Coeliac Awareness Month - Things You May Not Know but Should!

Did you know that May is Coeliac Awareness Month, well it isn't actually a whole month in the UK but it should be! Here in the UK we only dedicate a week to it, this year it's 14th-20th May. That being said I thought I would do a little post on some things that people should know that they probably don't know about us Coeliacs...

1. It is not an Allergy!!! We usually just describe it as this because we cannot be bothered to explain the ins and outs of Coeliac Disease to simple people that cannot be bothered to understand it. It is an autoimmune disease, people! In very basic terms, when our bodies ingest gluten, our bodies attack itself because they think the gluten is something that is going to do harm to us. This then makes our bodies do internal damage to ourselves.

2. It only takes the smallest amount of gluten to trigger us, literally the size of 3/4's of a grain of sugar!!!

3. Cross Contamination is a thing. We have to be so careful and cannot risk eating anything that may have even been close to something containing gluten, basically refer back to number 2.

4. We can get Glutened from a kiss. Think if we ingest it we can get Glutened, so if someone we're kissing has drunk beer or eaten a sandwich for example then we run the risk of ingesting a small amount of that. It's gross to think about but the risk is real!!!

5. Yes, Glutened is a word, you should now add it to your vocabulary. It basically means that we have ingested gluten.

6. We may get excited when we see someone in the Free From aisle, after all, it's not often you see a fellow Coeliac and it's like you have a new friend.

7. No, we do not need an EpiPen! The number of people that have asked me that is ridiculous, read up about it people!!!

8. Just because I am a Coeliac does not mean I want to eat a Veggie meal or a Jacket Potato... Seriously.. what is it with certain menus only giving a select option of foods. It also doesn't mean that you can charge me the same amount of money for half the amount of food, a skinny bun with a side salad is basically a burger with a bit of lettuce. Who in their right mind is going to pay in excess of £12.00 for that?!?!?

9. We will never 'Grow out of it', there is no cure.. It is a lifestyle. It isn't a choice. It's just something we have to live with and deal with by changing our diet, that's it. So stop comparing us to the Fad Diet 'Gluten Free' people because they are just giving us a bad name. Yeah, I am bitter about that, like the majority of Coeliacs!

10. Not everyone with Coeliac Disease suffers the same, we all have different symptoms and some don't even have any at all. So it can very hard to pinpoint if you think you may have it or have been glutened especially if you're a 'silent' Coeliac. 

Hopefully, these points have enlightened some people and given fellow Coeliacs a little chuckle, are there any points that you think people should be aware of? 

Always be kind, you never know what personal battle people are fighting.