Back in August 2013, Udi’s Gluten Free Brand asked customers to share their story of their GFF (Gluten Free Friend) support system.

Here is my story.

My fiancé is my GFF. He has no problem eating what I eat most of the time and is understanding when it comes to my food sensitivities. I love experimenting and my fiancé encourages it (because he loves taste testing!).

About 6 years ago, I wondered why I would get so deliriously sleepy after I ate soft, white Italian bread loaf bread. I would realize I would be wide awake in the middle of the day, but nearly 5 minutes after eating white bread, fluffy pizza slice or even pancakes I would fall asleep so fast!

I googled “why do I fall asleep after eating bread?” and found many links mentioning being “glutened”.

I would feel almost as if I were drunk after eating gluten. My brain would get foggy, I would lose all energy and had extremely hard time digesting food.  Eating bread would make me pass out for about a 30-minute nap and I would wake up craving more sweets and sugars. The build up of the gluten in my body would either result in horrific cramps and constipation or I would have sick stomach and terrible diarrhea and feel like staying in bed for days.

I am grateful I learned what was making me feel so lethargic. It is a agonizing feeling being full and wanting to sleep all the time.

Gluten really messed up my daily routine, to the point I was emotionally depressed, unemployed and physically uncomfortable in my own skin (and especially clothes). I have flipped through trying many kinds of diets (from raw, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free), and it was not until I quit eating gluten, that I lost a lot of weight and felt confident enough to become more active in life and keeping track of my health.

I never went to doctor for these concerns, until I had a miscarriage. It was then a doctor told me I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). It all made sense to me then. Though it is hard to learn I have health concerns to be extra cautious about, I am grateful to find supportive articles and groups online and have friends and supportive fiancé. I see hope there is hope for women like myself to one day be a mother by following a gluten-free, low sugar diet and to be surrounded by love for myself and environment in which I live in.

I am learning more about food everyday, which I have always been passionate about being a daughter of a chef. I have taken my experience to my last job and was able to help provide and discover many gluten-free options in Indian Cuisine.

I aspire to collect and create recipes for cuisine all over the world so all may be happy and not feel left out at the dinner table.

I hope all may realize that just because things like Tums and Pepto-Bismal exist, that society should not be consuming them daily! It’s time to stop the symptoms instead of just medicating them.