Hi, I'm Gabriella Lomenzo and I've got a bone to pick. I have Celiac's disease, but most people refer to this as the confusing and daunting "gluten allergy." In my many days of existence, I have already accumulated enough horror stories that would make your head spin. All of which could have been totally avoided had the other party been educated about the seriousness of gluten free diets, or at least had pretended to care about it. I've had countless numbers of people ask me about my disease, which I have absolutely no problem explaining. In fact, I believe more people should be educated on the topic of what gluten really is, and what it means to be "gluten-free".

To begin, Coeliac disease or more commonly known as Celiac disease has been around since the first century AD. It was actually discovered by a Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia. Coeliac disease is an auto-immune or digestive disorder that primarily damages the small intestine. Best described in an article by the Mayo Clinic, Celiac disease " is an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye" (Celiac Disease). Another article by the Pharmacy Times states, "This damage interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. People with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten"(Understanding Celiac Disease).

Because of the inability to absorb necessary nutrients, those who go undiagnosed are prone to suffer long term damage and consequences to their health. Growing up, my family did not know that 4 out of 6 of us carried this disease. It wasn't until I was about age eight or nine when my mother finally was given the diagnosis, thus leading to my two other sisters and myself discovering that we too had Celiac disease. Due to our diagnoses being later on in our lives, we had already suffered several consequences such as deficits in growth and other dysfunctions.

Here is a list of a few of the many consequences that may result from ingesting gluten as a Celiac:

Malnutrition

Anemia

Vomiting

Bone Weakening

Infertility or Miscarriage

Weight Loss

Cancer

Improper Growth and Development

Headaches and Fatigue

Neurological Disorders

Chronic diarrhea

Constipation

Bloating

Itchy, blistery skin (sometimes called eczema)

Reduced Spleen Functioning

Joint Pain

Why am I telling you this? Well, Celiac disease so far has no cure, and the only way to "treat it" is by following a strict gluten-free diet. This is where it all starts to go downhill.

The issue arose several years ago when avoiding gluten became a topic of interest for health junkies.

People quickly realized that avoiding gluten means avoiding most carbs, which are a major component of fat gain. Quickly, the romanticization of "going gluten-free" spread like wildfire throughout the United States. Capitalists began to increase the manufacturing and production of "gluten-free" foods. This craze actually helped the Celiac community quite a bit because many restaurants and stores began carrying and supplying more gluten-free options. While this was a great thing for people like me, it quickly went sour.

This newfound obsession with eating "healthier" through a gluten-free diet brought about some backlash around gluten-free eating. Chefs, waitresses, store owners, and friends of these yoga moms and health junkies started getting tired of hearing about this "new diet" and having it pushed in their faces.

The gluten-free diet quickly became a subject for jokes and "entertainment" for those who didn't understand what it is. One episode of South Park actually very accurately represents society's reaction towards the gluten-free diet "uprising." This episode, ironically named "Gluten Free Ebola" showed a pretty good representation of how the rest of the world doesn't understand what gluten is and makes ignorant assumptions.

Because of this, the Celiac community received the most backlash as the majority of people assumed we were just uptight, rich, whole foods freaks. A large majority of the Celiac community can recall a time where their request for gluten-free options was not taken seriously or ignored because of this belief. Sadly, this is very common. Because of this lack of knowledge on the subject of gluten intolerance, we who are allergic get sick or cross-contaminated every time we go out to eat.

It's only the chef that knows somebody with the allergy that ever understands. This shouldn't be the case. What I am trying to say is that we should give someone's disability the recognition and respect that they deserve before disregarding it as "unimportant".

I have been lied to about the ingredients of food merely because the business owner cared more about their revenue than what will happen to me. I have been told "sure" when asking if something was gluten-free, which I ended up finding out was not. Just a week ago I was told (without hesitation) that the food was 100% gluten-free when I knew (based on my knowledge of what bread is and clearly looks like) that it wasn't.

I understand that everybody else's issues are hard to understand and keep up with, but I can't help but feel anger towards the people who have discredited my allergy because they couldn't be bothered to try and understand.

What I want you to take away from this is that the majority of us who eat "gluten-free" have a disease, and even if it was a preference, it should still be respected. You have made it so difficult and painful that my people have stopped ordering our meals. We no longer enjoy going out with friends for a quick bite or for a celebratory birthday dinner. We hate going to eat in large groups because when we have to send our meal back to the kitchen for having bread in it (despite previously explaining our allergy) we still get dirty looks.

It may not sound important when I am asking you about my meal, but to our bodies, it makes a huge difference. The "annoyance" of changing your gloves is my annoyance of malnutrition, a weaker immune system, vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, migraines, and dizziness. Because of your carelessness for three minutes, we suffer for days. You are balancing our worth against dealing with one minor inconvenience in your day. So what is our worth?

What I would like to end with is that everyone should try to respect the seriousness that comes along with having a disease whether you understand it or not. Our health and our needs are just as important as yours.

Like all people with disabilities, we may have different needs, but we are trying our best to fit in with the rest of the world. So instead of leaving us out, get over the one-inch barrier of having to understand what others are going through and take a little bit of time to show someone that they are worth more.