Gluten-Intolerance Intolerance

Gluten-Intolerance Intolerance

In the most recent issue of The New Yorker, there’s the cartoon with the caption: “I’ve only been gluten-free for a week, but already I’m really annoying.”



Such intolerance for the gluten-free (or gluten-sensitive or gluten-intolerant) is widespread.

In a Thrillist article of last week entitled “26 Restaurant Secrets Only Servers Know” [http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/restaurant-secrets-things-only-waiters-and-waitresses-know?ref=facebook-868], the 26th secret allegedly known only to restaurant servers was revealed to be:

"Your allergies will be considered, then probably ignored if they're suspect. If you're gluten-free (and say that rather than 'gluten-intolerant'), or a vegan, and roll into a steakhouse or someplace similar thinking you’re in the clear... you’re definitely eating something with chicken stock or gluten. Or both. Sorry. And don't fool yourself into believing you're doing your body a favor with that gluten-free, vegan scramble: it still has about 1,870 empty calories in it."

Vegan is usually a choice: you decide, for moral/ethical/health reasons, to avoid animal products. I respect the choice, it’s not mine, but it is a choice. If a vegan eats a slice of roast beef, it may be nauseating to him/her, but it’s not likely kill the person (incidentally, and this is no laughing matter, I knew a guy in the Seventies, a vegetarian, who tried to commit suicide by eating a ham sandwich; it didn’t work).

Gluten-intolerance, like lactose intolerance, is not a choice. In the case of those with celiac disease, eating gluten can be a death sentence. So for this server in Thrillist to imply that the serving staff might just serve you gluten even if you say you’re trying to avoid it (for whatever reason, and perhaps medical), well, that attitude shows not only incredible contempt for the customer but incredible contempt for human health.

Incidentally, the server in the Thrillist quote mistakenly believes that the gluten-sensitive are avoiding gluten for the purposes of weight loss, which I don’t believe is a common motivation for avoiding gluten in the diet. And most “scrambles” are probably gluten-free anyway, but whatever.

We had some family visit last year, and one of them was advised, by his doctor, to avoid gluten (he gets terrible migraine-like headaches when he eats the stuff). To accommodate him, we bought a bunch of gluten-free bread, pasta, etc. When he left, we were left with a bunch of gluten-free products. We decided to go gluten-free for a few weeks while we ate through all the stuff. After one week, I noticed the afternoon nap I’d taken at 3:30PM for the past 30 years or so didn’t happen. Was it because I wasn’t eating gluten, or perhaps because I was eating few carbs (which I’m not actually sure I was doing). I dunno.

But if people feel they benefit from avoiding gluten, I tend to respect that.

I find that people many times assume that gluten-intolerance means people just don’t like wheat…or that they’re looking for special treatment and trying to be a pain in the arse. That’s just not fair. Admittedly, some prima donna types make unreasonable demands on restaurants, but if someone is trying to be a more conscious eater, that’s a good thing. And from the restaurant perspective, I think it is very reasonable to expect the gluten-sensitive to give the restaurant some advance notice about their preferences.

If people don’t want to eat gluten, it seems unreasonable to begrudge them that option, whatever we may believe about their motivations.

[PS. One personal intolerance of mine is when people misplace the use of “only” as a modifier, as the artist of the above cartoon did in his caption. It should be “for only a week” not “only gluten-free.”]

But the cartoonist's job is to reproduce actual vernacular usage.

This is a variation of an allergy thread that was active here a few years ago, and I think it's salutary to bring it up every few years, so I applaud you for doing so.

Celiac disease is a serious condition and it is sad that the gluten-bashing trend diet is partially responsible for anyone in food service denying proper service to a true celiac or gluten sensitive person, though I doubt it is really as prevalent as you make it seem. I know plenty of people in food service, and I doubt anyone would fuck around with someone's allergy, no matter how real or not it may seem.

Maybe I'm being insensitive, but I find the comics and other satire such as some of The Onion articles to be pretty funny, because I see it as specifically poking fun of the 92% of the gluten-bashing fanatics who are not really suffering from anything other than following the herd of sheep, buying into a multi-billion dollar trend market.

We definitely do not fuck around with allergies.

However, when a table tells you they are OMG super allergic to gluten and you spend 10 minutes in the kitchen with the sous chef re-writing the menu for them (meanwhile your station is filling up), and you get back to the table to tell them what's what, and they proceed to order a liter of beer and breaded fish because "they're cheating today," it gets a bit exasperating.

And it happens all the time.

