A little over a year ago, I found out I have Celiac Disease – an autoimmune disease that causes me to have a severe allergic reaction to eating, or being contaminated with, gluten. Around the same time of my diagnosis, the ‘gluten-free’ diet trend blew up. Everyone and their mom was suddenly eating gluten free because it was “better” for them.
Let’s debunk this myth right now. It’s not necessarily healthier to eat gluten-free. It’s simply healthier to not eat the processed food with fake preservatives that often contain gluten. Sure, it’s better for you to not eat gluten. Sure, it’s better for you to not eat gluten every day, but trust me, it’s not always good to completely cut out gluten. Similarly, it is not healthier to eat no carbs at all. At least one meal a day should include some sort of carb or grain. It’s just good for you.
And look, I don’t care if you eat gluten-free to be healthier. Maybe you did just cut out all that processed gluten. Honestly, I couldn’t give a f*ck if you eat gluten or not.
Here’s why I start to care: some people – and certainly not all – are totally and completely rude when it comes to their GF diet. I have witnessed someone in a restaurant send a plate back to the kitchen three times because each time there was a hint of gluten on their plate. Okay, I’ve had to do that, but here’s the kicker: she wasn’t allergic. She just doesn’t eat gluten and she was treating her waiter like a criminal because there was a breadcrumb on her plate.
Sorry, sweetheart, but I have no sympathy for you. I’m pretty sure if you ate that breadcrumb, you wouldn’t be bloated, with no appetite, with a major migraine, and living in the bathroom for the next day. I would. I’m not trying to be mean (at least, not very mean), but the problem with people not eating gluten by choice and then being complete a-holes about it is that they’re poisoning wait staff everywhere for people like my mom and I who literally cannot eat gluten at all.
If you’re going gluten-free, good for you. But be polite. People like me, who could be hospitalized for eating gluten, don’t need waiters rolling their eyes when we ask for gluten-free options. We, the people of Celiac Disease and Gluten Allergies, need you to be nice so that when we tell people we’re allergic, they don’t think we’re lying. We need you to be nice so that being gluten-free isn’t associated with being assholes anymore.
In LA, they’ve started to ask the question of “Allergy or Preference” when I tell them I need gluten-free. I love this question. Because when I say allergy, they take me seriously and don’t think I’m going to be completely mean about my food. Everyone should ask this question. Everyone. Because then, when I ask for my gluten-free pizza, the waiter knows that I mean gluten-free and not just following a diet trend.
Because it’s not a trend for me. It’s my life.
All I’m saying is: next time you ask for gluten-free food, remember to be polite and kind to your wait staff. Remember to be nice because there are those of us that need people to take us seriously when we ask for the gluten-free options.
Featured image via RODNAE Productions on Pexels
