The unlikely culprit? A margarita. It is cinco de mayo, after all. I had just finished my first one when my belly started to feel little weird. I didn't suspect gluten and figured it was because I've been eating a lot of junk food lately (plus I had just consumed a margarita at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.) Figured I'd drink some water and visit the vegetable tray instead of the nacho bar and I'd be fine.
What could be bad about the refreshing combination of limes and tequila on a beautiful sunny afternoon? Well, nothing.
Except when the hostess's secret ingredient is a little bit of Corona. I happened to notice she was making another batch and boom, she nonchalantly popped the bottles open and they happily glugged their way into the pitcher.
My stomach turned again and a feeling of dread washed over me. I didn't even taste or smell the beer when I drank it. Shit.
I knew I had to act fast. Some glutenings are more severe than others, but no glutening ends up good.
I usually have some activated charcoal* capsules in my purse, but this time I didn't have any with me. I practically ran out of the party and fortunately it was only a few minutes from my house.
I took the meds as soon as I could and started pushing water and drinking ginger tea.
Overall, I was able to avoid the worst symptoms, but even the best-managed glutening is not fun.
Really bummed that I had to cancel my plans for the evening. I'd been looking forward to them all week. It's been so long since I've had to cancel plans for a tummy-related issue. I'm so MAD at myself for being careless.
Constant vigilance!
*Now, we know that once gluten is consumed there's nothing you can do; there's no reversal of the gluten hitting your system. You're gluten-screwed.
Although lots of claims have been made, I have not seen any studies that test the ability of charcoal to adsorb gluten.
I take it just in case it does. Maybe future studies will prove this? Plus I have found that it does help with the symptoms of being glutened.
(Keep in mind that if you take any other medications within 2 hours of the charcoal (pepto, immodium, zofran, etc), they will not be as effective.)
Although lots of claims have been made, I have not seen any studies that test the ability of charcoal to adsorb gluten.
I take it just in case it does. Maybe future studies will prove this? Plus I have found that it does help with the symptoms of being glutened.
(Keep in mind that if you take any other medications within 2 hours of the charcoal (pepto, immodium, zofran, etc), they will not be as effective.)
