Celiac’s Disease
I. My Ride Yesterday
First Off, I would like to mention I had an excellent ride yesterday:
I wasn’t planning on riding up the Quarry, but by the time I got there it seemed like an excellent idea.
I got about 2/3rds of the way up stopped for a mechanical check,
and my rear brake was rubbing.
I think, my ascent up the Quarry would have been a lot more fun if that hadn’t been the case.
I headed down NSP, I swear, I saw/heard a freaked out rattler, body erect, about 2 feet standing off the ground. Glad I was going down hill.
Over to Cherry Hill.
Nice TT section on the way.
Once up Cherry, I , of course, stopped form my fuel: 3 ounces of hamburger with pepper jack, and a special treat today, GF chocolate chip cookies.
It doesn’t look like much.
Looking more closely there are so many wild flowers, and colors it will take your breath away.
Take the Time to Take a Closer Look and you will see True Beauty.
I practice a little Feng Shui:
Me and My Rudys, Flying home TT style.
II. Celiac’s Disease:
Is more of a social disorder and we should probably think about offering Social Support to those of us who suffer from Celiac’s Disease.
It’s an isolating disease.
One that people don’t generally understand.
Sure we understand, cancer, chemotherapy, heart disease, these are easy to understand.
Celiac’s disease, probably not so much.
I have suffered for years.
I suffered my entire adolescence undetected.
It can hide in many ways: rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, type II diabetes, fibromylagia, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, psoriasis, unexplained joint pain, chronic diarrhea, bloating, constipation, is linked to pancreatic cancer, just to name a few.
Celiac’s Disease is an Auto-Immune Disease. That means when the body is exposed to gluten, immunity to other diseases and virus’ , as well as bacteria, is null.
So, in other words, when I eat gluten, my body does not have the proper tools to fight off other types of infection.
It is difficult to diagnose. The best way to diagnose Celiac’s Disease is with a small intestinal biopsy. And even then, it can be missed.
Why are we seeing such a rise in Celiac’s Disease Diagnosis?
My hypothesis is the type of GMO wheat that we are eating, Dwarf Wheat. Dwarf Wheat, has 3 x the amount of gluten found in traditional wheat. Many Celiac sufferers can eat wheat when they travel to Europe, no problem. That is because GMO foods/crops are banned there.
So why is Celiac’s Disease an isolation disease?
Some of it depends on how sensitive you are to gluten.
In our culture, friends and family celebrate around food and drinking.
Going over to people’s houses, or going out to eat.
After 11 years of being Gluten Free, as my MD puts it, “the good news is, your intestines are no longer bleeding into your blood stream, but they are bleeding into each other”.
My sensitivity is likely exasperated by the 4-7 years a I worked at Imo’s Pizza, and the other 5-7 years I worked at Olive Garden. Which means eating nothing but tons if Italian Food for decades.
I’m pretty sensitive.
I am a “No Gluten” person. What does that mean?
Gluten Free by law, only has to be 98% Gluten Free.
This makes it very difficult for people to navigate around labels. People, often times think, they are doing something sweet by buying a GF product, it’s probably only 98%, and that other 2% of Gluten makes me sick, very, sick. Sick for 3 days.
And that is, if and only if, I am not exposed to a virus or a bacteria, when my immune system is suppressed.
When I am sick, I feel like I have the flu.
I only know it’s not the flu, because I check my temperature, and with Gluten Flu, there is no fever. Then, I can go on my merry little way, but it is very difficult, just means more coffee to be able to accomplish the ADL(Activities of Daily Living) that I am accustomed to. But I just trudge through it.
So when I am invited over to people’s houses, it’s very difficult
a) to explain to them what I can and can not eat
b) I can get sick through cross contamination of appliances, and utensils of the kitchen, or even when my food touches a part of the grill that had gluten on it at one time.
When I go out to eat, it’s even more difficult.
Cross contamination is even a bigger issue.
In this day in age, there is no knowing what is added to the food, even before the chef handles it.
Most people who work at restaurants don’t know what’s in the food, so it’s difficult to ask, or you do ask, and you get an answer which may be incorrect.
Most servers don’t want to take the time to find out, or care enough to ensure that your food is not only lacking certain ingredients, prepared in a ‘safe’ part of the kitchen (gluten free designated is how it should be done) and cooked in a way that it does not come in contact with other food.
And they look at me, like I am crazy.
Ordering is always such a treat.
And if I have to send something back due it not being made, watch out.
Everyone at the table cringes.
I would rather stick a dagger in my heart than feel that.
It’s not that I don’t want to come over to your house to eat,
It’s not that I don’t want to go out to eat at a restaurant.
Trust me I do.
It’s just that I don’t want to take the chance to be sick for a week.
I hope you can understand that.
So sometimes, I eat before I meet you, or I eat before I come over.
People find this offensive.
Like recently I went to a friends for a “Pork Roast”.
I didn’t eat, there wasn’t anything I could eat, there were no labels out, and everything had sauces and garnishes with it.
And everyone was staring at me because I wasn’t eating.
I could feel their stare saying, “no wonder she’s skinny, she doesn’t eat”.
Well, I do eat, I eat a butt load.
I am actually bigger than I was when I was eating gluten. About 15 pounds. That’s another symptom of Celiac’s, low weight. But also, high weight and bloat can be a symptom, maybe you’ve heard of “wheat belly”
It’s very difficult for me to be put into those types of situations,
or situations where I need to explain everything, the can and can not have list.
It’s just hard.
It’s also uncomfortable, it’s uncomfortable for me, and it’s uncomfortable for the other person too.
So then, let’s add the sulfate, sulfite, list into it.
I can only have Apple Cider Vinegar.
Alcohol contains gluten. So no extracts, including Vanilla.
I don’t do yeast. I have the same reaction as I do Gluten. (I will have it every few months, just because I can’t stand it any more)
I don’t do yellow cheese, the stuff that makes the cheese yellow has gluten in it.
No rennet, that can be found in white cheese too.
No Wheat, Barley, or Rye or any derivative of. Lots of preservatives, come from wheat, or fossil fuels (related to the sulfur allergy)
No Malts
No “Natural Flavors” 80% of those come from Gluten
No Magnesium Sulfates (frequently found in bottled water as an additive)
No Spring Water (can be high in sulfates, some are; some aren’t; but I need to be in charge of that)
I don’t drink tap water (can be high in sulfates)
No Caramel Color, comes from Gluten
No condiments or dressings because they contain grain vinegar, unless made with apple cider vinegar.
No Soy Sauce (contains wheat and/or alcohol)
No Sauces: at restaurants probably thickened with wheat. All sauces are likely to contain sulfites, natural flavors and vinegar.
I don’t do onion and garlic right now because I have an allergy to that. I do have it once a week, but don’t assume today’s the day.
Onion and Garlic which includes all bulbous: leeks, scallions, tumeric, ginger, chives, etc.
It’s very complicated, it’s a very complicated list.
What I can have:
meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, all without any seasoning (salt and pepper work great, I do chili, red and green, but no chili powder)
As for alcohol, it either has gluten or sulfites in it.
And I just don’t care for drinking any more.
I had a problem with it when I was younger, and when all you can do is drink white tequila, it gets kind of boring. Although I love Silver Patron.
I don’t like the way it feels for 3 days after.
**The Celiac’s list has been updated, I use the old list, because it works for me. If I don’t follow the old list which includes vinegar and alcohol, I have intestinal issues.