That does not mean we give short shrift to an allergy ticket. All it means is that we may be a little suspicious

More backlash against those who say they have a problem with gluten, posted on Facebook this morning:

If Someone Ever Tells You They Have A Gluten Allergy, Show Them This

Gluten rant from a waitress:

A server will never say this to your face but we all know your gluten allergy is fake. You are not allergic to gluten. You are just on a gluten-free diet and want attention. There are plenty of people who are truly allergic to gluten, or sensitive, or intolerant, and you are not one of them. We can tell. You’re on nothing more than a high-powered Atkins diet, and while it’s great that you’re feeling healthier, it’s not great that you blame the discrepancy between your previous and current state of health on a fictional allergy. Feel free to adopt a gluten free diet, but don’t throw the word ‘allergy’ around like you have a medical problem.

Especially in a restaurant, the word ‘allergy’ means that the whole restaurant is going to need to do extra work and take special care to keep you safe, healthy, and happy. If your ‘allergy’ is really just a diet with no medical basis, you are being a selfish ass. The world does not revolve around you, the restaurant does not revolve around you, and we all know your allergy is fake.

Your gluten allergy is fake because you discuss it at parties. Your gluten allergy is fake because it ‘comes and goes.’ Your gluten allergy is fake because you will eat at an Italian restaurant but walk away fine because you ordered the gluten free pasta. Your gluten allergy is fake because after reminding your server ten times that you’re highly allergic, you complain to a manager that you were never brought a basket of bread.

If you’re sure your gluten allergy is real because you cut out gluten and suddenly felt better, congratulations, you’re on a diet. However, a change in health doesn’t mean there was an allergy involved. It’s fine to cut television from your life, just like it’s fine to cut gluten from your diet, but it’s very important to know where ‘lifestyle change’ ends and ‘medical condition’ begins.

There’s nothing fun or trendy about having a medical condition that severely limits your diet. While people with real gluten-related conditions exist, they number perhaps one in a hundred people, yet up to one in ten will claim to have the condition to some extent.

People with true gluten allergies or Celiac disease don’t go to an Italian restaurant and order the fettuccine alfredo with gluten free pasta, because those with real allergies can’t take such a risk of cross-contamination. Every knife, every plate, every surface their food comes in contact with will need to be sanitized, and in a gluten-heavy environment, it’s impossible to guarantee such sterilization on a moment’s notice. It would take an hour to make a single burger if that were so, and there would have to be ten dishwashers working around the clock just to keep up.

You’ll never see someone with a severe peanut allergy in a Thai restaurant. It’s not worth the risk. Those with severe peanut allergies take care to personally steer clear of risky situations.

Feel free to order a burger without a bun, or replace the garlic bread with a cup of soup, but remember that if you’re not in a gluten free restaurant, gluten-related requests shouldn’t compromise every ingredient of a dish to the point of being utterly unrecognizable. If you want something that isn’t on the menu, eat somewhere else.

Having an allergy means that you must constantly guard yourself, all day every day, and one slip-up might cause discomfort, severe pain, or hospitalization. In the case of a genuine allergy, most kitchens are willing to work very hard to ensure your safety. Wasting that much time and effort of an entire restaurant’s staff might seem unthinkable, but some customers think nothing of it as they announce their allergy to their server within the first thirty seconds of being seated.


From: http://www.tickld.com/x/if-someone-ever ... -them-this

David Hammond wrote:More backlash against those who say they have a problem with gluten, posted on Facebook this morning:

If Someone Ever Tells You They Have A Gluten Allergy, Show Them This

Gluten rant from a waitress:

A server will never say this to your face but we all know your gluten allergy is fake. You are not allergic to gluten. You are just on a gluten-free diet and want attention. There are plenty of people who are truly allergic to gluten, or sensitive, or intolerant, and you are not one of them. We can tell...

I expected to hate this, but didn't. The waitress is a good writer, and makes some good points. The most important point she makes is contained in the above: Namely, that by crying "wolf," customers who speak of gluten allergies they don't have make the customers who do have gluten allergies less credible. The faker's crime, such as it is, is not against the restaurant, and the biggest victim of his crime is not an annoyed waitperson. The crime is against people with genuine food allergies, who will not be taken seriously because of the prevalence of fakers; the victim of the faker is the person with a genuine allergy who will be harmed by a restaurant staff made cynical and cavalier.

Riddlemay, agreed. Cryers of wolf are making it harder for those with real allergies to be taken seriously, but I do have a problem with a few of this server's assumptions, like:

"People with true gluten allergies or Celiac disease don’t go to an Italian restaurant and order the fettuccine alfredo with gluten free pasta, because those with real allergies can’t take such a risk of cross-contamination."

