I am not the type of person with a quick, witty comeback. I am one that stares slack jawed at the person’s absolutely inane, uneducated comment. Five minutes later I have the best retort, but the moment has passed. I’ve missed my window.

I wanted to offer some suggestions as ammunition for the dumb stuff people say about celiac disease. Also, this is not designed to be used with close friends or intimate contacts. This is more for polite conversation at a party or gathering with a group of people that you may not know well. If you have better answers, I’d love it!!!

I have a friend/sister/cousin that is gluten sensitive and they went to Europe and didn’t have a problem with the bread in Europe. My answer is “I’m glad they had a nice trip. Celiac disease exists in Europe too and European celiac sufferers can’t eat bread and pasta either.” If you want to get snarky, “Great, I’ll just move to Europe and my celiac will go away, NOT!”

Celiac disease didn’t exist 20 years ago. This one is easy. “ It sure did. Celiac disease has been around for 1,000 years. We have better testing and more awareness so that those that are sick can find some relief.”

All celiac people are skinny. My answer is “That used to be what people thought, but now the disease can look different in different people.”

Celiac disease is made up. My answer is, “I agree. Please tell that to my gastrointestinal system so I can go back to eating all the good food.” There should be laughter after this one.

What do you eat? My answer is, “I eat great – lots of fruits, vegetables, rice, quinoa, meat, seafood, cheese, eggs, and dairy. It’s actually made me a better cook.”

I brought you this organic, vegan bread. My answer is, “Thank you for the thought. It was very kind. Organic, vegan, and gluten free are not all the same. There is organic, vegan wheat and I can’t eat wheat.”

More of these answers later today….

#celiac #glutenfree #celiacdisease #coeliac #celiacawareness #gluten #allergy #glutensensitive