Gluten

[Robin Garr]

Well, this is getting interesting.

Just keep it civil, folks.

And as for me, I'd like to repeat what I advised at the top of this thread:

Don't self-diagnose.

If you think you have an allergy, get medical advice. It's the prudent thing to do. But don't write yourself a prescription based on your own diagnosis.

While I understand completely that dealing with food allergies as a restaurant is frustrating, I have to say that it is becoming less and less safe for people diagnosed with food allergies to dine out. Three years ago, when I presented my food allergies to waiters/chefs, they took it very seriously and I rarely got sick. Now, because it is "trendy," waiters are asking me if I really have Celiac disease or if I'm just sensitive. As someone who has been properly diagnosed, that is like a kick to the gut. When I'm asked that, I want to immediately leave the restaurant in fear. When you have actual food allergies and are invited out by friends, co-workers, and family members to eat at a restaurant, it is terrifying. The thought of death from my ridiculous parsley allergy (yes, I know) keeps me from dining out a lot. The shame felt when someone questions one of my ten food allergies is also very real. There is nothing I can do to reverse food allergies as an adult, so please don't question me about them.

Now, as someone who owns a bakery for people specifically with gluten issues and multiple food allergies, I will say, we get "trendy" people in all of the time. They stop in a few times to get cupcakes because we are "healthy." Nothing about a cupcake is healthy, gluten or gluten free. But there is a lot of misinformation out there. Eventually, the trend will pass and the remaining 16% of the population that has been properly diagnosed with food allergies will continue to eat this way out of necessity.

No one asks for food allergies. We get diagnosed after years and years of sickness and life threatening anaphylactic events. Typically, it takes ten years for a proper Celiac disease diagnosis. In those ten years, we have been told by doctors that we have anxiety, IBS, lactose intolerance, stress, thyroid issues, and mental illness. Then, you get a diagnosis, cut out gluten, and you get your life back only to be the butt of a joke or a snide comment about how "high maintenance" you are now. If I could eat like a normal person, I would. At this point, it's been so long since I have eaten delicious pizza that Domino's is starting to look good. We have to actually mourn the loss of food, like a death. So long, Nord's doughnuts, so long fried chicken (yep, I can't have poultry), and so long any good pizza ever again (especially deep dish).

So I ask you, as restaurant owners and food workers, please hang in there for a while and deal with the trendy people just a little bit longer. Those of us with a real fear of food and death would like to live a life like the non-allergic people, but we need you take it seriously.

Yeah I kinda feel the same way about the ridiculous number of people diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Definitely, it's the new in problem that doctors think they can make a fortune off of! People have had it forever and I don't think I've ever heard of anybody dying from it!

That's what I was thinking! Anybody know ANYBODY that died in their sleep from improper breathing?

Actually, yes. More former father-in-law, who was a wonderful man and a great friend.

Before this goes any further please, stop and reread the original couple of threads. No one ( as in NO ONE ) said that Celiac disease or sleep apnea is fantasy.

Maybe you should reread your own exchange with Mark in which you cast doubt upon people dying from sleep apnea.

No, you you didn't say "boy what a fantasy!" It was more the tone "this isn't serious, people dot actually die from it, lol!"

Here's a pro tip. Beware chicory root extract, AKA inulin. I was prompted to research this after some unfortunate responses the family had to Fiber One bars. We now call these Fart Bars.

Jerusalem artichokes might be the worst offender ever.

Here's my code:

I don't care what food other people do, or do not, put in their bodies.

Here's my code:

I don't care what food other people do, or do not, put in their bodies.

My thoughts exactly!!! Who cares? As a happy go lucky vegetarian (self-diagnosed) nobody should be concerned with what I eat or do not eat except for me.

**Please note, I am not meaning to compare my dietary choices to people with serious health issues.

Before this goes any further please, stop and reread the original couple of threads. No one ( as in NO ONE ) said that Celiac disease or sleep apnea is fantasy.

No, you you didn't say "boy what a fantasy!" It was more the tone "this isn't serious, people dot actually die from it, lol!"

