Blame Gluten....When It's At Fault

Sometimes people make me laugh, shake my head and then wonder.There seem to be a lot of folks out there who blame Gluten for just about everything. I have seen enough silly statements to draw a comparison to an old Country music joke. No offence to anyone who enjoys Country music ;)

Lets remember that misinformation spreads like wildfire. Celiac is not contagious but stupidity and ignorance seem to be. Believe it or not, many of the points below have been wildly debated about in Celiac forums. I certainly do not blame the newly diagnosed - it's a learning curve. There just seems to be so many people that add fuel to the fire by constantly spreading falsehoods about this complex and misunderstood disease. Heck, most Doctor's don't even correctly understand.

• Celiac Disease is not responsible for your fear of heights
• The dog did not do it's business inside to protest your Gluten Free ways
• A mosquito landing on a piece of regular bread and then biting you, will not make you ill. Unless it's some West Nile Virus kinda thing.
• Meat from a cow that enjoys wheat will not cause a Celiac reaction.
• The scent of the bakery section at your grocery store is not making you ill. That's called anxiety and you are making yourself sick by fearing a reaction.

All jokes aside, the problem with blaming Gluten/Celiac for everything is quite serious and could be detrimental to ones overall health. As no two Celiac's are alike, it is up to us to understand our reaction(s) to Gluten. By blindly condemning Gluten when it is not the real culprit, we risk further harm by not seeking medical attention when necessary.