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Imagine being hungry and then walking into a room lined with exquisite appetizers, gourmet entrées, and professionally decorated desserts. As you look around the display, your mouth begins to water as you contemplate which food you will try first. Life could not get any better! You’ve hit the food lottery!
Now, imagine walking into the same room lined with the exact same food. Your hunger is the same and your mouth is still watering. This time though, your state of mind is different. In fact, it might even feel like the worst day of your life. There is not ONE thing that you can safely eat without the fear of getting sick. This is the life for someone with food allergies.
Two years ago, this reality shook up my life when two of my children were diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. Although the news was hard to digest (pun intended), it was a relief to have answers to their suffering.
People with gluten sensitivity may exhibit a variety of different signs and symptoms including (but not limited to) headaches, migraines, stomachaches, brain fog, depression, joint pain, and skin rashes.
My son, Ethan, had a headache that never went away. It wasn’t as severe or debilitating as a migraine, but it was always there. Sometimes, he would awake from sleep with terrible stomach pain and cramps followed by throwing up. The “magical” time of the night was always 11 o’clock. My husband and I were becoming increasingly concerned; but it took a while for us to associate Ethan’s symptoms and behavior with food sensitivity because it appeared to us to be result of food grazing and possibly overeating, as his episodes tended to happen after being in a social setting. My daughter, Tessa, didn’t exhibit signs until we were linking Ethan’s experiences to gluten sensitivity. At the end of that summer, Tessa, in tears, would lie in her bed at night in the fetal position holding her belly. Initially, I wondered if her behavior was simply “nerves” about the upcoming school year; but I knew it was serious and needed to be addressed when she lay down on the ground crying at a local triathlon after eating a hamburger with a “gluten-laced” bun.
According to the National Foundation for Celiac Disease Awareness (NFCA),
“research estimates that 18 million Americans have gluten sensitivity. That’s six times the amount of Americans who have celiac disease.”
The NFCA defines gluten sensitivity as describing
“those individuals who cannot tolerate gluten and experience symptoms similar to those with celiac disease but yet who lack the same antibodies and intestinal damage as seen in celiac disease … Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of the protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the finger-like villi of the small intestine. When the villi become damaged, the body is unable to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream, which can lead to malnourishment. Left untreated, people with celiac disease can develop further complications such as other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, and cancer.” (www.celiaccentral.org)
Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease (autoimmune disease) was not new to me or my family. Nearly 20 years ago, my mom, aunt, and older sister were all diagnosed with celiac disease. My older sister’s son was also diagnosed at age four. About five years ago, my younger sister and her son were coronated with the gluten sensitivity crown. Since then, all of our family gatherings have been gluten-free. Although I knew about living this lifestyle, it was hard realizing that our life would never be the same again, 24/7. Now before we embark on family outings or vacations, we must research our dining options. When my children go to friends’ houses or birthday parties, I talk to the parents about alternative food options, and I am prepared to make and send items for them to eat.
The good news about being gluten-free these days is that there are so many options at the grocery store and many gluten-free recipes, too. One piece of gluten-free shopping advice: Pay attention to the sugar load. Some prepackaged items contain additional sweeteners to compensate for taste. The gluten-free label doesn’t necessarily mean that the item is healthier. It just means that a gluten-intolerant person can eat that food without a reaction.
So many positives have come out of what I initially felt was a negative for my family. We have a better understanding of what we are consuming, which, in this society, is important regardless of gluten sensitivity. My personal choice is to live a gluten-free lifestyle alongside my family out of respect for them. My mission is to provide healthy gluten-free food. This inspiration and passion have led me to pursue a career as a health and wellness coach, focusing on helping families transition to a new lifestyle. I am currently taking classes to get my certification, and I will be able to start seeing clients in the spring of 2015. Although at this time I am unable to give advice with a certification attached to my name, I am always willing to talk to someone in need of a little direction. I have many years of experience cooking and buying gluten-free, and I am passionate about helping others.
The vision of the room lined with exquisite food doesn’t have to be haunting to those who cannot partake. It may be just the necessary motivation to do something—to turn a negative into something highly positive and good.
