How Celiac Disease Made me an Adventurous Eater

“I love bread,” is something I wish I could say.

In my 18 years, I’d say I’ve only eaten about two loaves of bread. I’m not talking about those long, soft, delicious loaves of whole wheat bread. I’m talking about the dry, hard and crumbly loaves of gluten-free bread.

Now why would anyone want to eat that? Well, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease when I was two years old, so for about 16 years now, I’ve had to avoid anything with wheat in it, such as bread, pasta, cookies … y’know, all the good stuff.

All the time I hear “Oh, I could never be gluten-free, I love bread too much,” or “That must be so difficult for you, practically everything has gluten in it.”

They’re right, many staples in the American diet rely heavily on gluten-based products, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, buttered toast, pizza, chicken nuggets, practically everywhere you look, there’s gluten.

My diet was always limited as a kid, and I never got to have anything good like the other kids would, and honestly, it made me a little jealous. Having such a restricted diet, it would make sense that I would be a picky eater, right? Wrong.

I love to try new foods, eat stuff that I would think I could never like, and then realize just how good it is. For example, this last winter break, I tried oysters for the first time, and I thought I would hate them. They’re slimy, stinky, and honestly kind of creepy, but getting past all of that and actually tasting one was amazing. They were so good and didn’t taste (or feel) how I had imagined them to.

My allergy has made me realize just how much I love to try new things. I love trying things outside of my comfort foods and spicing things up a little (literally).

It does suck sometimes not being able to share the same joy my friends have when they get a warm, gooey, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, but that doesn’t make me upset or wish I could get rid of my celiac disease.

If anything, it makes me grateful and appreciative of what I have.

Cathlyna Theriot is a Buhler freshman studying Pre-Medicine. Contact her on Instagram @th3riotnix

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