 This is a very personal blog post but I feel like it could help a lot of people. There was an article written by Kate Johnson called "Celiac Disease Linked to Eating Disorders, Even Anorexia." This article speaks a lot about the difficulty of Celiac Disease and unhealthy eating habits. "The fact is, people with celiac have an uncomfortable relationship with food. And it will likely be a lifelong battle. Before their celiac diagnosis, food made them sick. After their diagnosis, food still often makes them sick, and eating remains a high-maintenance affair. Is this fertile ground for an eating disorder?" (Kate Johnson). From personal experience, I developed a very unhealthy relationship with food since I felt that everything I ate (besides home cooked meals) made me very sick. I lost almost 30 pounds during my eating disorder and I had many fear foods (that picture above is me). Looking back, my fear foods were the one's that I continuously got sick from while eating out. For example, pizza and pasta was very difficult for me to eat.
As someone with Celiac, we constantly have to plan our meals ahead of time before going out. Like calling restaurants to make sure they are Celiac safe, packing meals and snacks before going out, etc. In this article, Kate states that it has been found that "people with Celiac Disease are four to five time more likely to have had a previous diagnosis of AN, and they have twice the odds of battling anorexia in the future." As if we don't go through enough ... My extremely unhealthy weight loss journey consisted of starving myself for days, then binge eating once a week. I had no appetite, no interest in eating, and when I did, I got sick after every meal. This issue developed around my junior year of high school and continued throughout my freshman year of college. I was constantly calling myself fat even though I was just skin and bones. I have since then recovered but am still hesitant about the amount of food that I eat and my body image. "Because of the nature of Celiac Disease, there is a great deal of focus on food, so you can become preoccupied by food. If the preoccupation leads to concerns about body image and desire to lose weight, an eating disorder may develop." (Golden). Being in college with this issue and Celiac was very difficult for me since I was getting sick from the dining hall almost every time I ate there. After a reaction at school, I would refrain from eating for about 2-3 days. This was because I was scared of food but also felt that my stomach needed time to heal. (I did this throughout my sophomore year as well). The pain we have when we eat even a crumb of gluten is something I'd never wish upon anyone. I hope this post gives people a better understanding of the seriousness behind Celiac Disease and the consequences that come with it. The article is linked below. It contains experiences of other people as well. https://www.allergicliving.com/2017/12/14/celiac-disease-gluten-symptoms-linked-to-eating-disorders-even-anorexia/?fbclid=IwAR2YpFwSflI9LzvN7_QlE_R3MLhGt6SYpBm2xMjISPID6lyV3E0cK0OhBRY
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 Hello everyone, it’s been quite a while! Today, while I was at lunch with my nonnie, we were talking about how much easier it’s going to be now that I don’t have to eat at the dining hall anymore. (She came up with the title of this blog) I wanted to tell a story about what happened with the dietician at my school. When I contacted her about my constant reactions after eating at the dining hall … she asked me a mind blowing question. A registered dietitian of UMass Amherst asked me if I have an epipen for Celiac Disease. CELIAC. A DIETICIAN. I was flabbergasted. I said “no ma'am, there is no epipen for Celiac, I have to wait until my reaction ends.” She responded with “okay.” How am I supposed to trust the rest of the campus if their own dietician doesn’t even know about Celiac? So much for a “Celiac certified” school !!! After that comment, my very VERY protective and stubborn parents decided to meet with her. That dietician accused me of “making myself sick” or cross-contaminating myself on purpose. If you knew my parents, you know that comment did not go over well. I was hurt that someone who should be protecting me is claiming that I was doing it on purpose. I can promise, having reactions is extremely painful and the most difficult moments of my life. I would never do it on purpose. She also asked my parents why I never told her that I had an eating disorder because it is something she needs to be aware of. Says who … ? I thought I would share this story because whether or not there are many different dining halls that give “gluten free options,” their own workers don’t even know about the disease. It makes it hard to trust them.
After this conversation, I was given the YCMP plan instead of the dining hall plan. This was because the YCMP plan is swipes of dining dollars which I could use at Blue Wall (a big dining hall full of little restaurants) and many other places throughout campus. I could also go to the dining hall with this plan so it made my life a bit easier. Thankfully, I stopped getting sick after this plan change. I also saved a lot more money since I didn’t have to doordash every meal every day just so I wouldn’t get sick. I will be talking about my experiences at school a lot more. This is just the start of the many issues that I have faced with UMass Amherst Dining.  I want to focus a lot of your attention to the experience I have had at college. I decided to post parts of this essay I wrote for my English class my first semester of freshman year. After writing this, my professor sent it around to the head of all the dining halls in hopes for some change. Enjoy the read and I will be going into greater detail of my experiences in another post soon.
