Dreams vs. Reality

For the Celiac and food allergic among us, a luscious buffet such as the one pictured at left, is enough to give us a panic attack.

We are suddenly on high alert, as we try to determine what harmful ingredients might be hiding in any given dish.

Is an item breaded?

If so, what kind of flour was used for the breading?

What is in the sauce? Are those rice crackers or something else?

Is anything seasoned with soy sauce?

Was the food prepared with butter or eggs?

The accidental ingestion of a forbidden food is one of our worst nightmares.

Who would have thought that everything could look so tempting, yet be off-limits at the same time?

And so it came to pass that I allowed myself to dream lately.

A few weeks ago, I subjected myself to another food allergy test.

The reason was in part experimental – really just to see if my body was in fact healing, due to some of the mindful practices I’ve engaged in over the past six months.

It took about three weeks for the test results to come back, and during that time I allowed myself to dream.

“What if?” I asked myself.

What if I could eat eggs again, and a few other foods I’d been craving? At first, I envisioned things like fluffy omelets, and soufflés.

Then I allowed myself to dream of baking with the addition of eggs, and suddenly it was like a whole new world opened up to me.

Visions of healthy breads and muffins, and light-as-air meringue literally made my mouth water.

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when the test results came back and clearly showed absolutely no reaction to eggs, whatsoever.

I saw the same amazing results with dairy and some other allergens, as well.

Did this mean I was cured?!

In a word “No”.

The sad reality, as it turns out, whatever foods you might be sensitive to, be it gluten, dairy or something else entirely, things don’t usually change.

Which means that you and I are still just as sensitive to whatever allergens we’ve been reacting to all along, even when no symptoms are present.

In my case, the fact that the test results showed little or no reaction didn’t mean I could re-introduce those foods into my diet – it only meant that my body was in fact healing as the antibody levels had finally dropped – a process that took precisely six years.

If I start eating eggs again, or any other foods I’d long ago eliminated, I would be doing myself more harm than good.

I would literally be shooting myself in the foot.

Eventually, those antibody levels would start to rise again and I’d be right back where I started.

And this is why I’m sharing this information with you, in case anyone else naively thinks their food allergies will simply go away over time.

Or that it’s OK to cheat now and then.

So, yes, I know I’ve said this once or twice but I think it warrants saying it again.

It really isn’t OK to cheat.

Your body has already been through a lot.

Why not give it time to heal?