Our Experience with “Gluten Free”

At the time we started the puffs, he quickly developed a nasty diaper rash. I had never seen one like it.  He also had little red bumps around his mouth.  After a few days, the bumps hadn’t disappeared. Our usual diaper rash cream wasn’t working at all.  I called the pediatrician who immediately asked about food allergies.

I told the pediatrician we hadn’t started any new foods, so she recommended we come in for a visit.  On the way to our appointment, I remembered the puffs. After some thought I realized the rashes had stared at the same time we introduced the puffs.

The pediatrician confirmed that his rashes, on his face and bottom, looked like an allergic reaction.  We looked at the label on the puffs container. He had already been introduced to every ingredient without ill effects except one: wheat.  She recommended we stop giving him anything with wheat until he was at least a year old.  We were told that it was a common allergy among babies and he would probably outgrow it.

The problem is, he didn’t outgrow it. In fact, his symptoms got worse. Now, when exposed to wheat or gluten (which sometimes happens accidentally) he gets a rash all over his body, especially around his mouth.  He also has lots of trouble with constipation and irritable bowels.  According to our pediatrician, he might have Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes the body not to be able to process gluten.  Celiac Disease is serious, it’s not a fad.

Since learning about my son’s food allergy, we have had to adopt this new way of life and the stigma attached to it.  For us it means braving the health food store and the sometimes ridiculously high cost of gluten free foods.  It means learning to cook in a whole new way.  Just ask my husband about some of the gluten free recipes we tried in the early days! There was lots of take out!

Restaurants are a completely different ball game.  I sometimes worry that the waiters will roll their eyes at us or that the cooks will spit in our food. Why? Because I have to ask questions like:

Are those mashed potatoes real or from a powder? Instant mashed potatoes often contain gluten.

Do you fry the French fries in the same oil that you fry other breaded items? Cross contamination is a real threat we have to think about. Even eating something that has touched a food containing gluten can make our son sick.

And another favorite: Please wipe down the grill before you cook his chicken breast or hamburger patty. Since they may also grill buns or breaded chicken in the same place.

On the bright side, gluten free is becoming main stream! As a result of becoming the latest “fad diet,” it’s easier than ever to find gluten free options at restaurants and large grocery chains across the nation.  We are glad of this, but it also presents us with new challenges.

For example, the recent purchase of potato chips that said “gluten free!” on the front, but listed wheat as an ingredient on the back.  Gluten free isn’t a phrase regulated by the FDA, which means that people with serious allergies still need to read all the ingredients.  Companies can label something as gluten free, when it really isn’t. Hopefully that will change in the near future, but for now the gluten free fad is a blessing and a curse.

We still hope that my son will outgrow his allergy.  He has not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease yet. The tests are pretty intense and his pediatrician says there is still a chance he could outgrow his allergy this year.  For now, we’re sticking with gluten free. I’m getting better and better at gluten free copy cat recipes to replace the foods we love and our friends and family have been, for the most part, very understanding and willing to help.

Do you know someone who is “gluten free?” Do me a favor. Throw a little extra love their way. You might just learn their reasons for being gluten free have more to do with trying to feel healthy than they do with fad diets.

Written by: Sara Parise