Big ol' romslut (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mia_d) wrote,@ 2008-05-14 13:52:00 |
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Celiac Awareness Month
Happy Celiac Awareness Month.
For Celiac awareness month my body has decided that it would be awesome to be secretly "glutened" and spend a whole week in stomach pain and problems.
HOWEVER I shouldn't post this to bitch because I think Celiac Awareness is a sort of big deal. One in a hundred people have celiac, but the majority of sufferers are never diagnosed. Prisons don't offer Gluten-Free meals, and millions of homeless people who have no way of being diagnosed are getting sicker and sicker. Undiagnosed, Celiac is pretty much the worst thing ever. Undiagnosed Celiac can lead to cancer, severe (SEVERE) immune system problems, osteoperosis, type 1 diabetes, and any immune disorder linked to Malabsorption.
It usually takes people years to get properly diagnosed, and the stories of people taking so many sick days because of celiac symptoms and thusly losing their jobs are numerous. I'm one of them. I took too many sick days when I worked at GM because of what I know now as severe "gluten" attacks and because of the fact I always had the cold (because my body couldn't absorb vitamins).
Those hardest hit by lack of diagnoses are the poor and the homeless. When your food options are those given to you at the soup kitchen or the food bank, you can't be choosy. So many undiagnosed celiacs are being fed meals that just make them feel sicker and sicker because there's no other option. Children, especially children, are hurt by this the most since malabsorption as a child can lead to a host of horrible disorders and diseases.
Celiac awareness is pretty good on the internet and in middle/upperclass families. However, millions of people are suffering with it and have no idea. There's NO education programs for those who live below the poverty line, and some of the cheapest and easiest food to find in the world is filled with gluten. I was going to try to find a charity that donates gluten-free food to poor people but I can't find any.
Happy Celiac Awareness Month.
For Celiac awareness month my body has decided that it would be awesome to be secretly "glutened" and spend a whole week in stomach pain and problems.
HOWEVER I shouldn't post this to bitch because I think Celiac Awareness is a sort of big deal. One in a hundred people have celiac, but the majority of sufferers are never diagnosed. Prisons don't offer Gluten-Free meals, and millions of homeless people who have no way of being diagnosed are getting sicker and sicker. Undiagnosed, Celiac is pretty much the worst thing ever. Undiagnosed Celiac can lead to cancer, severe (SEVERE) immune system problems, osteoperosis, type 1 diabetes, and any immune disorder linked to Malabsorption.
It usually takes people years to get properly diagnosed, and the stories of people taking so many sick days because of celiac symptoms and thusly losing their jobs are numerous. I'm one of them. I took too many sick days when I worked at GM because of what I know now as severe "gluten" attacks and because of the fact I always had the cold (because my body couldn't absorb vitamins).
Those hardest hit by lack of diagnoses are the poor and the homeless. When your food options are those given to you at the soup kitchen or the food bank, you can't be choosy. So many undiagnosed celiacs are being fed meals that just make them feel sicker and sicker because there's no other option. Children, especially children, are hurt by this the most since malabsorption as a child can lead to a host of horrible disorders and diseases.
Celiac awareness is pretty good on the internet and in middle/upperclass families. However, millions of people are suffering with it and have no idea. There's NO education programs for those who live below the poverty line, and some of the cheapest and easiest food to find in the world is filled with gluten. I was going to try to find a charity that donates gluten-free food to poor people but I can't find any.
