Teen Advocates with Gluten Sensitivities
Our Mission: Gluten Sensitive Teens advocating for positive support and awareness for themselves and others.
Ask the Teens
Submit your questions and comments and we will answer your questions and post them here. All questions are welcome that have to do with Gluten-Intolerances and Celiac. Whether it is a question about what to do when you go out with friends or go to a dance, or if it is a question about how you will deal with explaining what exactly it is that we have, all are welcome! We will answer from our own experiences and how we would handle it. We will look forward to hearing from you! Don't be shy!
Q: Is it hard to find restaurants that have gluten-free foods that taste good and are safe?
A: It can be hard to go to restaurants when they aren't educated on what gluten intolerances and Celiac are. It helps if you call up the restaurants or email them and ask if they have gluten-free foods or if they could prepare them. There are more and more places that are carrying or will make gluten-free foods by request. The most important thing is to ask questions. If you aren't comfortable, make sure they prepared it gluten-free and reassure yourself. If you really don't feel comfortable with a place, go somewhere where you know you can eat something. All of the places in our Schedule part of the website carry gluten-free foods that taste good and are safe. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You might be surprised by what places can do!
A: It can be hard to go to restaurants when they aren't educated on what gluten intolerances and Celiac are. It helps if you call up the restaurants or email them and ask if they have gluten-free foods or if they could prepare them. There are more and more places that are carrying or will make gluten-free foods by request. The most important thing is to ask questions. If you aren't comfortable, make sure they prepared it gluten-free and reassure yourself. If you really don't feel comfortable with a place, go somewhere where you know you can eat something. All of the places in our Schedule part of the website carry gluten-free foods that taste good and are safe. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You might be surprised by what places can do!
Q: How do you explain gluten-free to people?
A: Explaining what gluten-free is is not always easy. I usually say that I can't eat anything with wheat, rye, or barley in it. Most people understand the wheat part because they will say things like, "Oh, so that means you can't eat bread!" I usually don't go much further than that when I'm explaining it to people because then it starts to get a little too confusing for them. With my closer friends I will explain it more like with the cross contamination stuff and how it includes things like malt. My friends and teachers tend to like to learn more about it, so I will explain it more to them. The more comfortable I am with a person the more I will tell them. For the most part though, I just say, "I cannot have gluten. Gluten is wheat, oats, rye, and barley. I can't eat anything that has any of those things in it." If someone wants to know more about it I will always do my best to explain it to them.
A: Explaining what gluten-free is is not always easy. I usually say that I can't eat anything with wheat, rye, or barley in it. Most people understand the wheat part because they will say things like, "Oh, so that means you can't eat bread!" I usually don't go much further than that when I'm explaining it to people because then it starts to get a little too confusing for them. With my closer friends I will explain it more like with the cross contamination stuff and how it includes things like malt. My friends and teachers tend to like to learn more about it, so I will explain it more to them. The more comfortable I am with a person the more I will tell them. For the most part though, I just say, "I cannot have gluten. Gluten is wheat, oats, rye, and barley. I can't eat anything that has any of those things in it." If someone wants to know more about it I will always do my best to explain it to them.