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As if having coeliac disease wasn’t bad enough, you have to put up with people saying some pretty stupid things. I get it – the population isn’t as clued up on coeliac disease and a gluten free diet as it should be, which is probably why diagnosis rates are still far too low.
But it can get tiring being asked the same old questions and hearing the same blanket statements. Sometimes you wonder, is it just me? Don’t worry folks, you’re not alone!
I asked members of The Gluten Free Blogger Facebook group to tell me the most annoying things anyone has said to them about being gluten free. I’ve mixed these up with some of my own personal favourites. Get the popcorn out kids, there’s some gooduns in here! How many can you tick off the list?
First there are the stupid questions…
‘What’s a co-liac/celeriac/co-e-liac?’
‘Risk it?’
Pointing at every single bit of food you go to eat and saying ‘has that got gluten in it?’
Being asked what exactly happens when you eat gluten. (See earlier blog post here)
‘Are you sure it’s not all in your mind?’
‘Oh you can’t eat potatoes can you?’
Me: ‘I’m gluten free.’ Friend: ‘Oh, so you can’t eat yeast?’
Then the stupid things said to us by servers
Me: ‘Does the (whatever) contain gluten?’ Waiter: ‘Yes I think so, it’s got butter in.’
Being told there is a vegetarian menu in response to asking a restaurant if they have any gluten free food.
Being served chicken skewers on top of a pitta bread and being told ‘it’s ok, you can leave the bread’.
Ordering gluten free starters in a restaurant – and then being asked if you want a gluten free main too.
Me: ‘Is that gluten free?’ Server: ‘It should be?’
Me: ‘Is this dish gluten free?’ Server: “There is no gluten in this. It is gluten free. But if you’re really allergic I wouldn’t eat it.”
‘The chips are safe because the high temperature in the fryer will kill the gluten particles.’
The condescending remarks
‘I went on a gluten free diet once… I lost so much weight.’
‘Oh so you’ve just got a bit of IBS.’
‘I don’t know how you do it’ – errr, I don’t have much choice mate!
And of course, the downright ‘WTF’ moments
‘I spent hours looking for some glucose free biscuits for you, but I couldn’t find any.’
‘I wish I was coeliac too because it would stop me eating so much cake’
Once I tried to use a language card in a restaurant in Paris to explain I had coeliac disease and they asked if I needed a hospital.
‘We bought some of your gluten free sausages by mistake. We thought they were going to be vile as full of your gluten free stuff but they were amazing.’
‘What is this gluten free rubbish? Can’t you just take the gluten out?’
And my personal favourite…
‘A little bit won’t hurt you’
Have I missed any out?
I know there are probably a lot more things people have said to you about being gluten free which have made you want to #facepalm to the max! I’d love to know anything I’ve missed in the comments below – vent your fury!
If you want a giggle, give these other posts a read!
- 12 things everyone with coeliac disease has done (but may not admit)
- 19 things you’ll only understand if you have coeliac disease
- 13 things every coeliac feels about gluten free chocolate brownies
- 18 things that happen when you eat out on a gluten free diet
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You’re just doing it for attention/to be awkward
You’re doing it to control where we eat
What is it you can *actually* eat then?
Oh yes, I’ve had this. Got told ‘Don’t make a fuss’ Another time ‘Well, you can just have a salad’
I always get asked what will happen if you eat some 😳guess!
Calling people stupid for asking about your health in good faith probably isn’t good for you either.
I’m sure they can appreciate it’s just a bit of humour!
Your friends, possibly. All others, not so much based on the tone of the article.
Guess what? A person that isn’t going through the horrible thing isn’t likely to know too much about it unless they specifically study that thing for whatever reason. They’re going to say stupid things. It’s not directed at you or your thing.
Yeah it sucks that mainstream, fad diet, idiots took over your thing and made it into something that it’s not. Hopefully in the last year or so you’ve gotten over it.
I’m sorry you felt so offended by this article, in all the thousands of people that have read it, you seem to be the only one who is upset by it. It’s a joke article intended to be humorous, obviously you have taken it a little too seriously 😀 Perhaps my blog is not the best fit for you, as if you don’t like this, you certainly won’t like some of my other tongue-in-cheek posts! 🙂
Phoning a restaurant in advance to check that they had a gluten free menu, then waiting staff not knowing which items contained gluten. Was also served ice cream on a bed of crushed biscuit (it only stated ice cream as the ingredient on the menu) and sending it back, amid much confusion.
I’ve experienced a similar situation in several restaurants. Better training is needed, as it’s clear that waiting staff are often out of their depth. Feel sorry for them- management should be educating/ providing them with more information on dietary requirements, especially if they claim to offer gluten-free items!
Then don’t go out to eat…
I’ve been referred to as a ‘fussy eater’ before – that was fun. I also got from a server in a restaurant ‘ergh, imagine having to live like that!’ 😡
“Why would anyone buy those, they taste awful”
“It’s just a fad”
“Yes, there’s big money in gluten free these days”
!!!
Being told that the heat in the fryer kills the gluten…..
Would you like ordinary bread in place of the ciabatta
My favourite latest one is… go on… have a cake…can’t you just treat yourself every now and then!!!
“Do you ever fancy having a blow out?” Yeah why not for fun and be holed up for a day or two with excruciating stomach cramps and not being able to be far from the toilet…second thoughts no.