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Backlash continues to slam the gluten free community. How can we fix it?


 The gluten free diet continues to be the most talked about diet in the country. With so many people looking to make healthy life changes, people feel that the gluten free diet is the answer to their prayers.
Go into any store and there are entire sections chock full of gluten free food items. Most chain restaurants have gluten free menus, and even some localized restaurants are offering gluten free options. With gluten free being everywhere, many people (those who aren't gluten free) are now on gluten free overload.

People who are not gluten free tend to roll their eyes or groan whenever someone even mentions the term gluten free. These folks have even become vocal and made comments about the gluten free diet being "trendy" and "ridiculous."
Those of us with Celiac Disease end up getting caught in the war between the non-GFs and those using the GF diet to lose weight (the trendies).

A lot of people in the Celiac community do take the ridicule personally, and end up lashing out at those who make the comments. I actually don't take it personally, because I know the ridicule isn't directed toward those of us who have Celiac disease. It is directed toward those who are being trendy.
The ridicule is a result of advertisement overdrive. People have had enough.

Now, how can we fix it?
-Well, we shouldn't be lashing out against people who ridicule us. We should look into why people feel this way. When I was in college, I majored in psychology. I loved picking people's brain. I love the way the mind works. I know that when people are on sensory overload, they will erupt and go crazy. If we react to it, we add fuel to the fire.
The fight ends up looking something like this:
-We can educate our communities about Celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and the gluten free diet. A few years ago, I went out to a bar with a friend of mine, and I asked the bartender if he had any Redbridge beer. He had no idea what that was. I told him it was gluten free beer, and I explained to him that I have Celiac disease. We had a 2 minute discussion about it, and he said that he was going to put some on order. Whether he ordered some or not doesn't matter. What matters is, he took the time to listen. Also, those of us in the Connecticut area have probably seen the commercial for Quest Diagnostics, asking people to get tested for Celiac disease if they have the symptoms.
-Family gatherings are one area that I've started to get the hang of. Every once and a while, I make a GF dish to bring to my boyfriend's grandmother's house for Sunday dinner. They are an Italian family with very strong palates. If I can win them over, I can win ANYONE over. I've definitely won them over. Make some GF food for your family/community gatherings or potluck.

Most of all, we need to be a strong, thick-skinned community. The world is not against us. However, we should always try to be strong and also calm (especially for the sake of our immune system).
The backlash doesn't seem like it will let up, so long as there are people buying into the "fad." During this time, we need to continue living our lives.
The only good part of the GF popularity is all the good GF food it's brought us. 

Readers, what else can we do to help fix the problem? Comment below.

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