About 1% of the population in the United States has an intolerance to gluten, and I’ll explain to you what that means. My mother has a gluten intolerance or celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disorder, where the consumption of wheat or gluten leads to a destruction of your stomach lining and its ability to absorb vital nutrients. This gradually leads to a weakening of the body and can eventually lead to death. It is one of the hardest diseases to diagnose because it has a wide variety of symptoms and is very often misdiagnosed. One of the biggest signs is an increase in the amount of food allergies you have because usually if you develop a wheat allergy, you slowly acquire other allergies that will eventually go away once you end your consumption of wheat.

Now that I have given you a little information into this disease, I am going to make this a little more personal. One point that I would like to make is that I am not writing this to encourage everybody to stop eating wheat because it’s a terrible thing; I am writing this to inform the masses about what Celiac disease is so that as a society we can sympathize more. I can’t count on my hand the amount of restaurants that refuse to offer gluten free options or how many waitresses have absolutely no idea what a wheat allergy is. Some people know what it is, but they do not take it seriously because many people think that it’s just another fad diet and my mother is making a scene over nothing.

I take this all personally because at this point I do not have celiac disease, but I do have a wheat allergy that will eventually evolve into it. Along with this allergy, I also have a peanut, walnut, corn, and sesame seed allergy. The most embarrassing part of my allergy is that it causes a skin rash on my arms that many people judge harshly. It’s even worse in the winter months when I have super white skin and these red spots with red bumps. Often times I make sure that my arms are covered just because I don’t want to deal with the questions or rude comments.

I’m sure at this point you are thinking well why don’t you just stop eating wheat now? In concept that would be easy except for the fact that most cheap, convenient foods contain wheat. There are not many fast food places where they offer meat and vegetables, or if they do, they cook the products in something wheat or MSG based. Another option would be to pack food from home except for the fact that usually the only time I am home is to sleep. I am a full time student, and I work full-time at Wal-Mart. At this point I am not too ill, but I know once I finish my degree and have a 9-5 work schedule that I will be able to make that commitment to keep my body gluten free and taken care of.

In conclusion, celiac disease is spreading through a majority of the population, and I believe as a population we should all be educated on what it is. I’m sure most all of you know at least one person that may have a gluten intolerance. With this information, you can give them the support they need to deal with this difficult aspect of their life. It is such a hard disease because it affects the way they eat, which has to be done three times a day. It is not something that can be avoided. Thus, please be kind to all the G-frees out there.