Somebody turned the navigation of this body over to a nimrod.

No hurts or aches. Full range of motion. Sure, there are digestive/heartburn issues that are being worked on, but other than that … things were working. Pain free.

Until …

That nimrod flexed her muscles and, in a fit of pouting, declared she wanted just a smidge of normal life.

Normal, meaning eating gluten.

That Oktoberfest I recently wrote about? Well, whoever took over my body ate two – TWO – pretzel bites full of gluten – dipped in that delicious German mustard – while we sampled various Oktoberfest-ish beers, for a total of probably one whole, gluten-filled, yet fermented beer.

Fermented foods can often blunt the gluten factor. I occasionally eat Sourdough bread because it’s fermented.

But, you can’t fool Mother Nature.

So, here I am at Nimrod’s Anonymous:

“Hello. My name is Deidre, and I am a nimrod.”

“Hi, Deidre.”

“I ate and drank gluten, and I had to pay a terrible price. My hips hurt so badly, I could hardly walk. I powered through an evening stroll in slow motion, hoping I could iron out the pain if I just went slow enough.”

… and so, my confession continued as I explained how returning to the gluten-free life for three days of ‘purity’ has, so far, blunted the hitch in my step, but has not taken it totally away. I am, at least, not reaching for the Aleve anymore.

Several years ago, when I was teaching my first Designed for Health class, an attendee remarked how staying away from gluten had revolutionized her well-being. The swelling in her knuckles had gone down and she was able to, once again, wear her rings. Her other health issues were improving as well.

A person does not have to be deathly allergic to gluten to benefit from giving it the boot.

If you have hurting joints or a sense of things being ‘off,’ take thirty days away from gluten to see how you feel.

It has a lot to do with the kind of wheat grown in America. It’s a dwarf variety, not your grandmother’s wheat, and very high in gluten.

In fact, a friend of mine who is gluten sensitive, recently returned from a cruise in Europe. She ate ALL the breads and desserts while on vacation! You see, in Europe, they grow a different kind of wheat – the old kind which is more user-friendly.

Certainly, someone with Celiac Disease could not do that; but those of us who are gluten sensitive might give European baked goods a try.

Book me a cruise on Viking, please! Now!

In the meantime, I must admit to having feet of clay. Sigh.

Pain is a great teacher.

I will remember this pain next time that nimrod starts whispering in my ear.

In health –

Deidre

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There’s a great hack for frustration.

I learned about it while being a caregiver and I teach it to caregivers in my presentations and books – but the application of this idea is universal.

You see, frustration is often borne of lack of control. Whether we are waiting on others to do their part or are feeling trapped in circumstances that are changing without our input, we long for control and want to push back.

But we can’t, because we are not in control.

So, what’s the hack?

While we may not be able to hurry someone or something up, and we cannot change the circumstances that we are in – we can lessen our frustration level by finding something we can fully control.

I’ve been doing a lot of that lately; and controlling a home project from start to finish has done me a world of good in lowering my frustration level.

Is the source of frustration still there? Yup.

But concentrating on what I can control is a great way to channel that frustration.

And it’s an excellent way to get vinyl flooring installed in my attic/closet and organize my craft and gift-wrapping supplies into drawers I also assembled.

The feelings of accomplishment far out shadow the frustration.

Nothing gets your mind off your troubles more than sticky fingers. Man! The adhesive backing on vinyl tiles is crazy sticky! Everything I touched got sticky. Pen. Cutter. Ruler.

Go glad my neighbor had Goo Gone! She came over by chance the other night, just at the right time. My digits were so sticky that I had to wrap the pen I used to sign her document to avoid ruining it!

Please note: My hands may have been relieved of all stickiness using Goo Gone, but the original formula is not recommended to use on skin.

The Goo Gone company says:

Our Goo Gone Bandage & Adhesive Remover can be used on skin. Our original products are skin irritants.

So, when getting unstuck, grab the appropriate Goo Gone or use GOJO natural orange pumice hand cleaner.

Whew! Glad I still have fingerprints and intact skin!

So, yes, get your fingers sticky with home improvement, or gooey in bread dough, or anything else to kick that frustration out of town!

But get Goo Gone first.

In health –

Deidre

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