Clan Thompson's Celiac Site

(Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the April 21, 2001 issue of the Clan ThompsonTM Celiac Newsletter. To subscribe to this free newsletter click here. To read about Aviva's struggle with celiac disease, you can visit her website at http://www.mandlmedia.com/aviva/fall.html).

CTCN(Clan ThompsonTM Celiac Newsletter): Would you tell our readers something about yourself and who you are?

Aviva: I'm a 31-year-old single woman living in the Chicago area. I do any type of consulting work (graphic/web design/writing/editing or public relations) I can do from home. I spent many years getting constantly sick and as a result, developed severe Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. Now that I've been following the gluten-free diet, I'm finally not constantly sick and am working on being able to get further out of my home. My improved health makes me feel like a kid in a candy store who has so many colorful and interesting choices available, I'm unsure which to try first. *chuckle*

Aviva: My mother says she thinks I've been getting ready to follow a gluten-free diet for many years. I decided to keep Kosher when I was 17 and when I was 20, elimination diets after a gallbladder surgery kept pointing to meat/poultry as a cause of me getting sick, so I became a vegetarian. When I first found out about following a gluten-free diet back in December of 1999, I wondered how I would be able to remain a vegetarian when all of my staples were now off limits. I received a lot of help from the Celiac Listserv. I added eggs, some dairy (I'm lactose intolerant) and even a bit of fish back into my diet because I was afraid I wouldn't be getting proper nutrition. It's taken me awhile to get comfortable with the diet and I figured there are probably others out there who are vegetarians or vegans or even just those that would like to add more vegetarian/vegan dishes to their menus. I decided to start a Vegetarian & Gluten-Free group to reach these people. I still love the main Celiac Listserv, but I feel that we as vegetarians and vegans have different needs that may not always get addressed: proper nutrition on a vegetarian/vegan diet, quick meals/recipe ideas and especially - important to me for sure - finding out about more meat substitutes that are gluten-free.

Aviva: At the beginning I definitely found keeping to both a vegetarian and gluten-free diet more challenging, but I was willing to do anything to feel better. At one point, I begged my gastroenterologist for a list of 10 foods that I could eat without getting sick. To find out that all I needed to do was eliminate gluten and I could feel better? That I have the prospect of living a complete life if I just get rid of gluten? As much as I loved pizza, I just cut it out. What's more difficult for me is not the prospect of keeping on the vegetarian diet, but of keeping on the gluten-free diet. I'm tempted more by a slice of deep dish Chicago pizza or freshly made challah at local Kosher bakeries so much more than I am by meat or poultry. But I think about just how poorly I'd feel if I had the pizza or challah, and just try to substitute what I can have.

Thankfully, there are just so many wonderful companies that are catering to our needs. I really don't feel like I'm missing out. I may have lost the ease I had, but considering I couldn't enjoy life with the ease - what did I really have anyway? I think the answer is in trying to keep things simple. I have purchased foods I can keep in the freezer and microwave when I don't have time to cook, I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. When I cook, I make double or triple the amount I normally would so I have meals for a few days and/or some food to freeze to eat at a later time. Some simple planning helps a great deal.

Aviva: The group is called the Vegetarian & Gluten-Free group. The only real requirement is that people should be following a gluten-free diet. I've received emails from people looking to cut their cholesterol levels by adding more vegetarian/vegan dishes to their menus and I think the group can be helpful even for those who aren't completely vegetarian or vegan. I would request that only vegetarian/vegan recipes be posted to the group. I won't tell anyone they shouldn't eat meat or preach about saving animals, being a vegetarian or vegan a personal choice and it's not for everyone, but this group is geared for dishes/nutrition/information to vegetarians or vegans. I would really like to see the group grow and continue to fill the needs of the community. We can help each other put together menus, modify favorite dishes and just share information.

Aviva: Anyone who follows a gluten-free or wheat-free diet would be welcome. Obviously, the person would have some interest in a vegetarian or vegan diet, but that's not a requirement to joining. I know some have children who are vegetarians and vegans and may want to get ideas for foods for them or others looking for some alternative dishes.

CTCN: Do you have any good books to recommend for CV's? Good websites? Other resources?

Aviva: Unfortunately, I don't know of any books offhand. Maybe I'll write one. *chuckle* There are many links I've listed in the Bookmark section on the website that link to some excellent Celiac sources of information and Vegetarian/Vegan sources of information. Unfortunately, I have not found many where the two are combined.

Aviva: The group is too new to be able to answer this yet. However, most have expressed a need was for this group and their happiness to join and be a part of it.

Aviva: If it's important to you to follow a vegetarian diet, it can be done. I think it makes following the gluten-free diet easier because we're already used to restricting our diets. When you're watching ingredients and processing to make sure products don't contain animal products, you are that much closer to being able to follow a gluten-free diet. And the same is true in reverse. If you've managed to cut out gluten - which I personally feel is more difficult than vegetarian or vegan diet - removing animal products would be that much easier.

Aviva: More than the issues of is it "right or wrong" to eat animal products, I think we need to be thinking of our health foremost. We come from generations of cancer, of heart disease, of other deadly diseases that in part can be linked to our food consumption. We remove the gluten to prolong our lives and even substituting just a few vegetarian or vegan meals in place of meat/poultry meals can do wonders for our health. It lowers our cholesterol and gives us the opportunities to establish new healthier traditions with the families we will be able to spend more time with in the long run.

New Group Forms For Vegetarian Celiacs