The Accidental Consumption of Gluten

A few weeks ago, I picked up a package of Bob's Red Mill gluten free waffle mix (or so I thought) from the store along with a couple of other things. It was one of those just-run-in-the-store for just a few items kind of grocery visit. The boys LOVE waffles and using a gluten free mix is cheaper and quite a bit easier than the cashew butter Paleo waffles I used to regularly make. One weekend, I made the waffles for lunch. I remember Bryan commenting on how great the texture was for gluten-free waffles. I just said thanks (not that I really had much to do with it) and didn't think much about it. Just a few minutes after eating the waffles I felt like I needed to lay down. I was not feeling good at all. I felt so tired. I felt so sleepy. I stayed in bed asleep for the rest of the day.
We gave up grains in April of 2012, and after nearly a year without those foods, we slowly added foods back into our diet. We have a good understanding of the way our bodies react to various foods. That's one nice thing about drastically eliminating so many foods from your lives for quite some time. Because I had made waffles using the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free mix several times before and had no effect, I did not even consider something I had eaten for the reason I was so extremely tired.
About two weeks later, I pulled out the waffle mix to make the boys some waffles again. Something caught my eye in the ingredient list. It contained wheat! I turned the package around and it was Bob's Red Mill waffle mix, but it wasn't gluten free. I nearly had a heart attack. How could I have made such a big mistake?
All the details started coming back together. A quick trip into the store must have attributed to grabbing the wrong package. The nice texture comment made more sense. The extreme fatigue and a day in bed must have been because of the gluten.
You know, I've been asked several times during the last couple of years what happens when I eat gluten. I could never answer that question before, because I wouldn't eat gluten. It's something I avoid like the plague. But now I know. If I eat gluten, a bed better be nearby because I'm going to need it. It should be noted that Bryan has eaten gluten a few times at work related events. He doesn't have the extreme reaction I had, but he does feel terrible, too.  Maybe if we did eat gluten more often that wouldn't be the case, but it was just a little confirmation that how we eat and how we live maybe isn't such a strange idea after all.