My understanding is that there are a range of gluten-allergic reactions, and I don't believe those with milder conditions have much to worry about re: cross contamination. If those with milder conditions just avoid bread, beer, and other obvious choices, they will be okay with a little flour dust here and there.

Perhaps this backlash is partially a good thing, as it may shame the posers into dropping their charade, but it can't be a uniformly good thing as it casts doubt on anyone's claim that they cannot eat gluten.

I'm one of those gluten-intolerant folks... if I eat it, I feel like crap for a few days, but there's no epi-pen involved. And this culture of entitled gf brats and legitimately annoyed service people make me feel VERY leery of even mentioning my diet, even when directly asked.

I am SO grateful when a restaurant takes the initiative: offers a gf bun for a burger, has gf soy sauce on the table, puts a hard cider on the menu. I've been pleasantly surprised at places like Noodles & Co. (they include rice noodles among their offerings) and Cosi (clearly marked gf dishes).

I would NEVER call it an allergy and roll my eyes when I hear that... even I think someone who says they're allergic to gluten is probably fibbing, whereas when I hear someone describe themselves as celiac, it feels much more plausible.

The true celiacs of my acquaintance don't make a big deal out of their dietary restrictions, but rather either provide their own condiments when ordering clearly non-gluten items, quietly make arrangements with the staff ahead of time, or (best of all!) have a previously established relationship at a place they frequent, so the staff knows and appreciates them, and accommodates them with little fanfare.

I guess it's about how people approach the service/host industry... which, now that I think of it, reflects how I view people when they visit my home. I will try my best to be a good host, inquire to their dietary restrictions and preferences, when I invite you to my home... but when I have someone who gives me a laundry list of what they do and don't eat, that list is different for every person in their group, and they freely "cheat" if they see something delicious that's off their list, then I'm much less likely to take them seriously or invite them back. Unfortunately, restaurants don't have that negative feedback mechanism... if they invite everyone in, they must deal with the demanding and rude guests as well as the delightful ones. So I certainly see how they would view the entire group of gf diners as suspect because of the obnoxious members of that group, which makes things uncomfortable for those of us who are good eggs.

So there ARE some of us who are actually trying NOT to be a PITA when we eat at your place! Accommodate us, and we will reward you with our business, and spread the word to our similarly challenged friends. Treat us with disdain, and know that we can hear it loud and clear... alienate us, and you'll get your wish. We won't be back to bother you again.

mamagotcha wrote:I am SO grateful when a restaurant takes the initiative: offers a gf bun for a burger, has gf soy sauce on the table, puts a hard cider on the menu. I've been pleasantly surprised at places like Noodles & Co. (they include rice noodles among their offerings) and Cosi (clearly marked gf dishes).

I think that's probably the best way to go. Recognizing that there are people out there with gluten problems, and people out there who just say they have gluten problems, it's probably prudent to have non-gluten bread, soy, etc., on hand. This is easier for some restaurants to do than it is for others, of course.

I appreciate that working in restaurants forces both front and back of the house to sometimes deal with folks who are irritating, disrespectful, clueless, etc. But much as I may agree that some of this behavior is attention seeking and annoying, is it really THAT big of a deal to just communicate what you can and can't do? Isn't this just another wrinkle in the "have it your way" debate? Customer needs and wants meets chef/restaurant vision/mission?

Seems to me that there will always be customers who want what they want --whether it's medically required or preference or silly or nasty. When I waited tables in college, we had a couple who would come in every Saturday and order taco salads with sides of thousand island dressing, ketchup and mustard--they would proceed to mix it all together and eat it--yes, it looked EXACTLY like vomit in a fried tortilla bowl. But it was what they wanted. And that's what we were there to provide (though, yes, we did usually consider seating them in someone's section to be the haze of the day )

On the other hand, I just saw a post on twitter about whether it's ok for a coffee purveyor to refuse his patrons' requests for sugar. His coffee was apparently too good to sully with additives.

Isn't this all just a rather unnecessary power struggle? If a restaurant can accommodate, shouldn't they? If they can't, they should be honest about it--NO exceptions--anything else and you are making a decision for which you are unqualified. I find these server true confessions posts more annoying than the people they are mocking. I think we all need to take it down a notch and just try civility. Even if it's not reciprocated, we'll be nicer people for it.

boudreaulicious wrote:On the other hand, I just saw a post on twitter about whether it's ok for a coffee purveyor to refuse his patrons' requests for sugar. His coffee was apparently too good to sully with additives.

