In honor of May being Celiac Disease Awareness Month, I thought it would be a good time to do a post about how to answer questions about celiac disease. Like every other celiac out there, I have been asked about thousand times 'what exactly is celiac disease?'or 'what happens when you eat gluten' — It took me a while to come up with short, succinct ways to answer these question without going into all the sorted details or blabbing on for a long time.
For a while it annoyed me to try and describe what celiac was like, but now I have short, rehearsed responses to these questions. I of course answer with what I am comfortable talking about, and discuss the symptoms that are specific to me. Every celiac is different, and may answer these questions differently!
When I get asked, 'what is celiac disease' I usually reply: It's an autoimmune disease, meaning when I eat gluten, my body doesn't know how to process it, and thinks it is a foreign antibody. Essentially, my body starts attacking itself in different ways — stomach pain, bloating, hair loss, nerve damage, etc.
When I get asked, 'what happens when you eat gluten' I usually reply: About 20 minutes after I eat gluten I notice the effects. It starts with stomach pain and upset, and then in the days and weeks following, I have a variety of issues like: brain fog, exhaustion, hair loss, joint pain, weigh gain, etc. Your body stops being able to absorb nutrients and that causes a whole host of problems in the body.
When I get asked, 'how do you get celiac disease?' I usually reply: It's a genetic condition, some people are born with it, while others carry the gene silently, until one day it 'kicks in'. A physically or emotionally dramatic event can set it off if you carry the gene, for me it was getting a parasite.
When I get asked, 'do you ever cheat and eat gluten?' I usually reply: No, definitely not. I was so sick for so long prior to my celiac diagnosis, I would never inflict that on myself voluntarily.
When I get asked, 'will a little bit of gluten really hurt you?' I usually reply: Yes, even a tiny bit sets my entire body off — it's like turning on a light switch, once it's on, it's on.
When I get asked 'you're cured as long as you don't eat gluten, right?' I usually reply: Eating a gluten free diet stops the symptoms, it doesn't cure the disease. Celiac disease is a chronic disease with no cure. There are a lot of residual health problems that are associated with celiac disease.
I hope these answers help some of you out there who find it frustrating to answer questions about celiac disease! The more people who know about and understand this disease, the better!
— The Healthy Celiac
For a while it annoyed me to try and describe what celiac was like, but now I have short, rehearsed responses to these questions. I of course answer with what I am comfortable talking about, and discuss the symptoms that are specific to me. Every celiac is different, and may answer these questions differently!
When I get asked, 'what is celiac disease' I usually reply: It's an autoimmune disease, meaning when I eat gluten, my body doesn't know how to process it, and thinks it is a foreign antibody. Essentially, my body starts attacking itself in different ways — stomach pain, bloating, hair loss, nerve damage, etc.
When I get asked, 'what happens when you eat gluten' I usually reply: About 20 minutes after I eat gluten I notice the effects. It starts with stomach pain and upset, and then in the days and weeks following, I have a variety of issues like: brain fog, exhaustion, hair loss, joint pain, weigh gain, etc. Your body stops being able to absorb nutrients and that causes a whole host of problems in the body.
When I get asked, 'how do you get celiac disease?' I usually reply: It's a genetic condition, some people are born with it, while others carry the gene silently, until one day it 'kicks in'. A physically or emotionally dramatic event can set it off if you carry the gene, for me it was getting a parasite.
When I get asked, 'do you ever cheat and eat gluten?' I usually reply: No, definitely not. I was so sick for so long prior to my celiac diagnosis, I would never inflict that on myself voluntarily.
When I get asked, 'will a little bit of gluten really hurt you?' I usually reply: Yes, even a tiny bit sets my entire body off — it's like turning on a light switch, once it's on, it's on.
When I get asked 'you're cured as long as you don't eat gluten, right?' I usually reply: Eating a gluten free diet stops the symptoms, it doesn't cure the disease. Celiac disease is a chronic disease with no cure. There are a lot of residual health problems that are associated with celiac disease.
I hope these answers help some of you out there who find it frustrating to answer questions about celiac disease! The more people who know about and understand this disease, the better!
— The Healthy Celiac
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