When Patricia Hirsch looks back on her childhood, she remembers
health problems including allergies, stomach pains, mood swings and
other physical ailments. It wasn’t until 2005 that she discovered she
had celiac disease (CD). From there, she found relief by going on a
gluten-free (GF) diet and learning more through the Southern Arizona
Celiac Support Group (SACS). For more information, visit the group’s
Gluten Free Food Faire from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 9, at
Christ Community Church, 7801 E. Kenyon Drive, or visit southernarizonaceliacsupport.org.
How did you find out you had Celiac Disease?
I was sick all vacation long in Colorado in 2005. We were visiting
friends whose 4-year-old son had just been diagnosed after two years of
life-threatening symptoms. … Tyler’s parents told me his story, which
was a rerun of my own. Right then, I decided to go entirely GF, as they
had done. In two weeks, I felt better. In three months, I lost 30
pounds of unhealthy fat without exercising. Tyler’s parents told me
about the SACS Web site. SACS helped me greatly, so I volunteered to do
their publicity. I have never been happier to volunteer for a
group.
What do people often have to go through before being diagnosed
with celiac disease?
It takes an average of 11 years for the correct diagnosis. It takes
years of insisting to parents, teachers and doctors that it is not all
“in your head.” … I have always had unresolved sinus and ear
infections over and over, and skin rashes, all treated by the best meds
doctors could prescribe. The symptoms came back after treatment or
never really cleared up. I continued to have stomach aches, allergies
and irritability. I was described as “a problem child.”
How do gluten-free foods work in relief of the symptoms?
Everyone is different, but almost all have good results. In people
with CD, the gluten in all forms of wheat, rye, barley and most oats
damages the interior lining of the small intestine. It flattens the
villi, which normally sort nutrients to the right places in your body.
When the villi are flattened, it is called villous atrophy. Then your
immune system goes wacky. There is no cure for CD, but the lifelong
avoidance of eating gluten is the answer to a full, healthy and happy
life for celiacs.
Why is it important to have a GF Food Faire?
Before we had a GF Food Faire, it was very difficult for people to
find foods that are gluten-free, yet tasty. Meats, fruits and
vegetables are naturally gluten-free, but gluten is hidden everywhere
in processed foods. GF food manufacturers and vendors are developing
tasty GF cookies, cakes, snacks, pizza crust, breads, breakfast cereals
and pastas, etc., which are made from other grains besides wheat, rye,
barley and oats. The vendors who came last year were grateful for the
exposure of their GF products to those of us who can and must buy them.
SACS’ GF Food Faire demonstrates to the food producers the growing
demand for GF foods.
You’re offering antibody testing for Celiac Disease at the GF
Food Faire.
This is our second year for antibody testing. The fact is, it’s a
genetic disease. … Even if you have the disease, quite often, the
antibody blood-screening comes back negative anyway. CD is hard to
identify, and a positive antibody screening is a good start toward an
actual diagnosis. If you want to be screened, you must be eating
gluten, or else the test will not work. Right now, the gold standard in
diagnosis is the bowel biopsy, but antibody testing is a good
indication. Preference for the antibody tests will go to those who have
a relative who has been diagnosed. Last year, we had 100 tests and had
to turn away people. This year, Prometheus Labs has generously donated
200 test kits.
Are people surprised by what foods are out there when they come
to the Food Faire?
They are surprised and relieved and incredibly pleased that,
finally, there are actually tasty GF foods which can be enjoyed, not
just tolerated—especially after a child has just been diagnosed.
It’s like Christmas all over again. Not only is there GF food by
vendors at the GF Food Faire, but several restaurants will bring their
GF menu items as samples or will be represented with GF gift
certificates or GF coupons. We’re out there educating more and more
restaurants and staff. As a result, it isn’t odd to see “gluten-free”
in the window or on the menu.
This article appears in May 7-13, 2009.