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Around 2017 I discovered my body was experiencing gluten sensitivity. I would get off from work around 3:30, often grab takeout for dinner, go home, eat the takeout and fall into what felt like a drug induced deep sleep. Initially I didn’t think twice about falling asleep right after work but something clicked in my mind and I realized this felt unhealthy. The sleep was so heavy and inevitable and I felt out of control. One day while pondering this concern I remembered that years prior while talking to a coworker she mentioned she had to stop eating gluten because she said it made her feel like she was on drugs. At the time, in my head I rolled my eyes, because I grew up as a vegan and part of our diet included gluten products, including straight gluten we used as a substitute for meats. I thought “here we go” with people talking about how gluten is bad for you but I grew up eating it and that was not my experience, (or so I thought). Fast forward years later and I am now experiencing this heavy groggy sleep feeling come over me frequently. I realized that it would especially happen after I ate my favorite food, Ethiopian. In most Ethiopian restaurants you can order a vegetarian combination plate which comes with delicious vegetarian stews served on their cultural traditional bread, Enjera. Enjera is an Ethiopian staple, a fermented flatbread made with teff flour. However in America often times at restaurants they serve an American version made with wheat flour. Having grown up eating Ethiopian takeout, I was used to the American Enjera and I would eat a lot of it. Well in my later years I realized that after I would eat it, I would feel that sluggish sleep approach. Because I didn’t believe in gluten sensitivity (I know shameful), I didn’t pay any mind to the fact that when I ate my Ethiopian takeout I was literally eating tons of gluten (because I was a foodie and would eat the whole plate which is often enough for two people). I had actually tasted the teff Enjera as a little girl and did not like it (I now only eat teff Enjera and love it) and did not like it. I didn’t know how nutritionally different the teff and wheat Enjera. For the record I was eating gluten outside of Ethiopian takeout as well, it was just that I especially ate so much gluten with the takeout that I really saw the connection after eating it, how my body responded. While I was experiencing these heavy afterwork sleep spells another pattern was also occurring which was seasonal allergies. Growing up, I thought allergy commercials with people sneezing back to back were exaggerations and fake. That was until I developed seasonal allergies in my young twenties. My sneezing spells were so bad I could sneeze myself into a nose bleed. At work while teaching I felt like I was also on drugs because allergies can make you feel that way and it was impacting my quality of life. Couple my insane allergy experience with my reaction to eating gluten and you have a recipe for someone who realizes something needs to change. So I humbled myself and started to research the impact of gluten on the body and on allergies. I learned that gluten in fact could ignite both my seasonal allergies and grogginess. It was at this point I began a self healing journey that would be the catalyst for my interest in the body’s ability to heal. I learned that I had to make some changes to improve my health and long story short I was able to eliminate my seasonal allergies for some time. They have since returned but the symptoms are so subtle. I also came off the restricted diet I was following to heal my allergies and I have reintroduced some of the trigger foods back into my diet. I am pretty confident if I follow certain nutritional habits I could eliminate them completely again. So I am sharing the resources I used and what I did. Of course I must provide a disclaimer that you should always consult with your medical doctor for advice. This is simply my experience and I am not a medical professional yet (wink). I bought two books related to nutrition that I felt could be of help which were Cosmic Nutrition by Montak Chia and Gutbliss by Dr. Robynne Chutkan. I did not read these books from cover to cover but I did read parts of the books and took what I learned into consideration as I approached my healing journey. However, my most impactful change came from a blog by Dr. Aviva Romm. Here is the link to the post I followed. I am not sure if this was the original post or if she has updated it since then but the information on this post is what I remember following. Dr. Romm’s protocol absolutely changed me for the better but it was very strict for a foodie like myself. So read that article for her insight and actual protocol and come back here or continue to read for my add ons. As I began Dr. Romm’s allergy healing diet protocol, I remember thinking what am I going to eat? Especially as a vegan gluten and soy were heavy in my diet which, in her protocol she advises eliminating. gluten, soy, sugar, salty snacks, fried food and more. This made me really have to go cold turkey. I remember my staple food at the time was quinoa and frozen vegetables with some fruit as my snack. I don’t remember what else I would buy and eat but I definitely cut out what she said and strictly followed the diet. I was desperate to heal. I also don’t remember the timeline but within weeks I noticed a drastic difference in my health. Eventually the allergies disappeared and I was not sleep crashing after work. I was so shocked by the results but also so grateful.