After explaining to a friend the prescribed action for celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance—a lifetime avoidance of gluten from wheat, barley and rye—I am often met with the sympathetic reply, “that must be really difficult.”

As someone living with severe gluten sensitivity, I know that most days it’s not so bad, and only occasionally do I rush starving into a convenience store voracious, in search of any allowable snack.  Though ultimately, I, like most would still argue that living without gluten is much easier than living with it and all of its awful effects.

IBS, constipation, gas, bloating, brain-fog, acne, rosacea, dermatitis herpetiformis are all symptoms of celiac disease and gluten intolerance.  So is it easier to treat, accept and mask any one, or even all of these afflictions or to shop specifically for gluten free foods, cook more meals at home, order off the menu and read food and cosmetic labels?

Of course, I do occasionally long for the days when a lazy Friday evening dinner required no more than dialing up a pizza company.  But when I recall my life before going gluten free, the days during which I was 10 pounds heavier, fighting off unexplained acne breakouts, brain-fog and other digestive troubles, all of which required multiple medications and treatments, I can easily reply, “It’s really not so bad.”