Surprising side benefits of going Gluten free.

Other than feeling better and having more energy and not having the issues that eating gluten caused there have been other side effects from being gluten free that I did not expect.

The ability to lose weight was an amazing side effect of going gluten free.  I dropped around twenty pounds rather quickly and have been able to keep a majority of it off.  Being PCOS and lacking the correct hormones to lose weight has been an issue in my life.  So when I started dropping some of the extra it was a great feeling.

Less aches and pains: for those that have gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance or celiac, it can hurt.  Since you are not getting everything you need from food due to the food not being absorbed correctly things like joints and muscles can start to hurt for no real reason.  This can get annoying and there is only so many nsaids you can take to make the pain go away before they start messing with your stomach.  Now after being gluten free for about a year, most of those aches have gone away. 

The most surprising side effect from being gluten free is that my eyesight has gotten better.  I went to an eye appointment last week and found that my prescription had dropped from -2.5 and -3.0 to -2.0 and -2.5.  .  My prescription hasn't been this good since I was a junior in high school.  Who knew that by having an intestinal issue and an allergy/sensitivity to gluten could affect eyesight. Not only that, but my eye photograph (digital retinal photography) came back with no issues.  I know that I don't have diabetes (I knew this from the numerous studies they have done due to having PCOS, they assume you have diabetes.) I don't have high blood pressure or an issue with my cholesterol, so in essence it was a great health check as well as an eye exam.  Downside of all of this is that I had to pay for new lenses for my glasses.
The Doctor explained this as the eyes will show a person how healthy they are, while I will always have glasses since my eye is slightly off of what is perfect, my prescription strength can be an indicator to something going wrong.  I stayed the same prescription strength for a few years after high school and was thinking of getting my eyes fixed when I started changing a little each year.  That is probably when I started having issues with celiac.  So watch those little clues since they can tell you a lot about yourself.