Course and sucky sucky cheese and gluten

Usually when a vegan post concerns a course, it is about a spiritual/yoga or a vegan cooking course. Well I'm not that lucky but I am excited about leaving for a work-related course tomorrow. It's always good to leave work behind for a few days. So as of today I won't be going back to work until next monday!

The only thing I am concerned about is the food.... When I decided to eat a vegan diet again I decided not to concern myself with vegan (always vegetarian of course) foods when I'm out for dinner, or at a party. However, the more I read, the more I get into it, the less I want to eat anything else. Yesterday I had lunch with a friend and had a big goat-cheese salad. Although goat cheese has always been my favourite in the cheese department (and I ate a lot of cheese...), I felt bloated and unhealthy afterwards. I  had the (sorry yet to the nasty part) worst stomachache, diarrhea and gas the rest of the day! I thought about it and one of the following must be true a) cheese is bad for human beings, b) maybe I am lactose-intolerant? c) maybe your body can't digest cheese so easily after not eating it for a while (but that seems strange as my body never needs to remind itself how to digest an apple), d) all of the above.

I have always had stomach/colon/digestion problems. However, when I eat vegan I don't have them at all (only when I eat soy, I know my body can't handle that and I have been tested allergic for soy). When I was 16, I was tested positive for celiac disease (gluten allergy). As a student I didn't much care for the dry gluten free bread and expensive-pasta and started eating gluten again. I always knew it was bad for me but didn't think twice about adopting a gluten free diet again. When we handled celiac disease in medical school I felt a pang of guilt but forgot about it afterwards. Then I read 'the crazy sexy diet' from Kris Carr, and she not only talks about the health benefits of a vegan diet, but also about gluten intolerance and how it effects your body. She listed about 10 symptoms of celiac disease, and yeah I have to say I have 9 out of 10 (except the fact that most people become skinny from the disease, why o why is that the only thing that didn't happen to me.... :( )which isn't that strange as I have been diagnosed with it. How unhealthy can it be to just deny a disease? Well apparently very unhealthy, as it is known to give a 30% increased chance of colon cancer and causes many vitamin deficiencies etc. So I guess it's time to accept it for what it is and stay the hell away from any gluten.

That means a vegan, soy free and gluten free diet. Which sounds worse than it actually is. Luckily veggies and fruits don't contain any of them. But a lot of vegan products and recipes contain soy or gluten. I am happily in love with rice- and almond milk. Rice, quinoa and rice-noodles are all gluten free and inexpensive. And there are so many gluten free products in the market at the moment! I found an organic gluten free brand which I am quite happy about.

But how can I obtain such a diet in strange surroundings? I emailed the course directors secretary and she told me there are lots of fruits and veggies available during the day. We have two dinners in different restaurants and I assume that they will serve a buffet which usually contains rice (probably white rice but hey I'll take it over anything non-vegan) and a salad bar. So I am hopeful, but packed lots of snacks, fruits and gluten free crackers to take with me.

I guess it's time to go packing. I'll be back on sunday and probably won't be posting until then. Have a good and healthy week!