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The biggest problem with the fad of people going on gluten-free diets? It means that people become careless - when they encounter someone who actually has celi

The biggest problem with the fad of people going on gluten-free diets? It means that people become careless - when they encounter someone who actually has celiac disease, they are less likely to treat it seriously. (Case in point: the guy at the grocer's who repeatedly insisted to a celiac friend of mine that durum semolina pasta was gluten-free.)

alttab 12y ago
A family member of mine has celiacs and we get this BS all the time. If her food is even prepared next to gluten, she gets sick. Often the waiter will say it is gluten free and then she begins to break out in a rash and has to go to the bathroom to throw it all up. This annoys her when we go out with friends who are "gluten free," ask all over the menu for gluten free options, don't like them, and then order beer and a burger instead. Gluten free diet is a fad, much like many diets. I am grateful for the increased selection though, as I am not a celiac and the more gluten free food there is, the less often we need to buy two sets of groceries.
bedhead 12y ago
Yes. My 6 y/o son has celiac and this is by far the biggest issue now. The awareness of what gluten actually is is nice, but the default assumption is now that it's someone who's voluntarily dieting, which can create some bad situations. We always make it a point at restaurants to not simply inquire about GF, but emphasize that our son has celiac in the hopes that they think, "Oh, this isn't some lame fad dieter, I need to really ask the chef about this."
thrill 12y ago
I've had a waiter bring my celiac wife the same salad back after obviously simply picking out the explicitly declined croutons (evident by the particularly hideous looking radicchio in that particular salad) instead of making a new salad as required. It's one of the few times I've exploded in public.

3 ms·

The biggest problem with the fad of people going on gluten-free diets? It means that people become careless - when they encounter someone who actually has celi

by TheLoneWolfling 12y ago

alttab 12y ago
A family member of mine has celiacs and we get this BS all the time. If her food is even prepared next to gluten, she gets sick. Often the waiter will say it is gluten free and then she begins to break out in a rash and has to go to the bathroom to throw it all up. This annoys her when we go out with friends who are "gluten free," ask all over the menu for gluten free options, don't like them, and then order beer and a burger instead. Gluten free diet is a fad, much like many diets. I am grateful for the increased selection though, as I am not a celiac and the more gluten free food there is, the less often we need to buy two sets of groceries.
bedhead 12y ago
Yes. My 6 y/o son has celiac and this is by far the biggest issue now. The awareness of what gluten actually is is nice, but the default assumption is now that it's someone who's voluntarily dieting, which can create some bad situations. We always make it a point at restaurants to not simply inquire about GF, but emphasize that our son has celiac in the hopes that they think, "Oh, this isn't some lame fad dieter, I need to really ask the chef about this."
thrill 12y ago
I've had a waiter bring my celiac wife the same salad back after obviously simply picking out the explicitly declined croutons (evident by the particularly hideous looking radicchio in that particular salad) instead of making a new salad as required. It's one of the few times I've exploded in public.