Shr****d Wheat for some, Dreaded Wheat for me.

Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the wheat, but which ever it is, we have parted ways. Feeling bloated after a meal that included either bread, pasta, or flour in some form was never nice. The painful joints, particularly my knees, over the last couple of years, worried me that maybe they were shot. Nearly 20 years of martial arts, I thought, had worn them out, and was now causing pain. It seems I may have been wrong, that life may have just taken a turn for the better.

 

By accident I came across a video on Youtube about the potential negative impact on joints in a couple of ways. That the Gluten in wheat can cause joint inflammation, and also make the effects of Arthritis worse. With a right elbow that is guaranteed, at some point in my life, to develop Arthritis, I decided I wanted to reduce it’s possible effects. I also suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which can be very disruptive, and cause all sorts of problems. Again, there are possible links between wheat and IBS.  So I gave up on eating foods containing wheat a few weeks ago. It’s been very difficult. Going shopping has many temptations, with the majority containing wheat; Buns, cakes, biscuits, my mums homemade Parkin. But I am finding myself trying new things. I’ve reduced my carbohydrate intake, and aiming to bring sugar right down as well.

 

But has it done any good? Well some changes can take a few months. But one thing I have found is that my knee joint pain has gone. I feel like I’ve gone back 10 years. And my stomach has gone down. I look like I’ve lost weight, but I haven’t. It’s the bloating that I strongly suspect was caused by wheat. Time will tell for any other changes or improvements.

 

This post is not entirely to do with stopping eating wheat, I believe that to be personal choice. This post is more about not allowing yourself to get stuck in a rut. That sometimes it’s worth taking the chance of making a change to your life for the better. I don’t see myself as on a new diet, I see it as a lifestyle change. With hope, it’s a step in the right direction to a better quality of life. Supposedly, a change is as good as a rest, it may well be very true.

 

http://www.greenstar.coop/health/305-discovering-a-hidden-wheat-intolerance

Review: RAB Atlas Pants....no, trousers....pants are y-fronts!

I’ve had a couple of pairs of RAB Atlas trousers for the last eighteen months or so. (Yes, trousers, not pants. As one fellow English blogger put it, using the word pants makes me think of Y-fronts. Strange that an English manufacturer should use a non-English word in that context. Especially considering that, as far as I know, the company founder, Rab Carrington, was originally based in Sheffield, but not sure if he was born there. Maybe someone could comment?) They have been very good trousers, and still are, pretty much. One pair in particular has been through the wars a little just lately. I thought it about time to review them and go over their pros and cons.

 

 

 

The Roaches: Third Time Lucky. So That’s What They Look Like!

Well, they say third time lucky. I had promised to return to the Roaches in fine weather to get some better photographs. A couple of weekends ago, we had good weather, and I headed down there with a friend for a walk and to get some pictures.

Causey Pike: A View To and From

For more than two years of trips to the Lake District, Causey Pike has been in full view whenever I was sat outside the pub on an evening. I kept looking at it and wondering if it was as knife edged as it appeared from a mile or so away. The other week I got to find out. It’s not a particularly high fell at 2090ft or 637 metres. But it certainly is an interesting looking peak.

 

Name the boots!

Can anyone guess the make and maybe model of the boots in the photograph? I've had them quite a while and may come as a surprise to people. I may have mentioned them somewhere in my blog in the past.