It is the same thing every Friday in my Pride Time. We all sit down in our seats, someone asks if anyone brought donuts, nobody brought donuts, everyone complains, and we all blame each other for not bringing donuts on donut Fridays. Like many other Pride Times, if you want to eat donuts on Friday then you have to bring donuts. I have never brought donuts and will never eat donuts on Fridays, because the fact of the matter is that I can’t eat them. 

Let me start from the beginning, I am gluten free. This means I can’t eat wheat or many other types of grain. There is some grain I can eat, which is why I can still eat gluten free bread, it just isn’t made with wheat. 

No, I do not have celiacs disease. When someone has celiac disease, the small intestine can’t digest gluten the same way everyone else can. Their body mounts an immune response to the gluten and attacks the small intestine, causing a lot of stomach pain. I am only sensitive to gluten, but it still has a big impact on my body when I eat foods with gluten in them. In the last seven years of having to eat gluten free foods, I have accidentally eaten gluten twice and once on purpose. The only reason I ate gluten on purpose was the fact that I went to France and really wanted to eat a traditional French croissant. 

Why would I eat a croissant from France and not a donut from America? While eating a French croissant is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it is because the wheat from France is grown softer than American wheat. The wheat grown in America has added gluten and protein, making the wheat more attractive to potential buyers while the wheat in Europe has less gluten and less protein, which is much more preferred when making pastries. So when I ate the croissant in France, it didn’t affect my stomach like it would’ve if I had a croissant in America. 

Donut Fridays are not the only thing I have to worry about when it comes to eating gluten free; I actually have to watch out for many different things. When my friends want to go out to eat at some fast food place, their go-to places are either McDonalds or Culvers. The only thing I can eat at McDonalds is their ice cream, and the machine doesn’t even work half the time. While at Culvers, I can ask for a gluten free bun on my hamburger and eat their ice cream. Some other places that provide gluten free food are Noodles & Company, Qudoba, Red Robin, Papa Murphy’s, and plenty of other places, you just have to know where to look. 

So the next time you go out to eat with your friends or you bring donuts on Friday to class, ask if anybody has dietary restrictions. It is helpful to know what kind of food everyone can eat before automatically assuming everybody can eat the food at a restaurant or the food you brought to class.