So I was happy to discover yesterday a mass market magazine for people with food sensitivities called “Living Without.”

Odd title, I know, and sort of pessimistic too, but when polled, the magazine’s readers said they liked the “Living Without” name and wished to continue with it.

Inside this issue, you’ll find articles and interviews, many with a spiritual or inspirational tenor. The publsher, Peggy Wagener, cannot digest gluten, a byproduct of wheat found in viritually all packaged foods, as well as almost all breads, cakes, and cookies. Phew. The gluten allergy is a ruthless one, but something all too familiar to folks diagnosed with celiac disease, a complete inability to digest wheat. Ads for gluten-free baked goods crowd this magazine’s glossy pages.

“Living Without” provides healthy recipes as well as articles explaining how long it can take to get diagnosed with allergies to foods the rest of our culture ingests routinely. Sufferers turn eating well into a transformational quest. There’s an excellent testimonial in the most recent issue by Suzanne Peterson, a woman with a peanut allergy that could kill her if she’s not careful. Even if you don’t have any food allergies in your immediate family, the mag provides highly interesting articles by writers who describe the pain of being out of the mainstream, on the edge, vulnerable to seemingly harmless things. Then the talk always turns to how they all grow in their awareness, locate true sustenance, and build their sensitive bodies up again. Fascinating reading!