Food allergies suck. I, personally, am allergic to peanuts (not like, extremely allergic or anything -- my mouth gets itchy, my face swells up a little; my parents never remember this fact). But I don’t particularly like the taste of peanuts anyway, so I’ve never really understood the pained, sympathetic looks people give me when they hear the terrible news of my minor food allergy.
That all changed this month when my roommate, on doctor’s orders, had to give up gluten and dairy for 30 days. Because I knew how important these two food groups were to my roommate, and because I am a passionate gluten and dairy enjoyer myself, watching someone else’s dietary changes really changed something in me*. (*Most changes occurred to roommate.)
1. Gluten is the part of bread that makes it good
(Gluten free bread will never perform this magic.)
Have you ever seen a small, brick-like loaf of gluten-free bread next to a tall, fluffy gluten-packed one? It’s disheartening. Gluten is the substance in grains that creates elasticity in dough. That stretchiness allows for air bubbles to form in bread, aka the nooks and crannies that are a perfect vehicle for all the butter and cinnamon-sugar I put on my toast. Gluten-free bread does not have this, which is why it’s so small and sad. My roommate mostly just avoided bread in general, finding solace in corn tortillas, makeshift tacos for every meal, and a whole lot of rice.
2. Lots of products have little splashes of dairy or gluten just for s**ts and giggles
Perhaps “just for s**ts and giggles” is the wrong phrasing. But anyone with an extreme food allergy can tell you about the frustration of discovering that the diggity darndest food products contain some food allergen seemingly at random. Salami contains dairy, my roommate discovered to her horror, and her favorite after-midnight sugary, fruity candy contains gluten. My roommate actually had to stop and check the ingredients list on the back of containers when we went grocery shopping. It was so much work, watching her have to be so conscious about the food she was consuming. I was aware of my privilege of not having to worry as much about my diet; if my peanut allergy were worse I would probably be dead already because I suspect I literally wouldn’t remember to read an ingredients list to save my life.
Unsurprisingly, my roommate tended to choose healthier alternatives to our favorite snacks out of necessity, and she actually enjoyed herself*! (*To a point; the candy was a tough blow.)
3. I became aware of all the gluten and dairy I was consuming
via GIPHY (Not inaccurate portrayal.)
My loved ones never miss a chance to compare my eating habits to that of a fussy six year old (I don’t eat many green things voluntarily), but in my mind, I’m just a simple gal with simple tastes. Give me Italian peasant food, only as much as I can fit in my bindle while I ride the rails or something. Bread, meat, and cheese and you can call it a day for me. (I also make sure to drink the occasional orange juice to ward off scurvy.) My roommate abstaining from two out of three of my mains was a wake up call about what exactly I was putting into my body.
4. I started consuming even more gluten and dairy
(Also not inaccurate.)
When my roommate and I would go grocery shopping, I found myself automatically picking up items that we typically share -- English muffins, ice cream, yogurt -- until I remembered that she wouldn’t be having any. Then I would keep all the items in my shopping cart anyway. Maybe it was a reaction to the guilt of having the privilege of enjoying gluten and dairy when she couldn’t; maybe it was because gluten and dairy are just in so many delicious foods. I couldn’t stop myself. I was eating her share of all the bread, crackers, cookies, and mac and cheese in the house, including the items she’d purchased before the diet change started. It was so, so good.
5. Most people in the world are lactose intolerant to some degree
Of course, there can always be too much of a good thing. Although the thirty days is not completely up, my roommate is confident that it was a lactose, not gluten, intolerance that was causing her health problems, which is not at all surprising: 75 percent of the world’s population (including 25 percent of the US) are lactose intolerant. The host of dairy-free milk alternatives available these days may get flack for being trendy, but they make the world of food for those with lactose intolerance easier.
6. I should probably consume less dairy but I am #gluten4lyfe
The most significant thing I learned during the month that I watched my roommate heroically cut gluten and dairy out of her life -- especially after learning about #5 on this list -- is that I’m probably part of the 75 percent of the world’s population that stops being able to digest lactose after childhood. Not to the point of extreme digestive issues, and not even to the point of regular inconvenience (you can bet I will go to my grave eating pizza) (I actually ate a piece of cheese while finishing this article), but with all the extra dairy and gluten I’ve been consuming this month, the truth comes out: I could stand to eat less dairy. Statistically, most of us could. The gluten, however, you can pry from my cold dead hands.
