What is Celiac?
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease that mainly affects the gastrointestinal tract. Individuals who have CD are permanently intolerant to gluten, a group of proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten is toxic to those with CD. In a person with undiagnosed or untreated CD, the finger-like ridges that line the walls of the small intestine known as villi become flattened and unable to absorb nutrients properly. CD may also affect other organ systems. My Senior year of High School I was Diagnosed with Celiac after an acne medication inflamed and engulfed my body in this weird, sensitive rash. I have always had stomach problems when I was little. Now, imagine being a little kid and having to be so careful around foods because it might result in stomach cramps. My parents and I just wrote it off as being “ fatty foods” – The cheese on the pizza, a pasta dish, some delicious fancy ice cream cake etc. It was really hard at first, I won’t be shy about saying that. I pretty much lived off pasta, bagels and my dad’s home made bread. Thank goodness my dad and I can double as mad scientists in the kitchen!! We came up with some great banana bread recipes using almond flour, but we also had some terrible attempts like using the old Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour. It was a majority mix of garbanzo bean flour that ruined everything. I distinctly remember being out of this world excited for some good chocolate chip cookies….. but they had a similar taste to Hummus ( don’t worry, their flour now is 100% better now) Freshman year of college was I think the biggest struggle. I was still learning how to cope with the issue while being in a very unfamiliar place. Some of my friends would let me use their college meal plan to grab some food ( none of which was gluten free of course). I can’t explain how lethargic, sick and unhealthy I felt all the time. I was covered in a rash 24/7 for my first year and looking back at pictures I cringe because I know how I felt. I had a real turning point with this disease around the beginning of my sophomore year. I was tired of not being healthy and wanted to turn my life around. I had an endoscopy done, however, I had a false negative test due to my small intestines not being inflamed since I was on a gluten free diet (mental note for people looking into this test- ask your doctor if you need to be on a gluten diet for this) After this change, I felt like a new person. I switched to eating lots of meats, veggies and found so many gluten free substitutes to my old favorite foods. Here are a couple things that made the biggest differences in this change Snack Drawer! It can be tempting to eat whatever you want but I have found that it helps to have some snacks hidden in a desk. This can help to make sure you stay on track with what you are eating and healthier options! I tend to have more issues when I eat out so having this drawer calms down the cravings! Supportive significant other Since I have been with Hayden this journey has been much easier! He is the greatest at researching food places that I can eat (Real keeper I have!!) But it made such an impact to me because it showed that he cared and he wanted me to feel good. He is also a trooper and will eat most of my food! I do feel terrible if we go to a pizza joint and the people surrounding us have massive crust pizza vs our little thin crust cardboard looking ‘pizza’. Find some happiness hacks I always have some of the Gluten Free donuts hidden in my freezer! I love being able to defrost one if I know someone at work is bringing in a treat!! I feel like I can be part of the celebration!! If you are reading this and suffer from having to eat G.F discover the Costco pizzas by Sabatoss. They are some of the greatest that won’t break your arm or leg ( $15 for 3 cheese pizzas) They are such a great base to customize your own pizzas or they taste great on their own!! I often find when I stick to the outside perimeter of the grocery store I am able to get out quicker and stick to a healthier diet! You should try it sometime!! How to not break your bank As I mentioned earlier in this I try and stick to a meat and veggie /fruit type of diet. I will sometimes treat myself to gluten free items like one of the Costco pizzas or some bagels and cookies but they are so expensive!! I swear I can walk out of the grocery store having 10 items and it would be the same as a family of 4 with many more items. Sticking to veggies and meat is much more reasonable and easier. I have found that the Barilla GF pasta is very normal and so enjoyable!!!
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AuthorMy name is Elaine Cope, I am studying Manufacturing Engineering. I decided to make this blog with hopes to inspire other young female engineers to pursue their dreams. Archives
November 2019
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