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Jennifer Lawrence calls the gluten free diet, "The cool new eating disorder."


photo credit: boxyblogs


Actress Jennifer Lawrence has come under fire for calling the gluten free diet the "cool new eating disorder." She made this statement in the November issue of Vanity Fair.

The gluten free community is now speaking out against the actress. Cynthia Kupper,the executive director for the Gluten Intolerance group, made a statement to FOX411:
"When I think of an eating disorder, I think anorexia, bulimia or strange eating patterns. Jennifer’s comments make me angry."
Kupper has Celiac Disease and also stated that there are 2 digestive disorders that cause gluten intolerance: Celiac Disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis. She stated that these are "well-acknowledged and documented medical conditions."

People on social media have been fuming at the actress's comment about the gluten free diet. People have told her to stick to acting because she doesn't know anything about eating healthy. Major fans of the actress are disappointed in her nonsense.

My opinion:
Since I cannot cuss on this specific blog, I'm going to try and word my opinion carefully.
I was among the millions of people who liked Jennifer Lawrence movies. My favorite one is "Silver Linings Playbook." She was amazing in that.
However, as a Celiac, I am deeply offended by her comments. The gluten free diet is NOT an eating disorder. It is our only treatment. It is our prescription that we need to take for the rest of our lives. We have no choice. We eat gluten free foods in order to stay alive. I watched my grandmother deteriorate from having Celiac disease during a time when there was no gluten free food available in the area. When the only store within a 200 mile radius closed, she was SOL. She went back to eating food containing gluten. She was skin and bones. When she died in 2007, she weighed 60 pounds! She shrunk half a foot during the 1980s and 1990s. I was one of her caregivers in the 1990s, and I was only a teenager! It killed me to watch my grandmother go through hell because of this disease.
I inherited this disease from her. Since my diagnosis, her being gone has been exponentially rough on me. We share this unfortunate bond, and she is the only one in my family that could have understood how hard it can be to be gluten free for life.

I hope that Jennifer Lawrence educates herself on what Celiac disease, DH, etc are all about. Many folks are prescribed the gluten free diet because it alleviates many uncomfortable (and life-threatening) symptoms.
If it weren't for the gluten free diet being so popular right now, we wouldn't have much at our disposal. Granted, most of the baked goods are chock full of carbs, sugar, and fat, but at least we have that option for a sweet treat. Gluten free food from the 1990s, 1980s, and before then: that food was God awful! I remember trying one of my grandmother's muffins, made completely from scratch. I thought I was eating cardboard. It was horrendous. But, I knew that those muffins were keeping her alive (and helping her put on weight. She was doctor-ordered to put on weight. She never could. She did get up to near 100 while being gluten free. She was still skin and bones then. You can imagine what she looked like before she died).

Celiac disease, DH, and other illnesses are nothing to joke about. They mean business. I still suffer symptoms every once in a while. I have some complications from the disease. Gluten free food has alleviated most of my symptoms. I remember the months leading up to my diagnosis. I was very very sick.

Just like there is no cure for cancer, there is no cure for Celiac disease. The gluten free diet is our lifesaver. It is NOT an eating disorder!!
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