Things I’ve Googled in the past 6 months because I have celiac disease:

• Does semen contain gluten?

• How long after ingesting gluten do symptoms develop?

• The Lesley University ADA decision and celiac disease

• The Olive Garden lawsuit

• Caramel color vs modified food starch vs wheat vs gluten

• What the FDA actually requires for a gluten-free label

• Gluten Free Watchdog and mislabeled products

• Non-responsive vs refractory celiac disease

• IBS vs FODMAP intolerance

• Celiac diagnosis criteria and follow-up schedule

• Cross-contact and how much gluten actually causes damage

• The 20ppm standard

And yes — I read research papers on Google Scholar now.

Celiac disease quietly turns you into a researcher.

At diagnosis you think you’re just learning what to eat.

What you’re actually learning is risk assessment.

You start realizing your health depends almost entirely on your own understanding. Not a doctor you see twice a year. Not a nutrition label written for the general population. You.

So you start reading.

You start asking questions.

You start comparing sources.

You learn to separate:

internet advice

from advocacy

from evidence

from lived reality.

Because celiac disease isn’t just a diet. It’s a daily responsibility. Every meal, every invitation, every grocery trip requires a decision — and you know the consequences if you get it wrong.

The diet is the treatment, but knowledge is the protection.

Most people with celiac eventually become part-time scientist, part-time investigator, and full-time label reader — not because we want to, but because we have to.

And after a while you realize the hardest part of celiac disease isn’t giving up bread.

It’s carrying the mental load of being the only person accountable for your health.

So now I’m curious:

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve googled because of celiac disease?