Learn effective ways to communicate your gluten-free needs to friends and family, ensuring support and understanding for your lifestyle choice.
Effective Strategies for Communicating Your Dietary Restrictions
Living gluten-free can be a challenging journey, especially when those around you don’t fully understand your dietary needs. Whether it’s due to celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or personal health choices, individuals often face skepticism from friends and family. Common misconceptions might include the belief that “a little gluten won’t hurt,” or a lack of knowledge on how to accommodate gluten-free diets. This disconnect can lead to frustration and social anxiety for those trying to maintain their gluten-free lifestyle.
To navigate these challenges, effective communication is key. It’s important to express your gluten-free needs clearly and kindly, helping others understand the significance of your dietary restrictions. By providing information and sharing your experiences, you can foster a supportive environment that encourages your loved ones to be more considerate. This understanding is essential for making social situations less stressful and promoting a smoother gluten-free living experience.
Bridging the Gap: Making Gluten-Free Living a Family Affair
Quick reminder before we get started on this episode this podcast is based on my personal experiences and isn’t medical advice going gluten-free can be hard enough but what happens when the people around you don’t understand why maybe they think you’re overacting that a little gluten won’t hurt or they just don’t know how to accommodate your needs.
So they’re afraid and don’t understand whether you have celiac disease gluten intolerance or choose to live gluten-free for other health reasons getting friends and family on board can be one of the biggest challenges but the good news there are ways to make it easier for them and for you in today’s episode we’re talking about how to.
Communicate your gluten-free needs in a way that gets others to listen understand and even support you so let’s make social situations less stressful and gluten-free living a little smoother welcome to the gluten-free engineer podcast I’m your host Ki Saunders in 2011 I was diagnosed with celiac disease moment that changed.
Everything but I was determined not to let it hold me back with my two engineering degrees I set out to reverse engineer the gluten-free lifestyle breaking down recipes safety tips travel hacks and everything in between to rebuild a life I love whether you have celiac disease gluten intolerance or simply choose to live gluten-free this.
Podcast is for you join me each week as we simplify the gluten-free lifestyle make it fun and prove that you don’t have to miss out on anything so most people don’t fully understand what gluten is or why it’s harmful to some people so you might need to educate kindly those around you about gluten and what it is you can explain it in simple.
Terms that it’s a protein found in wheat barley and rye and that for you eating it can cause serious health problems even if I don’t feel the effects immediately some people might get it with just telling them these simple facts but other people might be a little bit more skeptical and not understand it because they’ve not heard of gluten.
Before or really Celiac or or gluten intolerance and don’t really fully understand it so if you have celiac disease you might need to emphasize that it’s an autoimmune disease and not just a food preference that you’re required to eat this way by your doctors and Health Care Professionals for gluten sensitivity you.
Might explain that gluten still triggers uncomfortable symptoms in you like bloating headaches and brain f and that you can even maybe add if you want that you had no idea you had this gluten sensitivity until you went off gluten and then realized it by trying gluten again because many times we don’t understand that we have a food.
Sensitivity until we’ve been off of it for a long enough and you can maybe even explain that as well you know just say that you had no idea until you did this experiment and listen to your body and then for those that are curious and want to help you out and also want to maybe create food for you you want to make sure that you’re clear about.
Cross-contamination risks especially if you’re Celiac one of the biggest misunderstandings that I found was how even a tiny amount of gluten can cause harm a lot of people didn’t realize that and I honestly didn’t realize that at first when I realize I had Celiac either until I did enough experimentation to realize really tiny amounts of gluten.
Really make me feel pretty terrible so you can use a relatable example to say something like it’s like peanut allergies just because I’m not eating a peanut butter sandwich doesn’t mean I’m safe if my food touches peanuts a lot of people understand the peanut allergy and how the oils from peanuts can be you know cross contaminated and put onto.
Other Foods it’s similar to gluten I mean obviously gluten is not an actual true allergy allergy but the glue and the the glue which is the word from gluten right it sticks to so many things whenever gluten touches glutenfree food it it likes to stay there and get in your system so similar to peanut oils it will stay.
There and stay in that you know food that’s touched it so you can explain some common risk such as using the same toaster for gluten-free and regular bread can make you sick because the crumbs from the gluten bread will stay in that toaster and it’s basically impossible to clean a toaster if you know what I mean I’m sure you’ve.
Probably tried to clean it some but you know you don’t get everything out of there also shared cooking surfaces or utensils also are a great way to transport gluten into a gluten-free Dish as well similarly somebody wouldn’t do that for an allergy you know if somebody had a peanut allergy or a dairy allergy or something like that they wouldn’t use.
The same SPO in a dairy product in a Dairy item and then put it in a non-dairy item that’s meant for somebody with a dairy allergy it’s and gluten it’s just so easy to get that into our system also things like double dipping in condiments like butter Mayo jelly peanut butter for example I know that you know we were recently um at a.
