nose at the level of a mild cold. Still feel some general itching on my skin. I’m thinking those taco shells were at least partially wheat. My brain is foggy and I'm not thinking very quickly. My thumb is swollen and stiff, so either I hurt it somehow or the hip and thumb reacted to the grain. I now think it’s not  a “GI intolerance” for wheat but an allergic reaction.

So, instead of thinking “one cookie per day will be fine” I’m now thinking, “Why did I do that?”