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One Year Since My Celiac Diagnosis
What I want more people to know
Over the past year, eating became fraught with anxiety and frustration. Thinking that a food was safe to eat when it actually wasn’t. Staring blankly into the distance while everyone else ate food I couldn’t. Making those around me paranoid about getting the smallest bit of gluten where I might touch or eat.
In case you’re not familiar with celiac disease — I wasn’t until recently — any gluten eaten with this condition “damages your small intestine’s lining and prevents it from absorbing some nutrients.”
In the midst of figuring out how to best navigate this disease, I’m grateful for my friends and family members who accommodate and advocate for me. They all either already understood or learned along the way these ideas — ones I’d love more people to know about celiac and gluten-free eating:
Gluten-Free Isn’t (Just) a Fad
Just because gluten-free food is expensive doesn’t mean it’s some luxury. Regular food prices are already insane right now. Gluten-free options are almost always more expensive, often for a smaller amount, too. Very few people want to habitually get a worse deal.
People often tell me I’m lucky because gluten-free options are much more prevalent now. That’s not…