Family’s house for um a celebratory birthday party and I have thankfully taught my kids that their first question they didn’t want to get butter for their baked potato cuz the baked potato is gluten-free you know obviously unless you put something weird on the outside of it um and they didn’t want they were afraid to get the butter and I I had to.
Tell my one of my children I’m like I saw the butter on the butter dish it was completely brand new we were safe on that one so then they were comfortable to go get the butter but when family and friends don’t understand that too and I also knew we weren’t using bread and there hadn’t been any bread used around it too but when family and friends don’t.
Understand something as simple as a butter dish could carry those crumbs into a gluten safe you know a gluten-free safe product or item that they’re eating you know they they might not think about that because it’s not something they’re used to thinking about so always be kind when you’re doing you know these type of education things and.
Help step them through it um you know you don’t want to talk down towards to them but you know make it simple though because their brains aren’t thinking on the same level as yours because you’re not they’re not the ones that are needing this type of food change and always communicate with kindness and not frustration as I just.
Implied it’s really easy to get frustrated when people don’t get it especially when you just know how bad it’s going to make you feel uh you know it might make you like super cranky besides the other you know problems that it causes your body um so instead of like saying things like well why don’t you understand I’ve told you a hundred.
Times you know we’ve had to be so so patient with our family um and some of our friends because they just aren’t around somebody who has a sensitivity like this or an allergy so if if people have been around other people that have had a traditional allergy they’re going to probably get it and understand it more but if you’re talking to somebody.
That’s never had to deal with a food allergy in their immediate family or friends they’re probably going to need to take a little bit more time to absorb the information so you can you know talk to them say I know it sounds complicated but it’s really important for my health and here’s some simple ways to make it safe.
For me so I have over the years helped other people understand how they can make food safe for me and they actually really enjoy that and really want to do that for me because they love me too as a friend or family member and so as long as you’re really kind and help explain it in simple terms and give them ways to make it safe for you so you can show.
Them how to do it not what not only just not what to do because that can be on the negative side also show them the positive side how can they do it for you how can they help you one of the Simple Solutions is say say we’re having um a Thanksgiving dinner or something whether there’s gravy or something you can let them know you know hey instead of using.
Flour to thicken this to make gravy you can actually use cornstarch because it’s naturally gluten-free and many times they might be like oh yeah I used to use corn starch you know when I’m making gravy but for some reason I’m now using flour and it might be a really simple switch to them to start just using corn starch instead I.
Know my family this past um Christmas you know made gravy that was safe for me and they use um corn starch instead of flour to make it thick and really nice and delicious and juicy we made some ham gravy together as a family it was wonderful to be able to make this with my family members who aren’t SE IC another thing you can do is whenever.
You’re having a meal together with family and friends you can bring your own gluten-free dish to share and we do this a lot and many times I’ll do my chicken casserole which we’ll have on our um our website here soon the recipe for it but I’ll bring out my chicken casserole one because it’s my kids favorite meal at the holidays for sure.
And twoo it’s a complete meal for us it’s got protein in it it’s got vegetables in it and it also has some carbs in it now it obviously doesn’t have the fruit category in there but for something like that it’s got the main food groups we’re going to be full we’re going to be satisfied so bring a nice gluten-free dish to share and if you’re.
Going to a restaurant this is something we have to do a lot we have to suggest going to a gluten friendly place when we go out to eat with our friends and family and actually they’re really good now cuz they’ve been drained long enough to ask me hey can you eat at this place or what do you think is this place going to be safe so you’ll get them trained in.
In working with you and helping you out so you know just always suggest a gluten- friendly place um there’s usually um any more I find it’s a lot easier to eat out gluten-free now than it did like say 10 years ago and then when you’re attending a family gathering like we actually did just this past weekend we figured out.
What are they serving ahead of time and we offered to make modifications and actually this time we didn’t need to all the food food was naturally gluten-free so we helped cook so that we could make sure that we was basically steak and baked potatoes and some veggies we helped to make sure that the steaks were cooked on a clean surface for our family.
And not one that could have had um gluten on it before you know that was on the grill so we you know helped by modifying it and helping you know one clean where we were cooking really well and we offered to help the cooking part which they were very relieved and they didn’t you know need to worry about us being safe now another thing that I got.
A lot when I first found out I needed to be gluten-free is I would get a lot but you used to eat gluten and you were fine so people might question why you’re going gluten-free now if you used to eat gluten without issues and so some things you can do is you can explain that celiac disease can develop over time um we H when you have Celiac you have a a.
Gene in you that can be triggered and turned on is the way they like to describe it and then you express the Celiac symptoms but many times when you’re younger either it’s not been turned on or your symptoms aren’t strong enough to be recognized and to be seen because gluten can be hidden so well and masked by other ailments and other.
