Junior Eliza Walters didn't waste much time deciding what she should and should not eat prior to this year. At the dining hall, Walters glided from station to station filling her plate with whatever looked appetizing that evening. At restaurants, she ordered the dish that most appealed to her, and during trips to the grocery store Walters filled her cart with items that were sure to satisfy her. This carefree approach to food selection came to an end in late August, however, when Walters was diagnosed with celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disease in which the small intestine is damaged by eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley and rye.
After learning that her body couldn't absorb any of the nutrients in wheat products, Walters had to dramatically restructure the way she went about choosing her meals. She scrutinized food labels and ingredients, and going out to eat was only an option if the restaurant could ensure a gluten-free meal.
"I didn't realize at first what a big change of lifestyle it required or how much that change would impact me," Walters said. "When I first made the switch to the gluten-free diet, it felt like I could eat almost nothing and it seemed impossible to stick to."
Eliminating anything containing wheat from her diet turned out to be a more difficult challenge than Walters was prepared for. "I was really upset when I realized the huge change I'd have to make," she said. "It seemed like all of my favorite foods were now off limits — pasta, bread, any baked good. It got pretty aggravating to keep discovering each day more and more things that I couldn't have — my favorite spinach and artichoke dip, anything with soy sauce, birthday cake."
Walters is not alone in her battle against celiac disease. In a recent study released by the Mayo Clinic, researchers found that celiac disease is four and a half times more common today than it was 50 years ago and that as many as one in every 100 people are affected by it. Although awareness for the disease has undoubtedly increased in recent years, it frequently goes undiagnosed because of its wide array of symptoms which include everything from abdominal pain to headaches to mouth ulcers. Researchers are now urging increased awareness of the disease and are recommending that doctors test for it more actively than they have in the past.
But with every cloud comes a silver lining. The apparent increase in cases of celiac disease has resulted in the creation of gluten-free product lines and a rise in the number of restaurants that offer specialized gluten-free menus. Traditional brands are even catching on to the trend: Betty Crocker now offers a line of gluten-free cake and brownie mixes and Annie's provides a special gluten-free mac ‘n' cheese. Likewise, restaurants like P.F. Changs, Not Your Average Joes and Papa Razzi have even begun to offer gluten-free menus that provide an abundance of options for the celiac eater.
One establishment that provides particularly tasty treats for those who must stay gluten-free is Glutenus Minimus — a high-end bakery in Belmont, Mass. which sells cookies, cakes and muffins that are all safe for a celiac looking to indulge.
Glutenus Minimus' owner Natalie McEachern came up with the idea for the business after dealing with her own frustrating diagnosis of celiac disease.
"When I was at school there really were very few options in terms of gluten-free foods that I could eat or I could buy at the grocery store, so my mom would bake things for me and experiment with all the gluten-free flours and try to make me all my favorite normal food," she explained. "I realized that what we were able to make in our kitchen was much better than what you could buy in the grocery stores or the pre-packaged cookies and cupcakes and that sort of thing and I felt like there was definitely a demand for a more gourmet product on the market for celiacs to enjoy just like regular food."
After testing her gluten-free goods at a few farmers markets around Boston, McEachern was overwhelmed with positive responses and decided to establish her own retail location for her products. She opened her bakery last October.
"It's become sort of a destination place for people with celiac disease around the Boston area just because there really are no other gluten-free bakeries close to Boston," she said. "You get people in every day where the first words out of their mouths are ‘thank you for doing this.'"
McEachern recognizes the unique challenges that celiac disease creates for college students, as she herself was diagnosed when she was still in school.
"It can be really devastating in the beginning because it's definitely socially isolating," McEachern said. "In the college scene, you're used to being able to go out to parties or a keg with your friends and all of a sudden you can't drink the beer, you can't go get late night pizza with your friends, you can't go grab bagels in the morning. You just have to really think about it a lot more and plan ahead. It's difficult in the beginning, but once you find your few favorite items that are good substitutes for the regular gluten filled ones, it gets a lot easier."
Tufts Dining Services also does its part to make sure that students with a gluten allergy do not leave the dining halls hungry. Tufts Nutrition and Marketing Specialist Julie Lampie points out that the ingredients of every food at the dining hall are carefully labeled and that gluten-free foods can easily be provided upon request.
"Anyone with celiac disease should make an appointment with me so I can highlight the accommodations for students in both Carmichael and Dewick," Lampie said in an e-mail to The Daily. "These accommodations include purchasing gluten-free breads, rolls, cookies, pasta, pizza crusts, cereals, etc. We even have a gluten-free toaster for students wishing not to have cross contamination when toasting bread. Since we label all of our foods, it is easy to read labels and avoid food containing gluten."
The plethora of gluten-free options available has certainly helped Walters, who now considers herself very well adjusted to celiac style of eating.
"I've learned how to read labels grocery shopping, I've figured out what I can and can't have and I've found some really good gluten-free options," she said. "I think that most importantly, though, I've tried to focus on enjoying all of the delicious things that I still can have."
