Having been diagnosed with Celiac Disease nearly 3 years ago, I have seen this little known illness become an increasing problem in many people’s lives. From gluten sensitivity to gluten intolerance to Celiac disease, more and more people are having a harmful reaction to this tiny, glue-like protein found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. There are many advantages to a world where awareness to gluten and its potentially adverse effects are known. The problem, as I see it, has to do with the solutions to this ailment found in our supermarkets, often in our doctors’ offices and most problematically, in our media. To me it seems as though there is this idea being pushed that gluten free means healthy. For those with Celiac, it does mean your body will once again get healthy and heal itself from the harm gluten has caused it but it is not automatically mean a healthy diet. Pizza is not great for you whether it is gluten free or not.
Shortly after I was diagnosed, someone recommended I watch “The View” since one of the hosts, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, has Celiac Disease and had been talking about it on the show. The segment I saw consisted mostly of her and another actress speaking with, or rather interrupting, Peter Green, a well-known doctor at the forefront of this disease.
The part that I want to focus on is what happened at the end of the segment when a cart was wheeled out, displaying foods you can and cannot eat when allergic to gluten. They started with the obvious wheat, rye, and barley grains while also pointing out the not so obvious products with gluten hidden in them like soy sauce, bbq sauce and Rice Krispies. They then moved on to the substitute foods like gluten free bread, waffles, pizza and finished off with a variety of gluten free cookies.
Where were the fruits and vegetables? Or the meat, fish and rice?
I am the first to admit that sometimes you need some of those gluten free cookies or breads. I just don’t want the emphasis and discussion about this disease to be about all about the new gluten free products on the market that act as substitutes for the gluten filled foods we were once used to.
Food’s role in American life is a conflicted and disturbing one; from millions of obese citizens to millions affected with eating disorders; most people’s relationship to food needs re-evaluation. I hope for most diagnosed with Celiac disease, the strict change in diet marks a break with some of their former, poor eating habits. There is already too much of a reliance on processed foods, which are often unhealthy, whether gluten filled or gluten free. Not all of the special gluten free products are unhealthy, but what I want to stress is that this idea of replacing the old gluten filled foods with the gluten free variety can be problematic.
We seem to have forgotten that we have always lived in a world full of naturally gluten free food. What I want to do with this blog, which most blogs about this disease overlook, is to remember and explore this idea of naturally gluten free food and recipes, emphasizing the fact that while we have to be very aware of the food we eat, there is a lot that we can eat that is not tailored to be gluten free. Recipes in general can be very extensive with seemingly never ending lists of ingredients. Gluten free recipes are even more exhausting and often very expensive. The recipes I post will be from a variety of sources; cookbooks, magazines, restaurants, friends, and some of my own, not necessarily meant for a gluten free audience, but naturally gluten free nonetheless.
As hard and frustrating as a gluten free lifestyle can be, I think being diagnosed with this disease should be a health check, pushing you to eat healthier and enjoy food again. Since the cure to this disease is solely based on a strict change in diet, we should really embrace a new world of food.