September 13 is Celiac Awareness Day!
So, I was blissfully unaware that today is
Celiac Awareness Day until I noticed
a Facebook post by 1-2-3 Gluten Free! So here's a blog post about today's 'Day'.
Celiac Central, the national foundation for celiac awareness in the USA, are the group behind
Celiac Awareness Day.
Check out the
Celiac Central website for more information and
their top ten ideas for marking Celiac Awareness Day.
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I've been living the gluten free life since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in May 2008. One of Celiac Central's ideas for Celiac Awareness Day was to show support by wearing green. I've worn blue clothes today - but here's a photo of me from last Christmas in my festive jumper |
Things to remember about Celiac/Coeliac - it's NOT an allergy, it's NOT a preference, it's NOT a fad, it's NOT a diet, it's NOT an intolerance, it's NOT a choice - it's an
AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE.
Also, it's NOT contagious -
though it can sometimes be quite amusing to see waiting staff and people who've never heard of it before recoiling in horror at your 'plague'.
Coeliac Disease (aka Celiac Disease in the USA) is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and while there is no cure the only treatment is to adhere a strict lifelong gluten free diet - which can be harder than you think when you factor in the risks and hazards of cross-contamination!
In the UK it's estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition, in the USA the figure is 1 in 133.
The strict gluten free diet means that a number of commonly found ingredients must be avoided. A non-exhaustive list of gluten containing things include wheat, barley, rye and oats. This means the diet is restrictive, expensive and can be a challenge. Every day is a learning experience about how to manage the condition, so its great to see so much information available online.
Good work by
1-2-3 Gluten Free in spreading the word. I met the team at the
Allergy and Free From Show 2014 at Olympia and they told me about the brand's launch in the UK, having started life in the USA.
This year
Coeliac Awareness Week here in the UK ran from the 12 to 18 May and
Coeliac UK promoted the
Gluten-free guarantee to ensure that key gluten free items are available in stores around the UK.
May was also
Celiac Awareness Month in the US and Canada.
The team at Glutenlibre have their own 'smashmouth awareness campaign' and are on a mission to spread awareness worldwide. Check out the
Glutenlibre website for more info.
Related blog posts:
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Gluten Free
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Coeliac
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Celiac
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Minigolfing gluten free in Margate
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Coeliac UK Awareness Week 2014 and the Gluten-free guarantee
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Awareness Week: Coeliac Facts from Udi's Gluten Free
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Funny things about being a Coeliac
Links:
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Celiac Central - the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
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Coeliac UK
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1-2-3 Gluten Free
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#CeliacAwarenessDay on Twitter