When I recently discovered I have a gluten sensitivity, I was seriously bummed. For a girl whose main food groups were pizza, burgers, and Taco Bell, the realization that I couldn’t eat like I was used to hit me like a bag of bricks. I live for food; eating is like my favorite hobby, and having to alter my entire diet was something I was not ready for. I was never healthy and didn’t have any desire to try to be, and I wasn’t quite sure of the availability of options for those who are gluten free.

One of the most annoying things about having to be gluten free is the people that think gluten free is just some stupid fad diet. Let me be very, very clear: I am not gluten free by choice. I’m not doing it to be a hipster or because I don’t believe in eating wheat products or whatever. I am doing this because my body literally shuts down when I ingest any form of gluten. Long term exposure had me feeling foggy, constantly tired, and suffering from various stomach and digestive issues that I won’t give you details on. So, no, I’m not choosing to eat cracker thin pizzas and avoiding beers for fun or for a diet; I’m doing it because, after being exposed to a supposedly gluten free pizza that wasn’t actually gluten free, I was up puking for four hours. I’m doing it because, after a three-month detox of anything containing gluten, being glutened wore my body down worse than any physical activity or lack of sleep could ever do.

Yet, there are still people who judge people who go to a restaurant and ask for a gluten free menu, or who give sideways looks at me when I’m browsing the gluten free section in grocery stores. Here’s the thing: who cares? Who cares if someone is doing it as a diet? I’m kind of thankful for those people, because they’ve made gluten free foods more accessible for people like me who can’t eat gluten. Stop judging people for their food choices and let them live happily and without digestive problems. Instead, offer a helping hand. Know someone who's gluten free? When you see new gluten free cookies in the store, let them know. Manage a restaurant? Suggest carrying gluten free noodles, buns, pizza crust, etc. It's hard to feel optimistic about an illness when you feel super secluded, so I think it's important to make people who are gluten free (whether by choice or by force) feel included. It's hard enough to alter a diet after years of doing it one way, and it's hard to find gluten free items on the shelves, so let gluten free people worry less about being judged and more about finding food that tastes good.