Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease. This means the body attacks the protein gluten as if it were a pathogen. In addition to having any combination of the 300 plus symptoms related to the disease including anemia, stomach pain, headaches, muscle aches, vomiting and fatigue, there is a social aspect of the disease. This disease can easily affect social health as well as physical health. Gluten is in all the good stuff: beer, flavored liquors, candy, anything fried, cookies and bread. On top of this laundry list, there are plenty of non-food products that contain gluten as well. All Aveeno products are wheat based, as well as most Clinque make up products. For those newly diagnosed, don’t worry – it gets easier.
A gluten-free diet is not only for people with Celiac disease. Wheat is not easily digested by the human body and affects everyone differently. Some people find that a gluten-free diet alleviates certain ailments like severe headaches, but society is turning everyone, Celiac or not, against gluten. The only fact regarding gluten for those without Celiac is the same for all food: take it in moderation. Without realizing it, you are probably ingesting gluten at every meal. Whether it’s a bagel in the morning, a sandwich at lunch, goldfish for a snack or pasta for dinner, it’s easy to take in a lot of wheat products throughout the day. Swapping one meal for a gluten free alternative would not be the worst thing in the world.
A great investment would be a book called “The Essential Gluten Free Grocery Guide.” It is a blueprint to the grocery store for gluten-free dieters. It lists every product that is naturally gluten-free, has been altered to be gluten-free and all the products produced in a facility that also processes wheat. It is what it claims to be: essential.
Other factors are just about adjusting. Learn what your community offers for gluten free grocery stores. Use urbanspoon.com or another restaurant site to find restaurants with gluten-free options.
And when in doubt, don’t eat it.
Luckily, Amherst is teeming with a variety of gluten-free opportunities. Besides having a Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Stop & Shop and Big Y all within a bus ride, the center of Amherst has restaurants like Bertucci’s, Mango Mango, La Veracruzana, Bueno Y Sano, Fresh Side and Amherst Creperie. It may not be Wings or Antonio’s, but when everyone else is eating that, know that you don’t have to sit with them and just drink water.
I recommend the mango fried rice, sweet potato chili and the steak Rueben at Mango Mango. It can be difficult to find good sandwich bread short of baking it yourself, but Mango Mango bakes a roll that rivals normal bread.
Corporate restaurants like Bertucci’s have good training in cross contamination and tending to gluten free customers and they also have a decent sized gluten-free menu, so feel confident eating there.
The only thing at La Veracruzana and Bueno Y Sano that are certainly safe to eat are the tacos because they use corn tortillas instead of flour.
Fresh Side offers gluten-free soups, which are very difficult to find. Chicken stock and beef broth both usually contain gluten, so you can’t just heat up a can of Campbell’s tomato soup.
And when people are waiting in line at Antonio’s, you can walk two stores over and get a fantastic omelet from Amherst Creperie. It is healthier and will blow you away – much better than any omelet bar at any dining common.
Eating out while going gluten-free is not cheap, but take advantage of the surrounding grocery stores and one can live on a budget. Stop & Shop is handy because it’s not as expensive as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s and has a section dedicated to gluten free. Their deli workers are aware of gluten contamination and are more than willing to clean the machine before cutting your sandwich meat. Keep in mind that the perimeter of the grocery stores are the safest bet, but once one knows what to look for in the labels, cruise the aisles for other things like snacks, dressings and marinades. Appreciate what Amherst has to offer and don’t ever be afraid to be a pain in the butt. It is better to annoy a worker for ten minutes than feel like your insides are going to explode. Take a drive to Northampton and experience the restaurants in the center of town. Gluten-free is everywhere; just know where to look for it.
Kelsey Laning can be reached at [email protected].
