Why I Complain the Most About People Who Think Coeliac Disease Is Just a Fad

The thing I probably complain about the most is people who treat coeliac disease like it’s just another diet trend.

I mean, really, when it comes to coeliac, I deal with enough already—checking food labels, asking about cross-contamination, explaining yet again that I can’t eat gluten—but what really gets to me is the idea that I’m doing this for fun.

Take this article I read recently by Greg Dickinson, for example. The guy suggests that Brits are freaking out over bread and should be more like other European countries who aren’t obsessed with gluten-free stuff. It completely missed the point that, for those of us with coeliac disease, avoiding gluten isn’t a choice—it’s a medical necessity. (Here is my take on this article below).

This kind of thinking is what fuels the idea that gluten-free is just a fad. It makes restaurants less careful about cross-contamination, it leads friends and family to think we’re being dramatic, and it even makes strangers roll their eyes when we ask if something is actually safe to eat.

I’ve had people tell me it’s great that I have an “interest” in gluten-free food. Like I just woke up one day and thought, you know what would be fun? Reading every single food label, grilling waiters about kitchen practices, and spending more money on groceries.

Honestly, as I get older, I seem to complain about more things—my wife even says I moan about the silliest stuff sometimes, which apparently makes me sound even older. But when lazy articles like this one make life harder for people with coeliac disease, I just can’t help it.