Having Celiac Disease in college is very difficult to accommodate for, I would know first hand. Many gluten free foods do not have all of the nutrients so it is very important that people on these diets fit in as much nutrients as possible. UMass Amherst offers many different options for gluten free diets, but it has seemed like the options are for people on diets instead of those with Celiac Disease. UMass Amherst does not take care of those with Celiac Disease as much as they should. I have found my experiences eating here very disappointing in terms of the quality of the food and amount of cross-contamination. Cross contamination is a very big issue when it comes to those with Celiac Disease. Those with Celiac need separate pans, utensils, cooking areas, plates, and the workers must change their gloves and wash their hands. There are many ways to prevent cross-contamination in an industrial kitchen. One way is to create different unloading docks for the gluten free to prevent any cross-contamination within the boxes. Kitchens must always store gluten free products in a completely different location to prevent mixing the products. Even dust particles from gluten products can create cross-contamination when touching gluten free products so it is important to make sure that the ventilation system will not cause wheat particles to mix with gluten free. Another way to prevent cross-contamination would be to dedicate multiple gluten free chefs in each kitchen, or train each staff member to be Celiac certified. I see so much cross-contamination at UMass Amherst, pretty much in every dining hall. Just yesterday I was at Berkshire dining hall getting a sandwich. The chefs are well aware as to what gluten free is but they do not treat it properly. They wash their hands, change their gloves, and make the sandwich on a new plate for gluten free. But, they take the meats and toppings out of the same containers that they just stuck their wheat hands in and do not take meats/toppings out of certified gluten free containers like they told me when I toured. They also toast the sandwiches in the same toaster as they cook wheat one’s which is a big sign of cross-contamination, then, continue to cut the sandwich with the same knife that they cut all of the wheat sandwiches with. I am very disappointed in the lack of consideration these dining halls have for people with Celiac. Berkshire dining hall is not the only hall that I have witnessed cross contamination at. Every hall has gluten free options but ... I do not trust anything that I am eating there. The dining hall administration is supposed to trust that kids will not use the same utensils for different meals? Once one person takes food from a bowl that is gluten free and touches that utensil with something that is wheat on their plate, then puts the utensil back in the gluten free bowl that whole meal has been compromised with wheat and those with Celiac can no longer eat it. Happy Celiac Disease Awareness Month !!!
I hope you guys can all celebrate this month SAFELY. With that saying, here are some very safe restaurants that I trust for dining.
 To my amazing mom and dad,
I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me. I cannot imagine what it was like finding out about my diagnosis just four years into becoming parents. (I totally understand why you waited 5 years to have the last child). You guys took every single precaution possible to make sure that I stayed healthy my whole life. You made our whole household gluten free besides one snack drawer (sorry to my siblings). You guys treated our house and guests like they had COVID before COVID was even a thing ... no person was allowed in our house until they washed their hands free of gluten. You have stuck up for me in ways that I did not even know was possible. You were my voice before I even learned to speak, you taught my sisters how to deal with my reactions, you sit by my side while I have reactions, you sit with me in the ER speaking for me because I am so sick that I cannot function, you fight for me, and much more. To this day, you guys never fail to listen to my issues and concerns about the food I am being served. Best part is, you never fail to rip people a new one when they contaminate me. You taught every single person we came in contact with about Celiac Disease. Your patience for people blows my mind because I am not good with the stupid questions but you guys ... you WANT people to understand and you want to teach them. Dad, you make sure that everyone has a STRICT understanding of the fact that I have Celiac and cross-contamination is NOT allowed. Although you embarrass me every time we go out to eat, I love you for it. Mom, you have made sure that I have food no matter where I go. You make me my own birthday cake every single year because we cannot buy a gluten free cake anywhere. Never have I ever had to worry about if I could eat at a function or if I will get sick because you guys prepare and take every precaution to make sure that I will be able to eat safely. You guys are the reason I am here today. Eighteen years later and you still apologize to me for not knowing that I had Celiac before I was two. How were you supposed to know? It is not your fault. Mom and dad ... you guys saved me. I am the luckiest daughter in the world, I don't know what I would do without you guys. I love you guys, Paige I think you could imagine what growing up in the early 2000s was like with Celiac. Not very easy. As a two year-old, I could not explain my symptoms. It was very difficult for my parents to figure out what my issues were or that I even had a health problem. Not to mention, I was only my parents second child, two years after their first. They were still new parents trying to figure out the way of parenting. Being diagnosed with an incurable disease was not something they ever wanted to hear four years into having kids. It is something that I do not want to imagine and thank them everyday for the parents that they are. They took me to my primary care doctor who, ironically, put me on an all wheat diet. Obviously, that was not the smartest move but I was only the second case of Celiac that she had ever heard of so you can't blame her. It wasn't until my preschool teacher talked to my parents about bringing me to the hospital for a diagnosis. My parents immediately took me to Boston Children's hospital. I walked into to see the gastroenterologist and he look one look at me and said "she has Celiac Disease." Once the doctor explained to my parents, "you just have to keep her on a gluten free diet" my parents thought "oh that's easy!" WRONG. My mom went to the grocery store after my diagnosis and ran out of the store crying. She had no idea how many food products contained gluten. This was in 2004, there was close to nothing gluten free. But damn did my parents learn fast and whoop my families asses into shape. They read everything they could about Celiac, took me to conventions, dietitians, nutritionists, anything that could give them and myself a better understanding of this disease and I couldn't be more thankful for them.
 I, a twenty year-old college student, was diagnosed with Celiac Disease at two years-old. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune deficiency that attacks the small intestine. This reaction is triggered by the consumption of gluten, wheat, rye, oats, barley, and malt. Celiac is not a dominant nor recessive gene, it comes in clusters in families. There is only a 4-15% chance that a parent's offspring will develop this disease. Therefore, it has been recorded that only 1% of the population has Celiac Disease.
Now, you would think that life with Celiac is easy, "just avoid foods containing gluten" right? That is how it should be. Unfortunately, people hear "gluten free" and assume an allergy or a preference ... not many people are familiar with Celiac Disease. This brings me into the issue of cross contamination in the so called "gluten free" meals in restaurants and especially college campuses. (I go to UMass Amherst but we will get into that later) .. While people are using gluten free diets to lose weight, they are belittling the seriousness of this disease and how it affects our bodies due to the lack of knowledge from other people. My body pays for their mistakes and carelessness. In this blog, I want to share my personal experience with celiac, information on how to live and help others with this disease, the do's and don'ts, recipes, and how to feel safe while dining out. Get ready to hear some name-dropping because that is what this blog is all about, it is the only way to stay healthy. |