Enjoying the holidays gluten free
Imagine a Christmas without soft sugar cookies, grandma’s fruit cakes or homemade lemon bars, and a Thanksgiving minus the pumpkin pie and warm stuffing. Such is the life of a person dealing with celiac disease.
Georgia Rawlings, co-manager of the Cache Valley Gluten Intolerance Group (CVGIG), said roughly one in every 133 Americans have celiac disease, but only one in 4,700 get diagnosed. In other words, only one percent know they have it.
According to MayoClinic.com, “celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in … wheat, barley, or rye.”
If a person with celiac disease is exposed to wheat, barley, or rye, it could damage their small intestine, which makes it harder for their body to absorb certain nutrients. This causes malnourishment to the brain, bones, liver and other vital organs.
According to celiac.com, celiac disease is so common, it affects more people than does epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Celiac disease is most common in people of European descent, and those with auto-immune diseases, such as lupus, osteoporosis, arthritis, and type-1 diabetes.
Since the disease is so common, Rawlings, who was diagnosed in May 2007, and Annette Bryner created CVGIG, a branch of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIGNA). They started the group three years ago in order to promote awareness and provide support to those recently diagnosed.
“There is definitely a period of mourning when you get diagnosed,” Rawlings said. “Once you get over the idea of (life without) wheat and other things, there are a lot of things you can enjoy that don’t have wheat.”
Though Rawlings had to find substitutions for her preferred foods, she came up with a long list of favorites. Those include Udi’s bread, Tinkyada rice pasta, and Glutino’s chocolate sandwich cookie. All of these foods can be found locally.
Rawlings said CVGIG meets the third Thursday of each month. This month, CVGIG is holding their first annual gluten-free Holiday Cookie Exchange, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. in classrooms two and three at the Logan Regional Hospital.
They also hold gluten-free cooking classes at Macey’s grocery store four times a year. Anyone who is affected by celiac disease or who wants to learn more about the disease is welcome to attend any CVGIG event.
“You have to be very careful,” Rawlings said. She said she reads labels all the time, because companies often change how they make a product. “Gluten hides in all sort of things, like licorice, many soy sauces and barbeque sauces, some gravies, and lots of canned soups.” She also said that many companies, like Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club are starting to write “gluten-free” on many gluten-free items.
Rawlings said that a person who has outward symptoms, such as stomach pains and constipation, and a person who has no outward symptoms should be equally careful.
According to celiac.com, people with celiac disease who continue to eat gluten increase their chance of gastrointestinal cancer by 40 to 100 percent. Celiac disease is becoming so common, doctors are now recommending that people who suffer from obesity, migraine headaches, liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome and other diseases get screened for celiac disease.
Symptoms of celiac disease include, but are not limited to abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, and weight loss or gain. Some people experience no symptoms at all.
Sometimes a false negative happens when a person is tested for celiac disease, and people go untreated. Rawlings said the average time it takes between when a person talks to their doctor about their symptoms and when they actually get diagnosed is up to 10 years.
Rawlings said it is important to her to promote awareness, because “people end up spending lots of time and money, it’s really sad.”
Though people are diagnosed at all ages, a person has to have the genetic disposition for it, Rawlings said. “There has to be a trigger, some sort of stress to the body, like an accident, injury, pregnancy, or surgery.”
For help coping with a celiac disease diagnosis, Rawlings said many people are referred to Jeanine Andersen, who also has the disease. For more information, e-mail Annette or Georgia at CacheValleyGIG@gmail.com, or visit http://www.gfutah.org/.
– tessa.karrington@aggiemail.usu.edu