It's definitely okay for the coffee purveyor to refuse to serve sugar, just as Gene and Jude's refuses catsup. I happen to think both positions are extreme and not very customer-friendly, and if customers don't like such denial of condiments, well, there are lots of options for coffee and hot dogs.

That said, I almost never read server rants that suggest that the customer is anything other than a demanding pain in the arse. Maybe it's just that ranters tend to be less reasonable people, and I know there are many excellent servers out there. Still, unnerving.

David Hammond wrote: ...I almost never read server rants that suggest that the customer is anything other than a demanding pain in the arse. Maybe it's just that ranters tend to be less reasonable people, and I know there are many excellent servers out there. Still, unnerving.

Even excellent, reasonable servers might need to rant every now and then-- customers can definitely be a pain-in-the-arse, present company excepted (of course). Also un-rants might make for some rather dull reading:

...Last night, I had the pleasure of serving the wonderful Mr. Hammond and his delightful companions from the LTH forum. Their courtesy to me, their humble waiter, amazed and delighted me, although I'm quite used to being well-treated in this profession. The Hammond party ordered brilliantly, sampling the most interesting and authentic dishes on the menu, ordering clearly, lingering just long enough to enjoy each others' company, and leaving a most generous tip. I eagerly await their next visit to our restaurant.

Must have been a different Hammond.

I've only worked as a waitress in Sweden, but they are so proactive about testing for celiac there that a lot of people have the diagnosis. Many people in the US wait years and suffer horrible health problems before they get diagnosed. In Sweden dealing with food allergies was just part of the job and I learned a lot from the experience. We'd do a school dinner and the seating chart would have dozens of Gs for gluten-free.

I don't know if I trust US restaurants very much. Even the very understanding food service personal just don't seem to be trained very well in avoiding cross-contamination or what gluten-free really means. I don't think I'd eat at regular restaurants if I had celiac. I've been covering the food allergy beat as a writer for awhile and there is no celiac that tolerates cross-contamination. If someone tells you they can tolerate flour dust, they are delusionally optimistic and probably the reason why long-term studies show many celiacs don't repair their intestinal damage. It's harsh, but that's what the science says. Chicago does have a fair amount of truly gluten-free restaurants though, so people aren't totally out of luck.

There are other conditions related to gluten- the proposed "gluten sensitivity" entity, for those who seem to react to it but test negative for celiac. But scientists are not sure if it's really gluten-sensitivity. It seems to be more related to other carbohydrates in wheat. If that's the case, then it is very similar to lactose intolerance and people with the condition can eat a limited amount of wheat. That certainly matches my experience. I don't eat wheat unless it's going to be really good and I can justify the lactose-intolerance like symptoms later. Or if it's been long-fermented and some of those complex carbs have been destroyed.

That said, the gluten-free trend as a trend can be very obnoxious. I'm sure many of us know someone who thinks you can cure anything that ails you by going gluten-free.

Gluten Free?

Thanks to The New Yorker

bean wrote:Gluten Free?

Thanks to The New Yorker

Yes, that was the cartoon Hammond posted in the OP of the thread.

=R=

mgmcewen wrote:I don't think I'd eat at regular restaurants if I had celiac.

Definitely not. There's just no way to control for flour dusts, bread crumbs, soy and all kinds of other potential contaminants.

That said, those who believe they have merely a gluten-sensitivity may have little to worry about if only a little gluten is in their food.

My late Aunt had a confirmed case of celiac disease. She cultivated a relationship with a nearby restaurant (Golden Olympic, in Evanston). They knew her, understood her needs, and she never had any problems.

I am a celiac disease person. I love eating out and appreciate the fact that gluten free menus are becoming more common, but even so, on occasion I have suffered the consequences of cross-contamination. I only know of one restaurant in Chicago that has a dedicated work space in the kitchen to avoid that, De Luciano's on River Grove. They have several cases of celiac disease in their family and that is the reason they have gone out of their way to provide food this way.

I can understand and appreciate humor aimed towards the gluten free community, but I don't believe people in the restaurant world should be angry at gluten free people for making their job more difficult. I think it should be the aim of restaurant owners and the chef training, food sanitation,etc..people to educate all involved about how to make sure food is prepared safely for all people with dietary restrictions. I know it stinks, but the alternative is lost revenue for restaurants who are unwilling to cater to people with these needs. The effect of eating a meal with gluten in it for a person with celiac disease is usually apparent within minutes to a few hours, so it is unlikely that I will return to places where I experienced a problem.