Problems that we have in our lives so you can explain that celiac disease can develop over time it can be triggered and it can be just simp simply turned on by some illness some trauma Etc you know researchers are still trying to figure out quite all of how it works but those are a lot of the clues they’ve gotten is it can be you know some trauma some.
Sickness that can cause gluten the Celiac Gene to be turned on also gluten sensitivity isn’t always obvious until those symptoms becomes noticeable and it can also not be obvious until you’ve gone off gluten for long enough and then tried it again to realize this is why I kind of feel met all the time.
Or why I sometimes get migraines or why sometimes my stomach hurts really bad or I have bathroom issues or why I have eczema you know so many times we don’t know that the food we’re eating is actually causing us trouble until we’ve removed them from our bodies another example that for me specifically is I did not realize that soy was also a.
Trigger of digestive issu issues for me until we were experimenting with my husband and trying to figure out some of his health issues and we remove soy from his life in there for my life as well and then I tried some edamami beans pure pure pure soy nothing else in them and I had issues the next morning I had headaches I had bathroom issues and.
There was absolutely nothing else that I’d eaten in the previous couple days that were risky that were gluten risky for example so many times the sensitivity to gluten or other foods are not obvious until you’ve removed that food from your system and also the more damage that gluten causes over all the years the.
Stronger the reactions can become if I look back into my childhood and my youth yes I had Celiac symptoms back then they weren’t nearly as bad as they were once I hit my 30s and they even started to get kind of bad in my early 20s too so many s we don’t know that we have Celiac because our gut and our V and our small intestine if we’re Celiac has not.
Been damaged enough to cause obvious symptoms too so some example wording you could use is I used to eat gluten but my body wasn’t handling it well now that I know what’s causing my issues I have to be careful to stay healthy so it could be a simple sentence like that if you don’t want to go into all the details about.
What it does to your body and all the things right now you might run into this sometimes too you might run into some people who just continue to dismiss your needs so if that happens just be firm but kind you know say something like I appreciate you don’t see gluten as being a big deal but for me it is I need you I need to take care of my.
Health so you can just be simple and Frank and kind and and not rude back to them and I want you to make sure you’re prioritizing your well-being if someone refuses to accommodate your needs bring your own food or avoid eating at their house eat before you go this is something we did in the beginning before we could before we quite figured out how.
To handle eating outside of the house we would eat a eat our meal early before we went somewhere especially if we knew there wasn’t going to be any safe options there and then sometimes we’d bring our own snacks too and just have them in a bag and eat if we got really hungry so sometimes we just have to resort to that unfortunately now I do.
Say that as as far as our experience has gone over time the people who were dismissing our needs in the beginning came around and understood and and and got more educated and understood what was going on they were just confused and it wasn’t really anything against us they just didn’t understand it so just be kind and.
Understanding on your end that’ll help them understand you more and then when you have those awesome wonderful gyms around you that goes out of their way to accommodate your gluten-free needs just show your deep appreciation for them I have several people in my life that are just gems and I just want to hug them just even talking about it right now.
Because they’re always looking out for mine and my children’s safety to make sure that we’re safe whenever we’re around them and food is around us I just thank them profusely my best friend if she’s listening um give her a shout out because even if I come over to her house she cleans her kitchen especially if she’s known she had had gluten or flour.
Out in the kitchen she cleans it like nothing else to make sure that I’m safe when I come under her house and don’t accidentally get gluten in me even if I’m not even eating there it’s just so wonderful warms my heart so celebrate those that really are there rooting for you supporting you supporting your health whether you’re Celiac gluten.
Intolerant or gluten-free for other health reasons just really Embrace that and focus on those people that are there helping you and supporting you and just you kindly educate those that are kind of lagging behind and and don’t quite understand it as well just remember they don’t understand they’re confused and and they just need some more guidance so.
Some key takeaways are that helping friends and family understand your gluten-free needs isn’t always easy but it is possible and over 12 years of having Celiac or knowing that I have had it even though I’ve probably had it for almost all my life um I’ve had just had to use some patience education and clear communication to help make social.
Situations safer and more enjoyable and remember you deserve to eat safely and feel good no matter where you are so don’t compromise your health even if it makes a situation awkward I know I have been there before and I have risked compromising my health before and then I regretted it for days and days later because for me if I get glutened it.
Usually lasts me for several days and I sometimes become debilitated and cannot function at all so make sure you’re keep keeping your health and your safety in mind thank you for listening to this episode of the gluten-free engineer if you found value in this story please share it with someone who might need encouragement on their own gluten-free.
Journey for more tips recipes resources and even links to my YouTube channel head on over to the gluten-free engineer.com it’s your One-Stop Hub to make gluten-free living simple fun and full of flavor and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss out on an episode and we will see you next week the gluten-free engineer podcast is for.
Informational and entertainment purposes only I share my personal experiences and stories about living with celiac disease and navigating a gluten-free lifestyle this podcast does not provide a medical advice always consult with a qualified health care professional for medical questions concerns or advice specific to your health.
