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By \u00c1ine Curtin<\/p>\n
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Hi, I\u2019m \u00c1ine and I\u2019m an alcoholic. Wait no\u2026 coeliac\u2026. yes, I am one of those people who ask \u201cis that gluten free?\u201d but it\u2019s not by choice! It\u2019s actually quite similar to being an alcoholic or even a drug addict. You know how good the stuff is and you know how to get it but you also know how bad it is for you. Sometimes when people ask \u201cwhy aren’t you having some pizza?\u201d I feel like it\u2019s something to be ashamed of. I won\u2019t get into too much detail about what effect it has on my body but basically, the small intestine is broken down by the gluten and it\u2019s impossible to intake important nutrients like iron, meaning most coeliacs present as anaemic before being tested for the disease. For more information, check out the Coeliac Society of Ireland, it\u2019s actually something that’s very dangerous if undiagnosed.<\/p>\n
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Something that has been ingrained into the Irish people is you can\u2019t have a \u201cbald\u201d cup of tea. But as a coeliac, you get the horribly awkward conversation that normally goes like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure you won\u2019t have something?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo I won\u2019t, I\u2019m fine thanks.\u201d (Internally cringing at everyone thinking this is by choice)<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I make you something? What about a \u2026.. Wait what can you eat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then comes the whole \u201cpizza, bread, cakes, biscuits \u2026 anything with wheat, oats or barley etc.\u201d (Yes that means no beer too!)<\/p>\n
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Then chances are you will then be offered a rice cake or two with them just awkwardly letting the conversation drift and evacuating out of the situation as soon as possible. If I\u2019m honest I am basing this story on one aunt in particular, she always seems to make a big deal of it. Always asking the same questions or making sure to loudly say something like \u201coh I don’t have anything Gluten Free\u201d… Others seem to understand I\u2019m an adult and I am capable of understanding that she isn\u2019t going to have gluten free things on tap. It\u2019s like she has a default button that makes her do this exact thing every time I visit.<\/p>\n
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One question I get very often is \u201cwhat would happen if you ate something with gluten in it?\u201d this question is something I love getting though, because it\u2019s one that you can have fun with. I remember my cousin asked me and my reply was, very blatantly may I add, \u201cOh I\u2019ll just blow up\u201d or if I\u2019m feeling very morbid I\u2019ll say \u201cOh I just drop dead\u201d\u2026. They need to be used with caution though \u2026 some people are extremely gullible. At a stretch it could be brushed off as ignorance of the disease (yes, it\u2019s a disease) but really it\u2019s just plain silliness, just imagine someone dropping dead from a couple of breadcrumbs?! If this were true my enemies would have the perfect murder weapon!<\/p>\n
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When coeliacs are at a restaurant, 90% of the time the first thing they look for are the letters GF or Gluten Free alternatives available (if they deny this they are lying, believe me). The worst thing about having to eat in a restaurant that doesn’t have this facility is that you have to ask the waitress\/waiter what they have for us awkward patrons. They normally don’t know so they head back to ask the chef and that normally takes an extra 5 minutes. That\u2019s one of the worst things about being coeliac, having to make my friends wait every time we go out to eat. If I could be as bold to make a request of the restaurants on campus and in the Castletroy area, make Gluten Free alternatives and advertise it on your menus! It honestly makes such a difference and with the amount of people in Ireland excluding gluten from their diets increasing tenfold, it will be well worth the reprint.<\/p>\n
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The recent trend of healthy eating and becoming a gluten free, lactose free vegan annoys me if I\u2019m honest. I think people who eat healthy should be commemorated, as I am writing this I\u2019m making my way through honey and cinnamon gluten free cookies, but it\u2019s when people take on these trends and fad diets that really gets on my nerves and they only do it to lose weight. Now people who are genuine and can\u2019t handle eating meat because of their morals have my respect. They see something they don’t agree with and decide they are going to have nothing to do with it. Deciding to commit to something like restricting your diet in any case is something that should be thought out and not used as a quick fix to losing weight, trust me, avoiding something like gluten does not mean you are going to lose weight. Also I really couldn\u2019t care less if you think farmers are being \u2018cruel\u2019 to cows for milking (yes I have gotten this lecture), if that\u2019s what you think then fine, that\u2019s your opinion. However do NOT try and tell me all this and try to convert me!<\/p>\n
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Sometimes being coeliac has the opposite effect and you gain weight. Yes, your options are limited to fresh produce like fruit, veg and meat that hasn\u2019t been processed but if I\u2019m honest since I have gone coeliac, my intake of fruit and veg hasn\u2019t increased that much. It means instead of having the chicken fillet roll then you end up eating the salad but then you end up getting something else as well like a bar of chocolate or a snack bar. People think just because you\u2019re not eating carbohydrates that are associated with bread and pasta but realistically it just means you\u2019re eating gluten free alternatives of them. The amount of gluten free pizzas I have eaten since starting college is scandalous. That\u2019s a 9 inch pizza all by myself because people either feel guilty for eating something Gluten Free or they can\u2019t imagine eating something that they perceive to taste like cardboard. I can\u2019t count the amount of times I have baked something at home and my dad has refused to try it. If I could bet on it, I\u2019d be seriously rich!<\/p>\n
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In conclusion: we coeliacs don’t die if we eat single bread-crumbs, making changes to your diet should be a commitment to becoming healthier, not to lose weight. The letters GF on a menu are like little gems of gold that make my day (sometimes my week), and my dad is very unsupportive of my attempt to making GF foods at home.<\/p>\n