Well Aaron, all I can say is you misunderstood what I wrote. Perhaps I used some punctuation incorrectly, perhaps it was my poor choice of words. I will shoulder the responsibility for that. But people that know me - and you do not - know I would never laugh at anyone dying for whatever reason. I have sat and nursed more than my share of loved ones through death and it's never a laughing matter. So back off.

This is what I based my ideas about sleep apnea -
Back in 2007 or 2008 when the sleep apnea awareness began I counted 15 of my friends and co - workers that had been diagnosed and invested hundreds of dollars in equipment and gear. Gradually over 5 or 6 years, all of them tired of the gear, equipment and inconvenience and stopped using it. All still alive, no one 's health has altered. So once again, I don't deny that some may suffer from it but I still think it is overly hyped.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01 ... rent-happy

Kinda what I was saying.

Well Aaron, all I can say is you misunderstood what I wrote. Perhaps I used some punctuation incorrectly, perhaps it was my poor choice of words. I will shoulder the responsibility for that. But people that know me - and you do not - know I would never laugh at anyone dying for whatever reason. I have sat and nursed more than my share of loved ones through death and it's never a laughing matter. So back off.

Back off? Pointedly telling me that I don't know you? You make it sound like attacking you. I'm not. Calling you out for flippantly treating a serious illness like it isn't, yes. Attacking you, no.

I'm not sure why you claim that I've accused you of laughing about people dying, because I never did. The accusation was that you were flippant over the idea that sleep apnea was serious enough that people could die from it. (And while I used the expression 'LOL' I was explicitly addressing tone and therefore even that shouldn't exactly be taken literally). The question was posed, as if it was a ridiculous idea, if anyone knew ANYONE who had died from it. I don't think there's any misunderstanding that. At least a couple of us said that, yes, we actually did.

Just clearing that up for everyone. I'm out.

Yeah I kinda feel the same way about the ridiculous number of people diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Let's add this radon gas thing to the list!

Lets not. Radon is suspected of being the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in Kentucky. I dont remeber the stats for the US as a whole off the top of my head and am currently to lazy to google it.
Is it more likely to contribute to cancer in someone already smoking? Yes, but it can be a cause in and of itself.

I know a guy that died of restless leg syndrome. Don't make fun of it. It's a serious disease. You guys don't know.

[Robin Garr]

I know a guy that died of restless leg syndrome. Don't make fun of it. It's a serious disease. You guys don't know.

"Don't judge." That's pretty good advice for life in general.

Of course, so is "don't self-diagnose," but that's a whole 'nother story.

As someone who went gluten free, reluctantly, after three years of suffering with various problems, after trying cutting out many other things one by one with no results, and found resolution (finally!), and simply didn't know that I needed to get tested before I went gluten free, I have no way of getting a diagnosis. Unless, of course, I want to make myself miserable by eating gluten for a couple of months, after which I still might get a false negative and be back in the same spot I am now. The treatment is to eat a gluten free diet...I'm already doing that...so I am uninterested in being miserable for a month or two for the sake of having validation from a doctor so I can please someone else who thinks it's all in my head.

It's not, and my friends and family who saw what I suffered with and was frustrated with for so long, know that it's not either.

Just because I don't have a doctor's note doesn't mean I'm doing it to be trendy. I'd love to have my dining options opened up again. But it's not going to happen.

I don't understand why any restaurant has two separate preps for gluten "allergy" versus "preference." If it is offered to me as gluten free, and I ask for it to be gluten free, it should be prepared the same way no matter what. The restaurants that do GF right don't ask this question, in my experience.

[Robin Garr]

Just because I don't have a doctor's note doesn't mean I'm doing it to be trendy. I'd love to have my dining options opened up again. But it's not going to happen.

I don't understand why any restaurant has two separate preps for gluten "allergy" versus "preference." If it is offered to me as gluten free, and I ask for it to be gluten free, it should be prepared the same way no matter what. The restaurants that do GF right don't ask this question, in my experience.

Kari, this is reasonable. There's no shame in doing what works for you.

I do believe that many people "self-diagnose" all manner of allergies and other ailments, and that some of them end up just making themselves unhappy when a regular medical checkup might provide a quick solution and peace of mind. But I can't quarrel with your experience, and I think we should all recognize that one size doesn't fit all.