Celiac Disease and Grain Allergies: Overcoming a Sense of Deprivation

It has been over eight years since I stopped eating all grain products. Unlike many people who just have celiac disease, an inability to digest gluten, I also seem to have an allergy or intolerance for corn and rice. Thus, all grains are out for me: wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye and pretty much all their related forms and byproducts.

Having celiac, with or without these additional restrictions, raises a number of difficult personal and social challenges. I am here to report , however, that these challenges get easier over time. A few new modes of thought and action can a make difference in easing the sense of deprivation that one feels when living with celiac and grain allergies.

As anyone following a similar regimen knows, this diet is highly restrictive and having to constantly decline to partake in food festivities can feel both socially awkward and downright unfair! After all, if you have celiac and or grain allergies, wedding cake, birthday cake and Christmas cookies are out. Hot home-baked bread on a cold day; a co-worker's famous lasagna; goodies at a school bake sale are no longer part of your universe. Almost any dish made with a cream sauce is likely forbidden, and not worth chancing if one cannot be sure that it does not contain a gluten-based thickener. The foods to avoid if one has celiac are many and complex. One needs to be thoroughly aware of the kinds of ingredients that can be hidden sources of gluten, from soy sauce to modified food starch.

The double whammy is that it is not only painful to repeatedly deny oneself these normal pleasures, but one also feels the need to explain so as not to insult the host or cook or baker. Nor does one enjoy the prospect of constantly discussing their food restrictions. This subject becomes tedious to oneself (and presumably to others) over time.

However, unlike other voluntary diets, celiac disease has no leeway. Even the tiniest amount of wheat or other glutens can set off a reaction in one's body that can result in serious and long-lasting symptoms: intestinal distress and subsequent damage, an excruciatingly itchy and scarring rash, and damage to tooth enamel to name a few.

So how does one overcome the inherent sense of disappointment at leaving some of the social aspects of sharing food behind?

1) Learn to cook and bake your own wonderful gluten-free foods. Why is it important to learn to prepare your own delicious treats? Psychologically, it gives you a sense of control. You may feel deprived temporarily at a social event, but you will know that at home there is something waiting for you that you will thoroughly enjoy. Or, you can bring along a gluten-free item that you can eat so that you are not the only person deprived of a dessert. You will be amazed at how your outlook will change when you are not feeling like you are constantly on the outside looking in. We happen to live in a wheat and corn based culture. But there are many alternative ingredients and excellent recipes for baked goods using almond flour, bean, pea and tapioca flours. Google will yield you wealth of gluten-free grain-free recipes.

2) Because many processed foods have gluten products in them, a celiac/ grain free diet is largely a healthy whole foods diet. If you are also looking to lose weight, however, and have celiac/ grain allergies, don't make your dietary restrictions so narrow that you have little or no choices. Get to know your grain alternatives first and arrange your diet in a reasonable way that does not totally limit enjoyable foods.

3) Be grateful! I include this last suggestion with complete empathy for those with celiac and or grain allergies. But, it is important to remember that for all the restrictions we endure, we have a treatable condition that, if caught in time, requires no medicine and no ongoing treatment other than not to eat certain things. And as we practice this not eating certain things, our symptoms disappear and we can live healthy active lives. Keeping this in mind will go a long way to dispelling discouragement.