Every day I get a cool little email newsletter called Vital Juice Daily. This e-newsletter usually has fun facts, tips, and links for healthy information. I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I saw the title "Giving Up Gluten" with a picture of Shauna James Ahern's book Gluten Free Girl. (See my earlier post with my praise for Shauna and her cooking class/book signing.) Some Celiacs are annoyed by the recent trendiness of gluten-free eating and media coverage, but I welcome it with open arms.
When I was diagnosed as a toddler in 1981, my parents had a very difficult time finding out anything about Celiac Disease. They sent away for my food by mail order and struggled to get answers about their sick daughter. In this Internet-age, recently diagnosed Celiacs have a plethora of information which is only a click-away. The key is knowing what to look for. Newsletters like the Vital Juice Daily: Giving Up Gluten might introduce the words "Celiac Disease" into a sufferers vocabulary and then lead them to ask their doctors for a test. So what if it is trendy?! Let's tell everyone we know what Celiac Disease is, how we can help each other heal by eliminating gluten from our diets, and that living gluten-free can still mean enjoying life and food.
Thank you Vital Juice Daily.
Labels: "Gluten-Free Girl", "Vital Juice Daily", gluten-free
3 Comments:
Erin,
Thank you for writing about this. I was wonderfully surprised to see that edition of Vital Juice this morning too!
As far as the trendiness goes? Oh heavens, how could awareness be bad? If the vast majority of people who have celiac don't know it, then coverage is really healing people.
And it was such a joy to meet you, back in October. I hope it happens again soon!
Awareness isn't bad, but it seems to me that the marketing of gluten-free food has overtaken awareness of why people would be gf and how they can be tested. To people shopping in health food stores, "gluten-free" can end up seeming something inherently good instead of something mainly good for people diagnosed with something such as celiac disease or a wheat allergy.
I can think of at least four negatives to going gf without being tested. First, it is likely to cost a person more money. Second, it can make life more difficult for the dieter and those around the dieter. Third, it can make testing harder at a later date. Fourth, it can make monitoring the diet harder, too.
David, I don't really see the negatives you mentioned. The same arguments could be made on points 1 & 2 for any healthier eating - organic foods, vegetarian, or raw diets. Eating gluten-free is healthier even for non-celiacs. My research years ago showed 25% of Americans, while not totl celiacs, have some type of wheat intolerance. Plus, most GF products are made with more nayural products.
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