Upside To Celiac

[fisharefriendsnotfood]

I've been thinking, and I realize that being Celiac means we are very aware about what we eat. Like, we know every ingredient of every food item that enters our mouths. Here's a short story:

Me and two of my really, really good friends were at Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I got mint chocolate chip in a cup, obviously (mmmm...), my other friend got the same in a cone, and the other friend got chocolate chip cookie dough in a cone. We get out ice cream, and my friend who I'll call J for the purpose of this story, offers me a lick of her chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. (By the way, she knows very well that I'm Celiac.)

J: Want some?

Me: Um, no thanks.

Other friend: She can't eat that!

J: Uh, why not?

Other friend: She's allergic to wheat! (lol that's what they think Celiac is... my oh my)

J: So?

Other friend: So, she can't eat chocolate chip COOKIE DOUGH ice cream, you idiot!

J: Why not?

Me: What do you think cookie dough is made of???

J: Cookie dough has wheat in it?

Me & Other friend: Yes!!!

J: Oh. Who knew? Sorry.

Yes, my friend isn't too bright about things like that.

So I was thinking, I was the only ten year old kid who knew what maltodextrin and wheat protein is. No one else knows what they're putting into their bodies. They don't even care or have a clue! I think I'm very lucky to have all this knowledge. Plus, I find food and how the body, especially the digestive system, works now.

Thanks for reading this long story!

Jackie

[mommida]

Jackie,

I read your story and have to tell you until the end, I thought the friends were my age. (30 something) I have conversations like that all the time. You are right when you say you are better educated because of your Celiac diagnoses.

Laura

[fisharefriendsnotfood]

  mommida said:

Jackie,

I read your story and have to tell you until the end, I thought the friends were my age. (30 something)  I have conversations like that all the time.  You are right when you say you are better educated because of your Celiac diagnoses.

Laura

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, I'm not ten years old! I'm fourteen! Sorry about the confusion.

[Guest BellyTimber]

I agree absolutely about this blessing

[skoki-mom]

I actually had a very well educated person say to me "pasta's got wheat in it??

[frenchiemama]

It's amazing how clueless some people are. I mean, even before I was diagnosed, I certainly knew that things like bread, pasta and cookie dough had wheat in them. But I'm constantly astounded by the number of people who don't seem to know anything about their food at all. What exactly do they think the stuff is made of??

[PreOptMegs]

If I had a dollar from every person who didn't know that "white flour" had wheat in it..............

[nettiebeads]

  PreOptMegs said:

If I had a dollar from every person who didn't know that "white flour" had wheat in it..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This thread makes me laugh at all the times I've had to educate people about what has flour/gluten in it. My office is right off of the kitchen. Several ladies will go next door to the grocery store (we're in a strip mall) and come back with lots of goodies (?) Like cookie dough ice cream AND cookies! They'll offer me one, and I'll say no I can't have that, then they'll offer me the other! Hello!! cookie dough and cookies have exactly the same ingredients! or offer crackers or something else and always surprised that they contain wheat. I can't get mad or anything, they are being generous, even if I can't eat what's being offered.

[Rachel--24]

  nettiebeads said:

  Several ladies will go next door to the grocery store (we're in a strip mall) and come back with lots of goodies (?)  Like cookie dough ice cream AND cookies!  They'll offer me one, and I'll say no I can't have that, then they'll offer me the other!  Hello!! cookie dough and cookies have exactly the same ingredients!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That made me laugh!!!!

Funny thing is if I never had to learn about this diet I would probably be one of those people who says "pasta has wheat?"

I don't think I had ever read a food ingredient label in my life.

[Nicolette]

I had something similar to this just yesterday. My in-laws came to visit us and we live on an island on the south coast of the UK, so its a popular holiday place and for those of you who don't know, in England, fish and chips out of paper is quite a favourite here.

Well, my mother-in-law, a very educated lady and quite a cook, said "let's all have fish and chips for lunch"

I said, I can't, because of the fish being coated with flour before it's put in batter and fried.

So she said, "oh, well just have the chips then."

HELLO?

I then had to explain that the fish was fried in the same oil as the chips and i really didn't fancy doing that at all. Next, my father-in-law, also an educated man who ran his own business for many years said to me, "so, this coeliacs thing, I guess it's okay for you to have a little bit of gluten, isn't it? You know, like diabetics can have alittle bit of sugar"

I just stared for a moment. I just didn't know what to say. Eventually, I replied about it being totally different and tried to go into detail, but i could tell they just didn't get it.

It's quite sad really.

[Guest GITRDONE]

I totally agree, people don't think before they open there mouths.

When people tell me that a ccrumb can't hurt you. I now reply that that crumb will make me vomit like you would if you had the flu and its not a 24 hour flu its more like a 10 day flu. If they don't get that then I start in on the deterating intestinal linning caused by that crumb.

Anyway along the same note. My neighbors grand kids came over (4 & 6) to my place with their parents. And the parents told the kids "that is where you Macdonold hamburgers come from and the milk for your cereal, while pointing at my steer. Then they went to pig pen and told them this where bacon comes from. These poor city kids didn't have clue and the parents weren't much better.

I think we are genius's compared to most people when it comes to food. But I also know that I'm eating much better then most.

Susan

[fisharefriendsnotfood]

Today I went to a friend's birthday party and when I told them about Celiac when they saw I wasn't eating pizza, one asked if I could have whole wheat bread.

WHOLE WHEAT!!!

Oh my goodness. But this isn't very fair, since she isn't the smartest.

-Jackie