I recently found out that I am no longer allowed to eat any form of gluten of any kind. The sad part is, when I originally saw all of those gluten-free foods I thought to myself: "Thank goodness I ain't got that!" And look at me now, paying dearly for my snide comment. Karma is a very bitter abused being. But that is what I get for opening my mouth.

But let me share some of my experiences with it so far and calm some of the fears that come with this form of illness.

I have a disorder called Celiac Disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that causes the proteins in gluten to confuse my immune system into attacking my own intestines. As far as I know, It cannot cause death, but it can cause some severe effects that should never be ignored. For a list of effects simply Google it. It is mostly hereditary and comes from people of northern-European decent. So most of the paler variety of people. About 1 in 100 people have this illness.

What is gluten you ask? It is a mixture of proteins that is created by digesting anything that comes from wheat.

Now, think about what has flour in it...

Pizza, almost all bread, tortilla, every fast-food known to man, cake, cookies, pies, most soups, gravies, anything breaded (chicken nuggets/strips/mod sticks/onion rings, etc.) almost all pasta...I am still finding food that has some kind of wheat in it.

So much food that people eat has some kind of wheat in it. That's the issue that the newly diagnosed have. Just like I did and am still having. Even some sodas have gluten...If you don't know, Google is your friend.

But I will say it is not as bad as it sounds. There is a lot of food out there that has no gluten in it naturally. And once you know what these are it's not as haunting as it was before.

Corn:

All things made from corn has no gluten in it naturally. Think about that. Popcorn, corn tortillas (Though read the label — I have found some still use wheat flour) Straight traditional corn bread. Corn meal. Corn starch gravies, etc.

Potatoes:

You can eat all the potatoes you want as long as you don't dip them in bread first. French fries, boiled, Look at scalloped — some brands use wheat flour. I have found that Hungry Jack's brand does not. Anything that's pure potato has no gluten.

Meat:

No meat has gluten unless you bread it to deep fry it. BUT! If you use potato flakes instead of flour, you are safe.

Dairy:

No dairy has gluten unless you put it there, so smothered cheese fries are free game!

All Veggies and Fruits:

No gluten naturally.

Go onto Pinerest, or Google recipes...there are a lot!

Right on the box under the label.

The real secret is to look at the labels under the big nutritional facts there is a section of ingredients. if you see any thing that says wheat, leave it alone. Most foods now a days say flat out:

Contains: Wheat

And that is just a basic list of things. There is an entire industry based on making gluten free products. We have our own pasta, our own bread, our own food products all for our ownsies. Grant it, they are more expensive. As an example, normal store-brand pasta is $1.00 where ours is $1.70. Believe me, I have looked. We even get a little less than a pound, but to not have holes in our intestines is worth it. And our special food isn't as bad as it sounds. Just try it and give it a shot. It's not like you have much of a choice. It does mean we will have to cook more often at home.

Going out will be difficult. I have found two easy places to get fast food: Taco Bell and Taco John's. And you can only get hard-shell tacos at both places and potato olés at Taco Johns.

If you happen to like salad your options are a little better, but I am not ready to become full rabbit. For a traditional "manly-man," a meat and potatoes diet sounds fantastic, but I'm Italian...I like my pasta. And I'm Southern and like my deep-fry. So finding things to eat is difficult some days.

As long as you ask, they might have a special menu or at least know if there are wheat products in their food. I have had a good experience so far with the food industry.

I went to IHOP one day just to get away from my crazy house...I know! Going to the "International House Of Gluten" was not a very smart idea, but it was the only thing close to where I needed to be that day.

I got the steak tips with mashed potatoes and corn. BOOM! Gluten-free, but it came with garlic bread...

I asked the server if I could switch it for something else, I simply explained that I cannot eat bread anymore because of my illness. She totally understood telling me that her roommate had the same problem. She switched me french fries for the garlic bread...it made my inner Italian fat man cry to had to give it up. but I no longer have that choice. but she was awesome about it. All I had to do was ask.

So, do not fear, we will get through this. This is not a diet. This is the one and only treatment for Celiac Disease. Join a group on Facebook. Whatever you have to do to get this nipped in the bud. I just hope that eating food with gluten for 31 years hasn't damaged my intestines too bad. Get checked if you are unsure, it is a simple blood test to find out.

Keep the faith and hail the mighty gluten-free potato!