Urban Dictionary, yes I’m referring to Urban Dictionary
because it makes me laugh, defines a glutard as “One
who does not possess the enzymes necessary to digest gluten, a main ingredient
in wheat products. One who is "glutarded" must only eat gluten-free
foods, such as water, tofu, and air.” I have
Coeliac’s disease and I am a glutard.
One of the reasons I wanted to start a blog was so that I could help
those individuals that were just finding out they are glutarded. It’s a really hard pill to swallow at first,
and I remember feeling so overwhelmed that I didn’t know what to do with
myself. I remember the only thing I ate
for the first two weeks was snickers bars and Chex cereal. I do get asked a lot of questions about being
GF, so hopefully this can be a good resource.
So what is Coeliac’s Disease? Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease
of the small intestine that
occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward. Three years ago, Coeliac’s disease was
unheard of. I can remember going to
restaurants asking for a gluten free menu and the waitress staring at me like I
had two heads. I would walk into a store
and there would be one shelf of gluten free specialty items. I had to be sure to read the expiration dates,
because most of them had been sitting on the shelves for months. Today, I can walk to the end of my street to
Giant Eagle and there’s an entire isle dedicated to GF. I feel like every day new people are reaching
out to me saying, “I’ve been diagnosed with Celiac’s or a gluten allergy.” It makes me wonder why when I was diagnosed
over three years ago, GF was almost unheard of outside of the Autism
world. Now, I feel like doctors are
telling people not to eat gluten to cure everything from headaches, to rashes,
to depression. I’m not a doctor, so
maybe they’re all right. I just know that
with GF becoming a “trend”, it’s definitely bringing on a lot of new marketing
material for food companies everywhere.
November 26, 2009 was the last time I
ate gluten. Yes, Thanksgiving 2009 was
the last time I got to enjoy things such as bread, stuffing, pie, cakes,
cookies, rolls, gravy and green bean casserole.
Now have I eaten these things since then? Yes.
This day in age, you can pretty much find a gluten free version of any
food. Does it taste the same you
ask? No.
But I can’t taste the difference anymore because it’s all I know. On Friday, November 27, 2009 I was officially
diagnosed with Coeliac’s Disease. I now
refer to this day as the day that saved my life. Most people do not understand this. They always say, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I feel so bad for you that you can’t eat good
food.” My first response usually is, “I
eat good food. Actually, I eat better
now than I ever have in my life.”
Secondly, although it has taken me years to get to this point, I have learned
to have a new relationship with food.
It’s no longer something I comfort my emotions with, use as a way to
socially gather, or even “work for”.
It’s become a fuel for my body. I
look at food differently than I used to.
This is a topic for another blog.
Back to GF.
When you have Celiac’s, you literally
cannot eat gluten. Plain and simple. It's not a choice. It’s not like an, “oh
I’ll just eat a little here and there and not cut it out of my diet.” Some people will do this; they will continue
to be sick throughout their lives and will probably end up with a colostomy bag,
missing part of their insides. If gluten
gets into my body, it is not a pretty site.
To be honest, within an hour or two it looks like I’m 6 months pregnant,
sometimes I’m covered in a rash and I spend the next three to five days laying
on the floor of the bathroom crying in pain while having it come out both
ends. I know, probably too graphic. But it’s reality. And it sucks.
But, “it is what it is”. So I’ve
learned to live with it.
I encourage you to purchase a few books
and cookbooks about GF living. Elisabeth
Hasslebeck’s The G Free Diet book is really good. The first cookbook my BFF bought me
was You Won’t Believe it’s Gluten Free,
and I still use it today. But until you can get to the store, or download them onto
a magic device, don’t panic. Here are a
few quick tips:
- You CANNOT eat anything with wheat, rye, or barley. No white, wheat, or bleached flours.
- You CANNOT have beer. Unless it’s a GF beer or cider.
- You CAN eat fruits, veggies, meats. This is pretty much what I eat every day.
- Be careful with marinades. Most are not GF.
- You can still eat chocolate. Just be sure to read all packages.
- You can eat most ice creams (check ingredients), yogurt, most cheeses (no blue cheese), milk, and other dairy products. I have decided to cut out dairy, so these aren’t on my list much anymore.
- Look for items that have xanthan gum. Gluten is a binding agent, so often times xanthan gum is a substitute used for gluten in products.
- You’re going to need to say goodbye to fast food. Plain and simple. There are a few things here and there you can eat, but it’s really not worth it to risk the cross contamination.
- Eating out is difficult. Most places do not fully accommodate for gluten allergies. It is getting better, but be sure to check with the server that the foods are truly prepped GF.
- You’re going to have to start allocating time for food prep every week. I do all of my food prep on Sundays. It takes me about three hours. It’s the only way I can control the environment my food was prepared in and know what every ingredient is.
- Don’t go out and buy everything that is prepackaged, processed and labeled GF. Most of it is very expensive and higher in calories than non GF items. Learn to eat fresh.
- Things you will be surprised are NOT gluten free = soy sauce and Worchester sauce. You need to look for gluten free specific soy sauce. Remember that most Chinese, Thai, and other ethnic foods contain soy sauce. So you will probably have difficulty eating out at these restaurants. PF Changs is by far one of the BEST GF restaurants in the industry. They keep separate prep areas, ingredients and dishes.
- Nothing with bread crumbs. No meatballs, meatloaf, and you’ll need to check ingredients on burgers.
- The foods you love now – pizza, cheeseburgers, sandwiches, subs, everything fried – they are not gluten free. They can all be made to be GF, but to be honest they will never taste the same. So mourn the loss of them now. Don’t hang onto it. And just think of all of the calories you’re skipping out on.
- Find a really good GF bakery in your town for those times when you need a “treat”. If you don’t have one in your town, I know the best in the industry and I know she’ll ship anywhere. Geri is the BEST. HANDS DOWN. http://www.cherbourgbakery.com/index2.php#/home/
- And the most important one. Don’t freak out. Don’t be sad. It’s not like being a glutard is a disability. Think of it as your own special super hero power. And look at it as a new and exciting opportunity to embrace healthy eating and living.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jessica.nasse@gmail.com.
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