What is Celiac Disease?
We live in a world that loves gluten. Light and airy donuts, soft and buttery baguettes, warm savory pasta, and sleeves of crunchy Oreos. All gluten-filled and gluten-adored. Restaurants strive to perfect their gluten creations and our neighbors expect the best. It’s our culture. Food is central in bringing us together, and more often than not, it’s the double cheeseburger and fries that fill our plates as we gather together.
Gluten is not a bad thing. Even for those who cannot eat it due to a disease or allergy should not feel a strong to desire to loath gluten. The Lord delights in giving us good things, and I do believe that gluten-filled treats are gifts given to us by God to taste and see his goodness. He is laughing with us as we bite into a rice crispy treat and a sticky, sweet strand of marshmallow is pulled and stretched as we take the first bite. Without acknowledging the goodness of all food, how can those with celiac see the joy and beauty in the food that fills their plates?
How do those limited live in tandem with those who are not? How can the gluten-lovers appreciate the gluten-forgoers? How can we foster the friendship between differing lifestyles and grocery lists? Where is the overlapping beauty?
I wish I could say that skipping the pastry at a coffeehouse or the simplicity of boxed brownie mix is a random choice. I wish I could say it was a 30 day trial and diet-tester that was not permanent and allowed for exceptions. But what is celiac disease that does not make this true? Why is celiac disease a lifestyle and not a fad?
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body’s immune system attacks the healthy cells. So when someone with celiac disease eats something with gluten, which is a protein most commonly found in wheat, barley, and rye, their body begins an immune reaction that attacks the small intestine. As the body attacks itself, specifically the lining in the small intestine, the previous healthy parts are seen as the target. The lining is made up of little hairs called villi. Think of the villi like soft, fresh grass with thousands of healthy little grass hairs that line the inside of the stomach. The villi are important because they absorb all the nutrients. When the villi gets damaged, the body turns on itself and nutrients are no longer able to be absorbed into the body. Gluten destroys the entire villi lining and is left raw, exposed, and shredded.
Needless to say, eating gluten is painful. Going from lush green grass to a wasteland in a matter of minutes is not easy to recover from. It may take months to fully heal the villi, restore the ability to absorb nutrients, and get rid of the pain. Untreated, celiac disease can cause so many other horrible things like malnutrition, lactose intolerance, anemia, constipation, diarrhea, other autoimmune diseases, etc. I could go on but you get the point. It’s painful, yes, but also dangerous and serious. It’s far from a fad food diet as the slightest pain after cross contamination from a toaster or from a shared spatula can send the body into a quick downward spiral.
Unfortunately, there is no cure. No method to overcoming celiac entirely because of its autoimmune nature. However, symptoms can cease and there doesn’t have to be a list of possible side effects or further complications/diagnoses. Food causes the problem but food can also heal the problem. If a reaction is caused when gluten enters the body by food, it would make sense to avoid food entirely and live shut off by fear. The possible pain or remembered pain can allow us to miss the beauty of food. Yes, food is the killer but it is also the healer.
As I write today, there’s warm cinnamon rolls baking in the oven and last night we pulled frozen cookie dough out of the freezer to pop in the oven as our dessert. Friends, I am a food-lover and I have celiac. I am restricted by food but also live in the freedom of food. I have a love of eating the sweets and indulging in the chips and salsa. I dance without fear in the centrality of food no matter how it looks. There’s joy in creating my grocery lists and anticipation as I begin preparing dinner. Food is created for us to enjoy, and even I can taste and see.