On a personal note, I do feel like a jerk when I have to ask the wait staff questions about how the food is prepared. I used to roll my eyes at friends and family who grilled the wait staff about ingredients or had specific alterations to an order. Now I dine out less often because my whole family has to have limited access to restaurants when we dine out if they want me to eat with them. But sharing food is part of our experience as humans, and it seems unfair to assume that people who have an illness caused by a certain food are either lying or should not be there in the first place. I don't think the majority diners who request gluten free menus are asking for special attention. I think they are just doing their best to spend time with people and not suffer days or weeks of pain and damage to their bodies. That said, we take a risk and trust that the chefs respect us enough to not sabotage that.

Senza is completely gluten free and very dedicated to avoiding contamination. They are also good enough that people should try their menus even if they aren't gluten-free.

mgmcewen wrote:Senza is completely gluten free and very dedicated to avoiding contamination. They are also good enough that people should try their menus even if they aren't gluten-free.

I whole-heartedly agree.

=R=

Kimchic wrote:I used to roll my eyes at friends and family who grilled the wait staff about ingredients or had specific alterations to an order. Now I dine out less often because my whole family has to have limited access to restaurants when we dine out if they want me to eat with them. But sharing food is part of our experience as humans, and it seems unfair to assume that people who have an illness caused by a certain food are either lying or should not be there in the first place. I don't think the majority diners who request gluten free menus are asking for special attention. I think they are just doing their best to spend time with people and not suffer days or weeks of pain and damage to their bodies. That said, we take a risk and trust that the chefs respect us enough to not sabotage that.

As with too many things in life, people rise to appropriate levels of empathy for others only when they one day discover that they are walking in those same shoes themselves, or have someone dear to them who is. Then the eye-rolling stops.

Thanks for your post, Kimchic.

Thing is, it is actually very easy to avoid gluten. During our brief flirtation with eating gluten-free, the only thing I really missed was crusty French bread. Pasta made of corn or quinoa/rice combos is virtually indistinguishable from wheat versions and although there are traces of wheat in all kinds of foods, if you eat fresh vegetables, meat, potatoes and many, many other foods, you're in the clear. Those with celiac disease have to be super careful, but if you're just a little sensitive to gluten, or just trying to see if you notice any health improvements by avoiding wheat-based products, it's easy.

David, I think you must be talking about eating gf when cooking at home. Eating out is a whole different animal... sauces, dressings, soy sauce, there are tons of way for gluten to sneak into food. It's possible, of course, but it's not "easy."

mamagotcha wrote:David, I think you must be talking about eating gf when cooking at home. Eating out is a whole different animal... sauces, dressings, soy sauce, there are tons of way for gluten to sneak into food. It's possible, of course, but it's not "easy."

mamagotcha, you'd know better than me, but I think that -- despite the negative reaction to gf that sparked this thread -- it is getting easier to eat without gluten at home and at restaurants. "Easy" might be an overstatement, but it's certainly gotten easier to be gf and, for that matter, vegetarian when eating in restaurants.

David Hammond wrote:

mamagotcha wrote:David, I think you must be talking about eating gf when cooking at home. Eating out is a whole different animal... sauces, dressings, soy sauce, there are tons of way for gluten to sneak into food. It's possible, of course, but it's not "easy."

mamagotcha, you'd know better than me, but I think that -- despite the negative reaction to gf that sparked this thread -- it is getting easier to eat without gluten at home and at restaurants. "Easy" might be an overstatement, but it's certainly gotten easier to be gf and, for that matter, vegetarian when eating out.

David Hammond wrote:Thing is, it is actually very easy to avoid gluten. During our brief flirtation with eating gluten-free, the only thing I really missed was crusty French bread. Pasta made of corn or quinoa/rice combos is virtually indistinguishable from wheat versions and although there are traces of wheat in all kinds of foods, if you eat fresh vegetables, meat, potatoes and many, many other foods, you're in the clear. Those with celiac disease have to be super careful, but if you're just a little sensitive to gluten, or just trying to see if you notice any health improvements by avoiding wheat-based products, it's easy.

I don't know. I tested negative for celiac. I do react to wheat though consistent with the studies coming out in Australia on wheat carbohydrate intolerance. But it's so minor (bloating, gas) that I feel rude even bringing it up at restaurants. There are a couple of restaurants where it's pretty easy to just order around, but some that aren't, particularly tasting menus. I kind of just end of avoiding these restaurants, particularly if I feel that wheat adds nothing to the dish.

1% of the population is celiac, but that's still a lot of people and then add people who are sensitive or avoid it for other reasons like blood sugar control. Beyond a few things that just aren't right without it, I'm surprised more restaurants aren't totally gluten-free. I expect we'll see a lot more.

I'm surprised nobody's posted this (NSFW for language)