What are Gluten-Free Manners?

Like regular manners, the answer to this question is different for everyone. However, when it comes to sharing gluten-free information – likely in an effort to help someone – some people can come off as being rude or imposing their rules for living gluten-free on others. It’s doubtful that people who do this think they are being rude – or pushy – in any way. Their intent is to help someone else out. At least in most cases that is the situation, I would hope.

One of the main problems in our community is that not everyone agrees on what is and is not gluten-free and a zillion other things. Here is the way I see it. If people want to drink potato vodka – so be it. In the “foods allowed” section in Shelley Case’s book, it says “rye whiskey, scotch whiskey, gin, vodka, and bourbon are distilled from a mash of fermented grains. Even though they are derived from a gluten-containing grain, the distillation process removes the gluten from the purified final product.” So, people should drink what they want to and let others do the same.

There are at least ten other such ingredients that this problem applies to. From blue cheese to distilled (not malt) vinegars to vanilla (natural, imitation, and synthetic) – incorrect information swirls about them all. Anyone who wants to avoid blue cheese should do so. I can’t imagine life without it but that’s just me. I like to support brands that will state their product is gluten-free because I’d rather give my money to companies that take the time to find out the gluten status of their products. However, many brands that won’t claim their cheese is gluten-free have been tested and shown to be exactly that.

Here is what I really wonder about when I see so much confusion in our community, that doesn’t seem to have improved in the four years I’ve been gluten-free. Why does it matter to anyone what someone else chooses to eat? Unless it’s a mother leading her child through life safely gluten-free, I don’t get why people care what other people are eating. It’s enough for me to keep up with my own gluten-free lifestyle without having to concern myself with what others choose to eat or avoid. You can’t imagine how many people have told me they have never heard of Shelley Case, or bought one (authoritatively proven) book about living gluten-free who think they know everything about what is and is not gluten-free. Unfortunately, what some of these people are doing is spreading gluten-free rumors, which only adds to the problem this community has been facing for decades.

Celiac disease is the number one genetic condition in the world – not this country – the world. Obviously, a big reason that a huge portion of the general population doesn’t know about it, is that there is no medication for the condition. Seeing a gluten-free label in the grocery store doesn’t qualify someone as knowing about celiac disease, of course. When I look around and see the misinformation floating around – even in some new internet articles – it’s clear to me why we have not come farther than we have. Is it fair for us to complain about the FDA (as I often do) not ruling on gluten-free labeling in the U.S. yet? Lately, I’ve been thinking that maybe it is not fair at all. It’s doubtful that the FDA will be able to “do the right thing” for our community since that means different things to so many people living gluten-free.