I ran into a neighbor on my morning walk recently and she said- "I hear you are a celiac, I was just diagnosed 6 months ago."I hadn't thought about my disease in several years. I was diagnosed about 8-9 years ago and have simply learned to live with it. It is an allergy to gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt and oats. The reaction to eating gluten can vary in intensity from person to person. Mostly (for me) it involves gastro-intestinal distress in all of its lovely forms. Some people lose tremendous amounts of weight as their small intestines are decimated. Some have all sorts of symptoms from rashes to migraines. The scariest part is the long term consequences. Because the villi in the small intestine are being destroyed, the uptake of nutrition is impeded so that you are open to other problems like osteoporosis, anemia, dramatic weight loss, etc. (I could go into this but it is medical and boring.)
So I started researching again as I haven't looked in years. I am finding more information on the disease and how people are living with it. Certainly the shopping choices have expanded. Almost every grocery store has a gluten free section. For the most part I have made do with rice, but some of the gluten free breads are almost like the real thing. What I am waiting for is a good gluten free pizza dough. I do have a recipe for the best wheat free cookies you have EVER tasted in your life- peanut butter and chocolate chip!
My friend Michelle and fellow blogger Cookie Sunshine have decided to devote more energy to their health and losing weight. I think that isn't such a bad thing. As a matter of fact it is a good thing. I think I should join them in their quest for health and start being extra careful about what I ingest. I have always described myself as intolerant as opposed to a true celiac because my symptoms are not as severe as some. But I am afraid the lack of symptoms is masking what I am doing to myself. It is those long term consequences that will really get you.
I didn't have a photo of myself in poor health, so this is Henry wearing the dreaded Elizabethan Collar.
