“To celiac disease sufferers, gluten is the evil ingredient” by Debbie Gilbert January 21, 2009

I found this excellent article about celiac disease by Debbie Gilbert on the Gainsville Times on-line edition. 

She talked with Dr. Ben Gold, a pediatric gastroenterologist, Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology,
Marcus Professor and Director, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Emory University and Dr. Stephen Moore, a Gainesville gastroenterologist.

I especially like Dr. Moore’s advice:

Moore sees no reason for anybody to be on a gluten-free diet if they don’t have celiac disease.

“It’s a difficult diet to follow,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to put a child on the diet if they haven’t been tested and diagnosed as gluten-intolerant.”

I cried when I saw (fill in the blank) that I could eat! January 7, 2009

I saw this article from MSNBC/Associated Press about business booming for gluten-free products. The first sentence is:

“Mary Burgdorff said she cried the first time she walked into Molly’s Gluten-Free Bakery in Pewaukee, Wis., because she’d found treats her son could eat without getting sick.”

Only a celiac sufferer could understand this feeling. I remember my first (almost) cry. I was in New Zealand wandering around Queenstown and glanced at a menu from a restaurant on the street. “Gluten-free pizza”. My heart fluttered but I didn’t really believe it.  I went in to check it out. Yes, their pizza was gluten-free. It was my first piece of pizza in 2 years. It was pretty good, too.

As I’ve traveled around the world to a few places I have also felt this feeling upon finding the simplest things.  When I found rice cakes in a little shop on the island of Andros in Greece I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  Finding gluten-free cassava crackers in the Dominican Republic was another delicious moment.

What have you cried over?