Hello, and Welcome!
I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease as an infant, back in 1964. When my mother tried to start me on solid foods, it passed through my digestive tract without any noticeable change.
Back then, not much was known about the disease; it was believed to be a childhood illness, and the doctors told my mother that it was caused by an under-developed digestive system. Don't worry, they told her, he should grow out of it. They also told her that if I didn't, they'd admit me to give me the only treatment they were aware of; withhold all food for several days, so that the body would be so desperate for food that it would jump-start the digestive system when food was finally re-introduced. Fortunately, I seemed to recover.
I was always small for my age, up until puberty. In my teens, I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance following complaints of excess flatulence. Overall, I was reasonably health, but occasionally would suffer cramps following pasta dinners. This was dismissed as the result of over-eating, and it's true I did love pasta.
As I got older, other symptoms began to manifest, but all were treated as unrelated phenomena. It wasn't until I was fooling around on Google one night, and recalled my long-forgotten childhood illness, that I was correctly diagnosed.
I went gluten-free in 2002, and it was a difficult road at first. Not that I was suddenly starving; there really are a lot of gluten-free foods available in the supermarkets; since I prepared my own meals, it was a matter of leaving out bread cookies and cake, and forgoing some favorite soups. Going out was harder, as was traveling. Gone are the days of hitting the McDonald's drive through and chowing down on a burger while driving down the road.
As awareness has increased, sources of prepared gluten-free foods have grown. Many restaurants now have gluten-free menus, and store shelves have GF cookies and breads. Even 'mainstream' vendors like Betty Crocker and King Arthur's Mills have GF products, and more companies join them every day.
Not a day goes by that I don't bump into someone who has learned they have Celiac Disease, or that has a friend living gluten-free. Friends, cousins, co-workers, all have found themselves faced with making changes to their lifestyle.
This blog is dedicated to helping those of us in South Florida find gluten-free products in stores, and finding restaurants with gluten-free menus and options. It's getting easier to live gluten-free, but that doesn't mean that it's easy to start the diet. I will not be a replacement for Gluten-Free for Dummies, but I'll be a good place to look for local sources.
There will be a glut of articles as I get this blog started; eventually, I will probably publish two days a week, maybe three. We'll see how it goes.
We're all in this together. So relax, you're not alone.
Back then, not much was known about the disease; it was believed to be a childhood illness, and the doctors told my mother that it was caused by an under-developed digestive system. Don't worry, they told her, he should grow out of it. They also told her that if I didn't, they'd admit me to give me the only treatment they were aware of; withhold all food for several days, so that the body would be so desperate for food that it would jump-start the digestive system when food was finally re-introduced. Fortunately, I seemed to recover.
I was always small for my age, up until puberty. In my teens, I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance following complaints of excess flatulence. Overall, I was reasonably health, but occasionally would suffer cramps following pasta dinners. This was dismissed as the result of over-eating, and it's true I did love pasta.
As I got older, other symptoms began to manifest, but all were treated as unrelated phenomena. It wasn't until I was fooling around on Google one night, and recalled my long-forgotten childhood illness, that I was correctly diagnosed.
I went gluten-free in 2002, and it was a difficult road at first. Not that I was suddenly starving; there really are a lot of gluten-free foods available in the supermarkets; since I prepared my own meals, it was a matter of leaving out bread cookies and cake, and forgoing some favorite soups. Going out was harder, as was traveling. Gone are the days of hitting the McDonald's drive through and chowing down on a burger while driving down the road.
As awareness has increased, sources of prepared gluten-free foods have grown. Many restaurants now have gluten-free menus, and store shelves have GF cookies and breads. Even 'mainstream' vendors like Betty Crocker and King Arthur's Mills have GF products, and more companies join them every day.Not a day goes by that I don't bump into someone who has learned they have Celiac Disease, or that has a friend living gluten-free. Friends, cousins, co-workers, all have found themselves faced with making changes to their lifestyle.
This blog is dedicated to helping those of us in South Florida find gluten-free products in stores, and finding restaurants with gluten-free menus and options. It's getting easier to live gluten-free, but that doesn't mean that it's easy to start the diet. I will not be a replacement for Gluten-Free for Dummies, but I'll be a good place to look for local sources.There will be a glut of articles as I get this blog started; eventually, I will probably publish two days a week, maybe three. We'll see how it goes.
We're all in this together. So relax, you're not alone.
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