I must confess, I read Grain Brain in the summer of 2015, but didn’t fully commit until December.
I had long known gluten-free diets were effective in curing Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but was always very hesitant to try, despite being afflicted with chronic indigestion and heartburn. Regardless of the evidence presented, I couldn’t stomach the idea of giving up bread and pasta. Besides, I considered myself a very “healthy eater” … I only ate whole grains, in small quantities, with plenty of fibre, and even took probiotics. I was already following a relatively “low-gluten” diet, and convinced myself that going totally grain-free wasn’t the answer.
Basically, I was totally in denial.
While chronic indigestion wasn’t enough to convince me to give up my favourite foods, migraines are a different animal. Indigestion lasts a few hours at most, but my migraines spanned several days, leaving me completely useless during an attack … I couldn’t read a book, work at my computer, watch TV or even just lie my head down for a nap. After being in pain for a few days and not being able to sleep, you feel like you’re going insane, like nothing else matters, like you’d do anything to make it stop.
Maybe even give-up your beloved pasta and morning toast.
I was hopeful, but still hesitant. A major sticking point was a pending trip to Rome in the fall, and I had absolutely no intention of foregoing my daily cappuccino con cornetto[1].
So I opted to rip the bandage off one hair at a time, and did a slow transition to a low-carb, gluten-free diet.
STEP 1: GOING GLUTEN-FREE
August began with another blinding migraine that lasted over two days. On August 7th, I kicked off my low-carb experiment as a last-ditched effort to get rid of my migraines.
My morning breakfast still consisted of a small piece of buttered toast and warm latte (espresso served with milk and sugar), a ritual that dated back to childhood, and something I dreaded giving up. Fruit and sugar were still on the menu, but in small and very limited quantities. I was averaging about 110 grams of carbs a day at the time, still eating a small amount of wheat.
Two weeks later, I made a feeble attempt to go gluten-free. I gave up my tiny piece of morning toast, leaving me at a complete loss for breakfast. Omelettes were out of the question at this point, since my stomach was far too delicate to process eggs. So Tony fried me up some lean pork, veggies and yams, still served with my usual morning latte. Not exactly keto-friendly, but at least it was gluten-free.
Best of all, the rest of August was migraine-free.
STEP 2: FALLING OFF THE WAGON
On September 2nd, I departed for Rome, and kicked-off a much anticipated four week holiday. I was determined to limit my carbs to 100 grams per day, which requires superhuman fortitude when vacationing in Italy.
My gluten-free diet went out the window pretty quickly. I ate small quantities of pasta, bread, mini-pastries, and even pizza. But I managed to adhere to my 100 g/day carb limit.
Two weeks into my trip, another migraine attack, another two days spent in bed. I remember being so disheartened, and more than willing to give up. I bumped my daily carb limit up to 150 grams for the latter-half of my vacation, still not too bad considering the unimaginable temptations that surrounded me.
The long trip home was hell. The only thing worse than a migraine is a migraine on an airplane. Not slightly worse, more like 100 times worse. I felt like passing out and throwing up all the way back to Canada.
I arrived back in Vancouver in early October, slowly brought my carbs back down to 100 g/day, and mustered up the courage to start over again. But my will was weak at this point, since I wasn’t seeing any results.
So I went back to the drawing board to figure out where I went wrong.
NOTE:
¹ An Italian cornetto may resemble a French croissant, but it’s in a whole different universe. Cornettos are crunchy, sweet, and typically filled with custard cream or jam. Definitely not gluten-free or keto-friendly.