As a frequent user of the internet, I have come across many uninformed comments regarding eating gluten-free as well as Celiac Disease itself. So, I thought I would take this time to clear up some things concerning this. I have come across many people who think that eating gluten-free is the best thing ever, it really has become a "fad" but this article is speaking from the point of view of those who must eat gluten-free for medical reasons.
First, I will explain what gluten is which will help in understanding which foods do and do not contain gluten. Gluten can be defined as, "a protein present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough." Including wheat, it is also found in barley and rye products. This means that gluten is present in any food that contains these grains which would include breads, pasta, crackers, pastries, dressings/sauces, beer, anything with a breading or crust, etc. The list of foods that contain wheat or wheat derivatives is quite extensive.
Now that you know what gluten is, I will explain what Celiac Disease is. Celiac Disase is a disease in which the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food and absorbing nutrients from food. Basically, Celiac is an autoimmune disease, so because of this, the villi (the tiny hair-like projections of the small intestines which helps the body absorb nutrients from food) becomes damaged and can no longer adequately absorb nutrients. This is why many Celiac patients experience a stunt in their growth if they do not get diagnosed in time. Along with that, there are numerous other symptoms that Celiac patients experience if they ingest gluten. These would include a medley of intestinal problems such as severe abdominal pain, bowel problems, and vomiting, as well as irritability, migraines, bone, muscle, or joint pain, etc. There is no cure for Celiac Disease, the only thing that can be done is to eat a strictly gluten-free diet. It also is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed in many people. If left untreated (no dietary changes), over years of intestinal damage, it can cause other more severe conditions such as "leaky gut" syndrome, intestinal/stomach ulcers, and even intestinal cancer.
One thing that annoys me, personally, is coming across someone who tells me Celiac Disase is "all in my head." And yes, I have heard that from numerous people. My response to them is, I cannot possibly fake the pain I was in for years before being diagnosed. Celiac is a medically recognized disease and it is diagnosed by a blood test. For a look into how uninformed some people are regarding Celiac and eating gluten-free, take a look at this video.
My issues with Joy Behar here:
1) She mentions how "irritating" it is when people in restaurants ask for gluten-free food. My problem with that is, why does she care? If someone is paying for their food and they're the ones eating it, it has no effect whatsoever on her. Yes, Celiac patients and people with gluten sensitivity have to eat gluten-free but that doesn't mean they want to eat at home ALL the time, they want to go out to restaurants sometimes too and be able to eat out without being sick. This means asking the servers questions about the food and trying to find something gluten-free in the restaurant that they can eat. (Luckily, many restaurants have separate gluten-free menus now which can help a lot with this).
2) She says, "how many people actually have Celiac Disease? I'm sure it's just a bunch of bologna." Well, if Joy would do her research, Celiac Disease affects nearly 2 million people in the United States. While yes, that's a small number compared to the over 300 million U.S. residents, it is still a large amount of people living with the disease.
3) She claims if a celebrity has it then there will be a cure. However, we have yet to see cures for cancer, ALS, diabetes, etc. so that was simply an ignorant comment overall. I have no idea what point she was trying to make there.
This is just a glimpse into the many ignorant comments Celiac patients get regarding the disease and eating gluten-free. I have also had people tell me, "Really? stop being so dramatic and eat *insert food containing gluten here*." This just shows me that many people still do not understand the disease and they have no idea how much pain Celiac patients experience if any amount of gluten is ingested.
But anyway, moving on, I will now talk about how to eat gluten-free because for Celiac patients, it really is a science. There are numerous "gluten-free" foods that can be found in stores now. However, even that can be risky. I always closely examine the labels and ingredients list of any foods I buy in stores. If a gluten-free food is processed in a plant that also processes gluten containing foods, cross-contamination can occur which can still hurt Celiac patients. This is why, for me, I prefer to have a diet full of fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits rather than store-bought processed foods. My mom cooks strictly gluten-free foods, mostly from scratch with simple, basic ingredients that we know do not contain gluten.
Adjusting to a gluten-free diet can be extremely hard, it's not simply changing around what I eat, it's a complete lifestyle change. The hardest thing is going to parties with friends and seeing people eat regular pizza, doughnuts, cookies, cake, and all these things I cannot eat. It makes for an entirely awkward situation and having to explain over and over again why I'm not eating. It is especially hard during the holidays, my mom has to make special gluten-free foods for me because at family get-togethers, no one else cooks anything gluten-free that I can eat. All of this is understandable to me though, I don't expect everyone else to alter their lives just because of my disease, it just makes it difficult when I'm in social settings. My mom has probably been the most supportive person throughout the process of my diagnosis and switching to gluten-free food. I know I couldn't have properly dealt with it without her.
So, my point with this article was hopefully to shed some light on Celiac Disease and eating gluten-free, and to explain that not everyone who eats gluten-free is doing it because of the "fad diet" it has turned into, many people simply have no choice.
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