08 July 2014

COELIAC... IS IT A DISEASE OR A DIET?

The other day I seen this post that caught my eye about a waitress giving out about how people go to restaurants and say that they have a gluten free allergy but they don’t there just on a gluten free diet and then it blabbed on about how true coeliac’s cant eat in normal restaurants because of cross contamination well to certain extent you cant go to some restaurants where they just don’t do anything gluten free or make everything with flour but most restaurants do.

When I was younger I was told I was to be put on a gluten free diet because I was having symptoms of my belly swelling out and I had the usually side effects of being a coeliac which are vomiting, stomach cramps, low iron deficiency, fatigue your usual garbage and ye your probably reading that saying oh my good god I’m a coeliac I have all of them or one or two of them. Don’t stress your more than likely not a coeliac. So then because my number 1 Hun my momma was and still is a coeliac I grew up getting used to eating the food I had to because I didn’t know any different. I would have to bring in my own chocolate muffins on a Friday because I couldn’t eat the ones in school and then eventually the hospital told my mam when she gets to puberty take her of the diet and see how things go and when that happened everything was fine. I ate normal for about 4 years and I was grand. Then in fourth year I got a rash called dermatitis herpepiformif and found out I should of never came off the gluten free diet because once you’re a coeliac your always going to be one. It sucked. Worst news I could of got ye I know being a coeliac is not as bad as having diabetes 1 or 2 and I would know that because my brother has it or having any other kind of disease because you cant exactly die from it. But being a coeliac is so difficult.

Lets just say your cant eat anything nice no curry’s, or pizza, KFC chicken or gravy, your more then welcome to have a burger without the bun but what’s the point? You cant have crisps or biscuits, cereals or bread. Now I am saying your not suppose to eat these things but when your surrounded with them everyday all day its hard to stick to food you don’t exactly enjoy eating. Because wheat makes everything nicer. So they make these gluten free foods and they actually expect us to eat this garb. The pizza tastes like dry dough, the bread use to taste like sick oh and its really small but Lidl made my toasties so much nicer. Now it probably seems easier than it is but gluten is hidden everywhere so you will become a label reader and then you get looked at for that because people think your looking for the calories but no I’m just wondering can I put this in my mouth without getting blisters. Then there’s when you go to restaurants and you have to look at the menu before you sit down or ask do they make there sauces with flour and when your on a first date you don’t really want to be asking does there food suit your dietary needs.

When I tell people I’m a coeliac I always get what’s that? I explain and there like ‘OMG can you die?’ ‘I wouldn’t be able to stick to that!’ 'why would you call it a disease when its a diet?' But then when I eat food that I’m not suppose to eat in front of them and they give me abuse for it like your not suppose to be eating that, don’t eat that, your going to get sick blah blah blah and then I get why would you make yourself sick for or why would you eat that if you know you could damage your Coline, or get bowel cancer, IBS, a rash, depression, infertility, well maybe I should worry about that not you and if you keep nagging me ill just eat more of it because it bothers you more than me. 

I will agree that saying all that does sound abit worrying and I could be shorting my life by eating the foods I shouldn’t be eating but people just don’t understand that being told not to eat these food or this could happen is actually harder then wanting to be on the actually diet. Your crazy if you chose this diet to loose weight because if I had my way I would be swimming in pizza and currys and ye maybe I would be 20 stone and that’s not healthy but sure at least id be eating the food I crave and not the food I’ve to look for on that specific Isle.


Right now in 2014 being a coeliac is not pretty great its better than when I was younger but not great and could be better, so unless you know what its like don’t comment or judge. Put yourself in my shoes go on a gluten free diet and see how you last because its harder than it looks. Coeliac is not a diet its a disease you just have to stick to a diet. Its for life which i have to live with. 

Xoxo

CJ