Besides constantly feeling overwhelmed by life’s demands, I’m a pretty hardy fellow (well, hardy woman). I almost never get sick or injured or even slow down. People are always telling me I have “so much energy.” But the truth is, I don’t always feel energetic. In fact, on a daily basis, in a quite predictable way, I get very tired and lethargic around 2pm.

As a busy woman, with children, this is the absolute worst time to be sleepy. This is the time of the day when I have to get the kids from school, help with homework (and as any parent knows, homework assistance is often akin to running 10 miles, up hill, into a headwind: it can be very, very draining!), make dinner, finish any project I was working on, make lunches for the next day, and so forth. I cannot afford to be less than “on” in the afternoons. But despite experimenting with when and how much I eat for lunch, when and how hard I do my workouts as well as when and how much caffeine I consume, every day around 2pm I find myself wanting to crawl in bed and take a quick snooze.


So, in spirit of open-mindedness, I decided to try another experiment: to go wheat-free. I am going to eliminate any and all wheat products from my diet entirely for four weeks and see if it has any measurable effects on my life. I have talked extensively to a friend who was unknowingly highly allergic to wheat; she cannot say enough about how great her life is now that she is wheat free. And another good friend of mine was recently relaying his wheat experience. For years he suffered from what he thought were seasonal allergies. They got so bad he had to have monthly shots and was on several medications. Finally one doctor suggested he might have food allergies. He got tested and it turns out he is allergic to gluten (a special type of protein that is commonly found in rye, wheat, and barley). Since going gluten-free his “seasonal” allergies have completely disappeared.

But I’m wondering if me, a non-wheat allergy sufferer, could benefit from removing wheat from my diet. To find out I decided to do some research. As it turns out, I may actually be allergic and not know it. Some studies have shown that approximately 1 in 200 people have an allergy or intolerance to wheat or gluten with more cases being diagnosed each year. Well, whether or not I have medical issues with wheat and/or gluten apparently I can benefit from abolishing it from my diet. According to several studies eliminating wheat can result in: raising HDL levels (good cholesterol), lowering Triglycerides and LDL levels (bad cholesterol), increasing energy and improving quality of sleep. One website even touted a wheat-free diet would result in, “less afternoon slump.” That’s all I needed; it’s definitely worth a shot in my book!

I’m on day three and I have to admit that I haven’t had any earth-shattering effects yet and I am still feeling somewhat sloth-like by mid-afternoon. But, I find myself reading labels more carefully and just being more mindful overall of what I’m putting in my mouth. Also, I realise three days probably isn’t enough time to get a comprehensive sense of whether or not removing wheat from my diet will have any impact. But, I’m willing to give it a shot, at least for another three weeks and four days.

Up next…Dive in! The benefits of swimming.