Pretty soon, no one will want to eat with me. Or...is gluten a fad like French rolling our jeans?

I am fascinated with learning about food and nutrition.  Its weird.  Its like, the only thing that I enjoy learning. Back when I was in school, I loved learning and reading and studying.  I wasn't all that good at it, but I liked it.  Now?  It takes me months to read a book.  Even if I'm really enjoying it, it takes ages.  UNLESS, it happens to be a book about vegan diets or a cookbook, or a blog about healthy eating.  For some reason, I can read that stuff like crazy and actually retain some of the information.  I think that might be my biggest frustration these days as far as reading/learning goes, is my lack of ability to retain things.  Perfect example, a coworker just tonight was reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  I read that book, within the last 6 months and watched the movie and read the other books in the series and enjoyed them.  But she started asking me questions about it, and I couldn't remember a darn thing outside of the very basic plot.  That's pretty pathetic.  But ask me about spirulina or maca powder or some other weird super food, and I remember stuff!  So, that being said, I decided that maybe I could take my (slight) obsession with learning about food, and use it to combat some of my physical complaints and signs of aging.  I am already a vegetarian.  Actually, I'm a pescetarian, as I do eat seafood, but I don't think that is a very commonly used term.  I have toyed with the idea of being vegan, but I really like seafood and cheese. And eggs are just so darn easy.  I have completely given up cow's milk.  It actually kind of makes me queasy to think about.  At our house we have either almond or coconut milk, whichever happens to be a tad bit cheaper at whichever grocery store I am at.  At coffee shops, its soy.  And actually, soy milk is usually cheaper than the other milk alternatives, but I feel like its a tricky food that I just don't want to overdo.  I have read that soybeans are pretty highly pesticized, so its preferable for the soy milk to be organic.  Then there's also something wacky with soy and estrogen.  So, I just don't really buy it to put on my cereal but it doesn't weird me out to have a little in my coffee every once in a while. I don't buy butter anymore either, but rather the soy-free Earth Balance spread.  You honestly can't tell a difference (except in the price.)  So I guess my main weaknesses are seafood, eggs, and cheese.
If you've known me for very long, like 15 minutes or longer, you probably know that I have digestive issues. I'll try not to go into it, in case you're eating right now, or ever want to eat again, but lets just say that I am not "regular."  I have been known to go for weeks without any "action" or "movement."  For the longest time, I thought this was normal, until I started talking about it.  You really aren't supposed to be bloated and crampy all the time!  Crazy!  You're supposed to poop!  Daily!  You aren't supposed to have to over compensate and give yourself the opposite kinds of problems with laxatives and gross, fake fiber drinks!  I also have issues with seasonal allergies, and low levels of energy.  So, I started doing some research on how my diet could be affecting these issues, and I decided to do a week of eating without gluten and minimal dairy.  BIG SHOCKER...I felt so good that week!  Now, I realize that just the mere act of thinking about every food choice and eating so healthily was probably the main reason, however, I have decided to try to make as many of my meals as possible, gluten-free.  Technically, it IS possible to not eat gluten at all ever.  People with Celiac's Disease have to do it every day of their lives.  It is also very possible to eat a completely gluten-free diet, and still not be eating very well.  If you look hard enough, and are willing to spend enough money, you can get a gluten-free version of any wheaty product that you are craving.  You could live off of muffins and pasta and cookies even on a gluten-free diet.  Just not a very good idea.
So, since I really enjoyed the huge amounts of energy that I experienced in all my little bouts of giving up the (apparently) evil gluten, I'm going to keep it up.  Its not a true allergy, so I certainly will still indulge in a few meals here and there, like veggie burgers or normal pizza or just having dinner cooked by someone else without them having to go through my weird checklist of sensitivities or moral dilemmas.  But I will do so knowing that I am going to wake up a little bit more tired and with a little bit of a headache and a mildly puffy stomach.  Honestly, I think that everyone would experience some level of health benefits by avoiding gluten and dairy.  Its just so inconvenient.  We'll see how it goes for me.  And don't worry, I'll let you know.