With the month of May comes the blossoming of spring, a day of celebrating mothers everywhere and a day of recognition of Celiac disease.  This year, Celiac Awareness Month, has meaning to most Americans and the phrase no longer elicits quizzical looks and blank stares.  It seems as if everyone knows someone with celiac or someone on a gluten-free diet.  Celiac disease has finally transcended the confines of an obscure, rare disease and has hit mainstream.  The words, ‘celiac or gluten’ until just recently, were familiar only to medical professionals and to those personally affected who were fortunate enough to be, usually at long last, diagnosed.  2010 finds gluten to be the allergen buzz word of the year.

Every year Glutenfreeda Foods attends the Natural Foods Expo in Anaheim, California.  It is the largest natural food show in the country, drawing approximately 50,000 attendees.  For the last four years, we have seen an influx of more and more gluten-free food companies; companies who have other focuses, but happen to have gluten-free offerings and who are now labeling them ‘gluten-free’ and larger mainstream manufacturers who are now throwing their hats into the gluten-free ring like General Mills, Betty Crocker and even Anheuser Busch.  At this year’s show in March, I heard someone say that it could have been called the ‘Gluten Free Show’!  There were an unprecedented number of gluten-free companies and products sampling and marketing their goods.

Two enormous benefits of all this awareness is the number of new gluten-free products available in the marketplace and with all the competition, the quality, taste and texture of gluten-free products is vastly improving.

Awareness has not been lost on the grocery business.  Once upon a time, we Celiacs, had to purchase our gluten-free food over the internet through mail order.  Pioneering gluten-free food manufacturers usually began by developing foods that they or a family member could eat out of necessity and then decided to market them buy selling them online.  Next, gluten-free started showing up in co-ops and health food stores.  This was at times easier but selections were very limited and taste and texture were not even a consideration.   It was gluten-free; take it or leave it.  Fast forward to five years ago and gluten-free food had earned its position as a respectable member of a natural foods store’s inventory.  Fast forward again to two years ago and gluten-free officially graduated to mainstream, showing up in conventional markets across the country in either a store within a store concept, in a ‘gluten-free’ section or integrated with general stock.  As the saying goes, “gluten-free’s come a long way baby!”

Restaurants are now firmly on the gluten-free band wagon.  The proof of this is not in how many restaurants now have gluten-free menus, but rather the glorious disappearance of the ‘blank stare’ I mentioned earlier.  Every server that I have spoken with in the last two years has known what gluten is.

Who do we have to thank for the miraculous and heightened awareness of gluten intolerance and Celiac disease?  The national organizations that work tirelessly to provide information, education and support, (American Celiac Disease Alliance, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, the Gluten Intolerance Group, the Celiac Sprue Association, the Celiac Disease Foundation), the local and regional support groups across the country that extend their outreach as far as possible through selfless volunteers, many, many, many nutritionists, dieticians, and gf authors that constantly speak and write about gluten-free, countless gluten-free food companies, gluten-free publications, online publications, bloggers, celebrities with Celiac disease and maybe most importantly; you.  Sharing your story about celiac and gluten intolerance helps to raise awareness and to educate others.  

Building awareness will make living with celiac disease better and easier for us all – better products, better medical treatment, more choices in restaurants, better labeling for food and prescription drugs, and more gluten-free food choices in schools, hospitals, universities and all other aspects of our lives.

Happy Celiac Awareness month…spread the word!

- Chef Yvonne

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