Elikqitie
Show Host and Producer Travel Gluten Free Podcast
I found my calling for health and wellness after the birth of my first daughter 24 years ago. My journey into health started as a Breastfeeding Counselor with La Leche League, working with other moms to give them support to breastfeeding their newborn babies successfully.
Trying to navigate my own health issues such as candida and fibromyalgia, I found the road to wellness wasn't being met by Western medicine. As my symptoms and disease were not being recognized or completely treated, my experience with doctors ended up being frustrating and ending up with them telling me "there's nothing wrong". At this point, I decided to explore the holistic route.
Starting My Health Journey
From the beginning, I started using supplements, researching alternative health practices, and using massage. This proved extremely beneficial after a car accident in which my car was totaled. With extreme whiplash, and unable to move on my own, the doctors prescribed pain and anti-inflammatory medications, which made me tired and unable to take care of my two small children under the age of 5. A friend introduced me to her acupuncturist and within two weeks, I went from not being able to get off the couch to walking again!
I was so inspired by these results that she opened up my own health food store - Emerald Forest Health Foods in 1998. I enjoyed assisting others who had a similar experience with doctors' misdiagnoses. I walked with others down their holistic path to health, including people recovering from surgery, health-conscious individuals, and cancer survivors. I wanted my clients to have a rich and fulfilling experience at my store, so I added a juice and smoothie bar – well before smoothies were popular. 20 years later, I'm still making mean smoothies!
After my experience with my health food store, I decided to be at home with my two girls for a few years, still researching and practicing alternative health. I continued using natural remedies to resolve my health imbalances and common childhood illnesses for my children. I found holistic medicine to be much gentler and more natural with less side effects than many of the options doctors had given me to resolve health issues.
Fast forward to 2015 when I decided to try the Adrenal Fatigue diet. While practicing this diet, I discovered I was gluten intolerant. I hadn't realized how much this intolerance had affected me until I noticed my stomach wasn't hurting or feeling bloated and I felt better overall.
While looking into the gluten-free diet and lifestyle, I came across symptoms for celiacs. When I found the list of symptoms I also came across medical information which noted untreated celiacs can acquire cancer called adenocarcinoma (cancer of the small intestine). This is the type of cancer my dad passed away from over 10 years prior. The list of celiac symptoms read like a memory from my childhood. I remembered my dad having these same symptoms growing up. My theory is that doctors misdiagnosed him with IBS. Since my family was Italian, the staples of bread and pasta were almost a daily event for dinners. Had my dad known he had celiacs disease, he would have modified his diet, and he would still be with me today.
From the culmination of experience and research, along with my experience with celiacs disease and my love of travel led me to publish my podcast Travel Gluten Free. I realized the far-reaching difficulties of living a gluten-free lifestyle and how isolating this can be. I understand that eating out can be a scary and anxious experience. Travel can magnify the anxiousness for anyone with this disease. It's understandable why so many people with celiacs are afraid to travel! Who wants to be in nerve-wracking situations when you should be relaxed and enjoying yourself? Furthermore, who wants to spend their vacation sick and in bed! I want to give others the information I learned after years of trial and error and finding out what works and what doesn't. My goal is to provide support to all who lead a gluten-free lifestyle, love travel and our community that lives without gluten.
Being gluten-free can be a challenging way of life – even on good days! Let Elikqitie be your guide on your journey to lead a healthy, happy, and enjoyable gluten-free life!
Enjoy Food, Enjoy Travel, Enjoy Life!
Elikqitie
Trying to navigate my own health issues such as candida and fibromyalgia, I found the road to wellness wasn't being met by Western medicine. As my symptoms and disease were not being recognized or completely treated, my experience with doctors ended up being frustrating and ending up with them telling me "there's nothing wrong". At this point, I decided to explore the holistic route.
Starting My Health Journey
From the beginning, I started using supplements, researching alternative health practices, and using massage. This proved extremely beneficial after a car accident in which my car was totaled. With extreme whiplash, and unable to move on my own, the doctors prescribed pain and anti-inflammatory medications, which made me tired and unable to take care of my two small children under the age of 5. A friend introduced me to her acupuncturist and within two weeks, I went from not being able to get off the couch to walking again!
I was so inspired by these results that she opened up my own health food store - Emerald Forest Health Foods in 1998. I enjoyed assisting others who had a similar experience with doctors' misdiagnoses. I walked with others down their holistic path to health, including people recovering from surgery, health-conscious individuals, and cancer survivors. I wanted my clients to have a rich and fulfilling experience at my store, so I added a juice and smoothie bar – well before smoothies were popular. 20 years later, I'm still making mean smoothies!
After my experience with my health food store, I decided to be at home with my two girls for a few years, still researching and practicing alternative health. I continued using natural remedies to resolve my health imbalances and common childhood illnesses for my children. I found holistic medicine to be much gentler and more natural with less side effects than many of the options doctors had given me to resolve health issues.
Fast forward to 2015 when I decided to try the Adrenal Fatigue diet. While practicing this diet, I discovered I was gluten intolerant. I hadn't realized how much this intolerance had affected me until I noticed my stomach wasn't hurting or feeling bloated and I felt better overall.
While looking into the gluten-free diet and lifestyle, I came across symptoms for celiacs. When I found the list of symptoms I also came across medical information which noted untreated celiacs can acquire cancer called adenocarcinoma (cancer of the small intestine). This is the type of cancer my dad passed away from over 10 years prior. The list of celiac symptoms read like a memory from my childhood. I remembered my dad having these same symptoms growing up. My theory is that doctors misdiagnosed him with IBS. Since my family was Italian, the staples of bread and pasta were almost a daily event for dinners. Had my dad known he had celiacs disease, he would have modified his diet, and he would still be with me today.
From the culmination of experience and research, along with my experience with celiacs disease and my love of travel led me to publish my podcast Travel Gluten Free. I realized the far-reaching difficulties of living a gluten-free lifestyle and how isolating this can be. I understand that eating out can be a scary and anxious experience. Travel can magnify the anxiousness for anyone with this disease. It's understandable why so many people with celiacs are afraid to travel! Who wants to be in nerve-wracking situations when you should be relaxed and enjoying yourself? Furthermore, who wants to spend their vacation sick and in bed! I want to give others the information I learned after years of trial and error and finding out what works and what doesn't. My goal is to provide support to all who lead a gluten-free lifestyle, love travel and our community that lives without gluten.
Being gluten-free can be a challenging way of life – even on good days! Let Elikqitie be your guide on your journey to lead a healthy, happy, and enjoyable gluten-free life!
Enjoy Food, Enjoy Travel, Enjoy Life!
Elikqitie
