We have all heard of people who are on the gluten free diet but treat themselves with gluten once in a while. I have often wondered if those who do that actually have Celiac Disease or are just on a gluten free diet for healthier choice reasons or something else.
Call me crazy but ‘treating’ myself to gluten once in a while would be anything but a treat. I am so sensitive to gluten that even a bread crumb has the capacity to ruin me for weeks or months. I go through measures to make sure I don’t accidentally get glutened.
My brother who also has celiac disease decided last year on his birthday to treat himself to a day of gluten binging. He picked a breakfast, lunch and dinner that he could not easily/affordability/conveniently recreate gluten free and ate to his hearts desire. The next day he was full of such guilt and pain from doing that.
For those of you who do ‘treat’ yourselves to gluten once in a while – do you find your reaction to be less or more after being off it for so long? For those of you who don’t ever treat – what would you treat yourself with if you could ‘unceliac’ yourself for one day?
Do You Ever Cheat on your Gluten Free Diet?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I suspect that people who cheat on an ongoing basis never experience how good it feels to be completely gluten free, so along the same lines they might not fully experience the gluten reaction that those of us who are 100% gluten free experience. Even an accidental ingestion of the teeniest tiniest amount sidelines me. I can't even tolerate the mainstream products that are supposed to be less than 20 ppm. I can eat the GFCO-certified products that are less than 10 ppm. My doctor says that it takes 6 mos to get gluten out of the brain, and 6 weeks for elsewhere. That's for an accidental gluten ingestion! I really don't miss anything. I've found when it's out of my diet, I just don't miss it. Plus, I'm really happy with all my food choices living gluten free.
Shirley
Thank you for sharing you story Shirley. I have a very similar reaction to gluten as you do. I have a hard time with cross contamination and have to eat generally less then 10ppm as well. I dont see how anyone would want to cheat – so not worth it to me!
I was diagnosed about a week ago with Celiac and immediately started my GF way of life. Just yesterday I accidently bought the wrong bag of Kettle chips and ate one that was NOT GF. I felt so stressed! I immediately could taste the difference. I have been very upset with myself for not checking the label. I have been buying GF Kettle Chips and assumed they were all GF. Just not thinking on my part. I have 4 small children and fear not being here for them.
I was diagnosed with Celiac disease in November 2010 and started following a strictly gluten free diet soon afterwards. I was strict with it for about a year and a half, but lately I’ve been “cheating” a couple of times a week (for example, Pop-Tarts for breakfast or a slice of regular pizza for lunch) and I haven’t noticed any side effects.
I wouldn’t encourage people with Celiac disease or any gluten sensitivity to cheat as each person’s body is different and there are plenty of gluten-free options available. I suspect my newfound tendency to cheat has come from my depression and “who cares” attitude.