Gluten wars

I've felt dodgy ever since getting back from the last South Sudan trip. Cough, bunged up head, copious snot and a terrible stomach. Unless it's something obviously tropical such as malaria I don't feel like doctors in the UK can advise that well. Hayfever I am tempted to rule out even though it sounds like vicious pollen has caused a pandemic this year.

Stomach woes kicked in when I snaffled a spaghetti carbonara in Nairobi after a few weeks of no dairy and nothing rich. I realise that an intolerance to certain foods has been building for years, only now attacking with a vengeance. Something about the way that bread, cereals and cakes are processed in the UK does not agree with me in the slightest, although the taste agrees hugely. I am starting to make (some) conscious choices about avoiding gluten heavy foods and although it's hard having such a random routine, I can already see benefits.

I went to London after work to join Jackie's birthday meal - a nice bit of Japanese in torrentially rainy Kings Cross. Positive effect on the stomach. The Japanese never look bloated or as if they're dashing to the lavatory every twenty minutes.