I’m sure everyone is all too familiarized with the current buzzword “gluten-free.” This label has made its appearance in the food industry recently, seen on products more so than ever before. Many people are skeptical, seeing gluten-free options as a health crazed trend rather than an alternative for people who are unable to consume easily accessible gluten-filled products.
As someone living with a gluten allergy, I often find it frustrating when people roll their eyes at the buzzword, assuming I’m cutting out wheat bread to be up to date with the ins and outs of the health world. This is incorrect- I’m not choosing to refrain from the goodness that is soft-pretzels and cinnamon buns, but rather my body has decided against them and left me to fend for myself. The fact that gluten-free products are infiltrating mainstream dining should be fully embraced.
I read an article in a popular women’s magazine last summer that left me absolutely irked. To summarize, the article addressed common food allergies as being a new form of eating disorder, and was making large generalizations about the types of people cutting certain foods out of their diets. The author particularly harped on gluten.
The author of this article took the stance that having alternative food options, including dairy-free and gluten-free products, is a negative. She backed this up by saying that having alternative options to mainstream foods are making people more aware of their diets, causing people to go to dietary extremes, eat less and ultimately develop an eating disorder. While this may have happened in some rare cases, this is not the outcome of gluten-free products being available on grocery store shelves. The purpose of the article was to ultimately say that having gluten free products easily available is a bad thing, and this ignorance left me shocked.
This author had one small skewed view on alternative food and did not take into account people that are forced to cut foods out of their diets for medical reasons. It’s not uncommon that some people, including that particular author, don’t believe or take seriously food allergies.
Food allergies can be hard for people to relate to when they’re not inflicted with them. I’ve had one too many encounters with people harmlessly waving cookies in my face and saying “you can’t eat this!” Oh yes, I am well aware what I can and can’t eat and don’t need to be reminded, like a small child, that the desirable dessert is off-limits for me. Rather than viewing unconventional foods, such as gluten-free cereal or almond milk, as sad substitutions, people should try to view each option as its own unique type of food to avoid comparisons.
Alas, go forth with allergy awareness. While gluten-free alternatives may not be appealing to those who don’t have an allergy, refrain from making comments about rice-bread tasting like cardboard. Understand that every single person faces their own health problems. There’s a famous quote that says, “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle of their own.” Keep those words with you and always remember to keep an open mind to the lifestyles of others.
