Next time someone claims he's gluten-intolerant...

[DetlefK]

http://www.abadcaseofthedates.com/2014/09/intolerance.html

Story Sent in by Paulette:

Online, Thomas asked me if I wanted to visit a local bakery with him. "It's run by a couple from Greece," he told me, "The nicest people. They make everything on site."

Sign me up, I told him.

When there, I ordered a tsoureki roll and he ordered some baklava. After we sat down and nibbled for a little bit, he asked me if I liked it. I really did.

Then, he asked me if he could try some of my roll. I handed it to him and he took a bite. After chewing it for a little bit and swallowing, he gagged and said, "It's poison!" then stood up, nearly fell over, grabbed my cup of water, drank it all down, and bolted for the bathroom.

He had made a scene and so everyone there, worker and customer alike, looked at me. I sniffed at the roll, as if I could tell what poison smelled like. I had already tried some and felt fine. I took another bite and didn't die. So I headed for the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"You okay in there?" I asked.

He replied, "Yes. Don't come in. Poison."

"I tried more of the roll. It seemed fine to me."

He said, "Gluten! I forgot about gluten!"

I asked, "Are you gluten intolerant?"

He said, "No, but it tasted like poison."

"Right," I said, "I'll meet you back at the table."

I returned to the table with my half-eaten roll and his baklava still there, waiting for me. When he didn't come out after a long time, I finished them both and simply left.

A while later, he texted me, "Where's my baklava?"

I replied, "Seemed like a shame to waste it. And it probably had gluten or poison in it or whatever, so I figured you wouldn't eat it."

He wrote back, "But POISON!"

I didn't respond. Ever.

[Archae]

1. This "gluten free" is just another fad.

I have a relative who is a retired nurse practitioner, she is constantly pushing this "probiotic" stuff on us, lots of supplements.

She's healthy, but annoying.

Just too many dietary fads, and dietary evangelists out there.

[Warpy]

3. I'm actually very annoyed that when I had no health insurance

and was trying to track down yet another rash by elimination of various things for a week at a time that the thing I thought it would never be because allergy in adults is so uncommon is wheat. I was disgusted because I loved to bake, loved pasta, loved wheat based cuisines.

It's mild--wheezing, itching, heartburn--but just annoying enough for me to avoid it as much as I can.

Yes, it's a fad. I sincerely hope my old body gets over it because I hate being part of a fad. Besides, wheat free substitutes are weird.

[SheilaT]

2. I likewise get very tired

of this gluten bullshit.

While there are people who actually are gluten intolerant, they are, as I understand it, less than one percent of the population, so I'm tired of what seems like very third person claiming this.

Am I the only person who has noticed that all those people, well a good number of them anyway, who are vegetarians, or vegans, or take many nutritional supplements, who scrupulously don't consume any known gluten, and so on, really aren't quite as healthy as us omnivores?

[deafskeptic]

4. Ttought there was a possibility I might be celiac

My niece is a celiac (and the only family celiac) and I thought there might be a possibility that I could be one.

It turns out that I have pernicious anemia instead of celiac disease. I'm happy to know this because I wouldn't want to give up bread. It's quite rare.

I remember my big sister being concerned about my niece's health. It took a dozen of visits to doctors before my niece was dx'd.

[Orrex]

6. You've identified the real danger IMO

I know about two dozen people who've self-diagnosed as "gluten intolerant," and every single one of them is strikingly aggressive in defending their self-diagnosis.

Curiously, they're all equally quick to rationalize a gluten-heavy snack now and then, like pizza or cupcakes, but they insist that they're really intolerant and can't stand to ingest even a gram of gluten.

Well, they can buy all the wheat substitutes they like, but if they're actually harboring another, undiagnosed condition, then those fancy breads aren't going to do them a bit of good.

Your expreience with pernicious anemia is a perfect illustration of this, and it highlights the danger of consulting Dr. Google.

[Marrah_G]

5. Although actual Celiac disease is rare, I am glad to see more things available for them

And it wouldn't hurt for more people to eat less wheat (especially the processed kind) and more vegetables and fruits This is one of those fads that even though the pocketbook takes a hit, it doesn't do any actual damage.

One of the nicest shop owners I ever met had a gluten free/low carb/sugar free store that she opened after having such a hard time finding special food products to feed her son (I think he had downs syndrome). I used to go there to buy low carb baking mix and pasta before it became available in the local supermarket. I wish I still lived in the area.