Three reasons NOT to hate Coeliac disease.

Ok, so being a Coeliac isn’t easy. Watching your friends eating all the things you dream of tasting again is hard work, and sometimes it can make you down-right miserable. So here’s my top three reasons not to hate being gluten-free!

1. You can educate others.

I feel as if I have unintentionally trained my friends to be label reading slaves! Everyone who knows about my eating habits and spends enough time with me seems to have converted to reading the label of every food item they pick up.

But this isn’t a bad thing. Before I had to check every label, I didn’t care about what went into the food I eat. Ceoliac disease has opened my eyes to how many unecessary ingredients are added to food, and it’s helped me to educate my friends and family as well.

And it’s opened the eyes of my friends and family as well. People will turn to me and say things like “Oh, I didn’t know there was wheat in sausages!” Having this condition has helped not only myself, but others to make healthier choices about what they eat.

2. You get to try new things.

I often think that my diet is more varied now than it was before I was diagnosed. Suddenly, all the usual foods I consumed were out of bounds, and this forced me to branch out and try new things. Now I have a much better attitude to food – I am prepared to try anything that I can, and this has led me to find things I wouldn’t normally have eaten.

3. People will go out of their way to help you.

I used to hate discussing my dietary requirements in restaurants and such like, but people are more than willing to listen and understand. The knowledge of gluten intolerance is growing, and more and more often i find that people actually know what the word “coeliac” means.

In some restaurants, people will go out of their way and even buy in or make completely different meals than on the menu. Companies are posting more information on their labels and menus. Awareness if growing and people are more willing to help.

But more importantly, my family and friends will go out of their way to make sure that things aren’t uncomfortable and awkward for me at the dinner table! My Mum relishes it as a chance to experiment, even though she detest gluten free pastry, and generally my friends will always make an effort it we’re meeting up for food to make sure that I can eat happily!

If you have any additional plus sides to being a Coeliac, then please comment below or get in touch and share them! Just remember that whilst there can be down sides to being gluten free, the growing awareness and product range means that being a Coeliac doesn’t have to be a hinderance!