Living gluten free shouldn't be difficult should it? After all, everyone eats meat and vegetables, right?
Yes.
And no.
People should be glad you are no longer ingesting something that your body has determined is a poison.
In other words, you are no longer suicidal.
A great thing, right?
* Friends will refuse to return calls or emails when they realize you are living gluten free.
* People will become angry, truly at themselves, and may hit you for daring to believe there is life after bread.
* Friends will offer you a gluten filled cinnamon roll when your blood sugar drops.
* Friends will offer you a sandwich when you say you need to go home to eat.
* Friends will say, "Just a little won't hurt will it?" (A crumb may not show noticeable symptoms in some people, but why take the chance? You may have already been exposed to a crumb and not have known it.)
* When helping a friend, they will ask you to fix a sandwich for them to eat.
* Friends come over, and you offer them something to eat, and everything they suggest is a gluten filled item you can't have, so don't keep in the house.
* Family and co-workers don't understand why you don't join in potlucks.
* Employers don't understand why you have to watch everything you do. You can't lick envelopes. You have to wash your hands after wearing gloves, or touching break room equipment. You may look into the microwave and turn away hungry, because it's too dirty to safely use.
* People with jobs don't understand why you can't go work at the local fast food restaurant or grocery store. They think you just can't be satisfied.
* Restaurants, and most waitresses, have no idea what you are talking about. Forget fast food. They don't know how to fix a hot dog, or hamburger without bread (and the meat may contain wheat in their ingredients anyway.)
* Family and friends often don't know what to look for when trying to find gluten free foods.
* Those who try to accommodate, may not know how to cook food that doesn't come in a box.
* Often, you feel alone, and isolated, because you eat meat and vegetables, the staples of life, and not bread.
Comments