Dear people who think gluten free is just a trend,

I should start this letter far more harshly, but I’ll just be generous and think that you simply don’t understand the difficulty of living with a gluten allergy. This letter is for those of you who don’t understand that gluten free isn’t a fad diet. This isn’t another way for the upper-middle class to assert dominance over those they believe are lower.

Let me ask you a question.

Once upon a time, there was a boy. Everyone in this boy’s family was tall. His father was tall. His grandfather was tall. His cousin was tall. So, for his whole life he was told, one day he would be tall too. Then, finally that day came. Then it went, and he wasn’t tall. Why wasn’t this little boy growing up to be the big boy he was supposed to be? What could it possibly be?

Now here’s another question.

What if something that you were eating was actually killing you? In the United States we constantly worry about Genetically Modified Organisms and Cloning. But what if these aren’t the only problems?

Well, I can tell you first hand that they aren’t. Let’s go back to that little boy.

When that little boy never started to grow, his mother got worried. She took him to see a doctor, and that doctor ended up saving his life. By doing a simple screening the doctor found the little boy had Celiac’s Disease.

According to The University of Chicago, celiac disease is: an inherited autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person who has celiac disease consumes gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, the individual’s immune system responds by attacking the small intestine and inhibiting the absorption of important nutrients into the body. Undiagnosed and untreated, celiac disease can lead to the development of other autoimmune disorders, as well as osteoporosis, infertility, neurological conditions and in rare cases, cancer.

Now, celiac can be found by a simple blood test, yet it isn’t tested for at birth, or really until symptoms begin to show themselves. The problem with this is that symptoms (such as fatigue, bloating, weight loss, inability to lose weight, delayed growth, etc) don’t immediately trigger the thought of Celiac. Most people don’t even realize that these symptoms have a cause.

In a study done by The University of Chicago, 3 million, healthy, average Americans have celiac disease. Though this isn’t the most worrying part. The problem is that 97 percent of those people are undiagnosed.

So what does that mean? It means that 910,000 parents think that the whole grain toast they are feeding their children is helping them, but instead, it’s killing them.

The worst part of this problem is that it is an easy fix. Screening, a simply blood test, can identify if a patient has the genetic marker for celiac disease.

Though, that’s not the end of it. Once we can identify when people are sick, the problem becomes being able to eat properly prepared, safe food.

Celiac can become sick off even the smallest contamination. But what’s almost worse is the stigma that accompanies the gluten free diet.

So many people make the incorrect assumptions when thinking about gluten free diets. This isn’t just about trying to conform to society’s idea of beautiful. For many people the diet isn’t just a diet; it’s a lifestyle.

When someone with celiac disease has to get new pans, new food, new makeup, new lotion, and new medicines, it isn’t just a lifestyle change. It’s expensive. It’s difficult. But it’s totally necessary for survival.

So, remember that little boy from earlier. That’s my little brother. I hope you think of him, and the daily struggle he goes through the next time you try to make an uneducated joke at the expense of someone struggling with a genetic disease.

Every time I hear someone make a comment about the gluten free diet, or more aptly, the celiac lifestyle, I tell them his story. The story of daily struggle. The story of not wanting to be a burden. The story of being afraid to eat out at a restaurant, or at a friends house.

It’s important to remember that everyone is going through his or her own personal battle. Educate yourself before you comment.

Sincerely yours,

A concerned sister