My story

It all started for me when I was around 17 years old. I had eaten a big piece of cheesy naan bread for lunch and within 15 minutes the pain had started and it was unbearable. My stomach felt like it was all twisted and tangled and it had started to expand. The only way I could ease the pain was to lie down!

From that point on, I had the occasional attack, but I really didn’t think much of it at the time. When I reached my early 20's, I decided to have it checked out as the pain and discomfort was becoming much more frequent and it was really disrupting my life.

At first, I was told that it was most likely Irritable Bowel Syndrome and as time went by, I tried every cure…including tablets for IBS, Mintec capsules to relieve the cramps and De-Gas for the bloating. You name it, I tried it but nothing worked.

Needless to say, years of pain and discomfort later and with no conventional remedy in sight, I was totally over having a sore bloated stomach all the time.

Finally, I took matters into my own hands and started eliminating foods from my diet, I started the elimination process with one of the main culprits for the symptoms, bread and then added pasta, yeast, and milk  to my hit list.

Unfortunately, while my hit list of eliminated foods grew, my poor tummy remained sore and bloated so it was time to seek a second opinion before I ran out of foods to eliminate! 

I consulted my GP who suggested that I have a colonoscopy and endoscopy but before I had the procedure a colleague suggested that I see her doctor, Dr Giselle Cooke from Health Alchemy, who had recently cured her of the same symptoms I was experiencing.

When I look back now, I can see this was the turning point in my life!! I was sent to Australian Biologic who checked for food allergies, which come back with the result that I was allergic to 10 things including wheat gluten.

Although I have never been diagnosed as having Coeliac Disease, only a Gluten Intolerance, I still cannot eat wheat gluten! Over the years I have found it hard to stick to my gluten free diet, straying occasionally and of course every time I am punished with the usual sore tummy, bloating and general feeling of irritability and yuck!

I realized that to feel well I needed to be strong and persevere with my gluten free and dairy free diet. It was always a struggle shopping for food and especially hard finding something on the menu at a restaurant, which started me thinking that I was not alone in my quest for gluten free food.

So here we are today, I now stick to a complete gluten free and dairy free diet and I feel fantastic. This bought me to feel the need to not only share my story but to help all those who suffer the same condition.

My aim is to offer a place where you can buy all your gluten free products, without having to search shop after shop and read all the ingredients on every label to find something safe to eat. I hope you can all live a happy healthy gluten free life like me.

After all "your health is your happiness"!