“When I explain to people how I live with Celiac Disease, I feel like I am making a difference because I am helping them understand just how difficult it is for people with dietary restrictions.”

I can still picture it. My pee wee soccer game had just ended, and like every proper team, we had to celebrate with a victory snack. It was cupcakes that week. Only, I couldn’t have a cupcake. I had recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and I didn’t understand why I now couldn’t eat a treat that I had had just weeks earlier. As a seven-year-old, my world was practically ending.

Luckily, as an autoimmune disease, we found Celiac could be managed with a gluten-free diet. However, it wasn’t easy for my family and I to adjust to the new diet in the beginning. I was a picky eater, and at that time, there weren’t many options when it came to gluten-free substitutions for my favorite foods. I was devastated when I learned that I wasn’t allowed to eat pasta or any of my favorite desserts. Suddenly, eating at restaurants became much more difficult as well. Everywhere we went, we had to explain my diet and ask lots of questions. It was quite the adjustment.

After a few months, my family and I noticed how much I had changed due to this new diet. Eating gluten had stunted my growth before I was diagnosed with Celiac, so I was very small for my age. But after starting my gluten free diet, I put on some weight, had fewer stomach aches, and even grew 6 inches in two years. My parents told me I looked noticeably healthier, and I felt that this change made me feel more like myself.

Slowly, over time, the world started to change too. The term gluten-free became more recognizable, and the food industry started producing more products with that term on their labels. Restaurants have become more accommodating and started adding gluten-free items to their allergen menus. In my own life, the gluten-free diet helped me to overcome my picky eating phase, and experimenting with gluten-free replacements for my favorite foods encouraged me to be more adventurous with other foods as well. But not only that, over the last ten years, Celiac has become a significant part of who I am today.

I have found that, after living with this for many years, I enjoy educating others about Celiac and the gluten-free diet. When I explain to people how I live with Celiac Disease, I feel like I am making a difference because I am helping them understand just how difficult it is for people with dietary restrictions. My hope is that, by informing others of my own struggle to find safe, good-tasting food and accommodating restaurants, they will become more aware of the importance of people's dietary needs.

- Molly