10-01-2015, 08:31 AM
Quick background before my rant: as a genetic issue I am lightly gluten-intolerant which means that if I eat bread or any other product containing wheat things get problematic for several days - I get acne and dandruff, most notably. As a result I have a gluten-free diet and regularly check various things with a specialized doctor. While I can't prove that the acne and dandruff are a result of me eating certain things I am just about certain that it is due to that, and the doctor I go to is a specialist for food intolerances. Also, I'm still on the lucky side of things - I won't get any lasting issues even if I accidentally eat a little gluten somewhere, like in a sauce or at a friend's party. So no, this isn't a rant about my "sickness" 
Now, I don't mind other people eating "normally" around me. I also don't mind it if they don't understand what the intolerance is and forget about it, or they don't know that X item contains wheat. Hell, I even understand if we cook something together and you accidentally include ingredients containing wheat (this happened with a group of roommates before I moved out).
What I do mind is if you know and remember, yet you ignore it. "Just this once won't hurt", "Oh come on", "There's only a little bit", "Don't be a downer" or "Yeah, it's too much effort so we didn't adapt" make me cringe inside. I'm not doing this for fun or to piss anyone off! This is about my well-being. And yes, even once and only a little will still hurt. I'm not visiting a doctor on a regular basis becase I'd have extra money I want to throw out the window.
But what took the straw for me was when the mother of my sister's friend was over and she noticed me making a chestnut-flour bread (yes, it exists). She's a doctor herself but specialized in an entirely different thing. "This whole thing is bullshit. All these gluten-free things you're eating are just placebos. Can you prove that the diet you are going through is what helped you? To me it sounds like you're just wasting money." This woman could have been my mother, age-wise, yet I was tempted to yell at her that day once I recovered from my initial shock.
Can I prove it? No. But honestly: if you have severe acne and dandruff, then after starting the diet with no medication taken whatsoever, after ca. 10 days both things are nearly completely gone, do you NEED proof? That woman barely knew me or anything about my diet, yet she had the audacity to throw her doubts at me and say to my face that she thinks we're wasting money without doing any research? Oh but she's a doctor too, right? She's gotta know. So it's her uninformed, biased word against that of a specialist who's taken samples and analyzed them.
If denial is how she treats every disease that she doesn't have solid proof of, I'd like to take her doctor's degree and stick it where the sun doesn't shine... along with a baguette for good measure.
Now, I don't mind other people eating "normally" around me. I also don't mind it if they don't understand what the intolerance is and forget about it, or they don't know that X item contains wheat. Hell, I even understand if we cook something together and you accidentally include ingredients containing wheat (this happened with a group of roommates before I moved out).
What I do mind is if you know and remember, yet you ignore it. "Just this once won't hurt", "Oh come on", "There's only a little bit", "Don't be a downer" or "Yeah, it's too much effort so we didn't adapt" make me cringe inside. I'm not doing this for fun or to piss anyone off! This is about my well-being. And yes, even once and only a little will still hurt. I'm not visiting a doctor on a regular basis becase I'd have extra money I want to throw out the window.
But what took the straw for me was when the mother of my sister's friend was over and she noticed me making a chestnut-flour bread (yes, it exists
). She's a doctor herself but specialized in an entirely different thing. "This whole thing is bullshit. All these gluten-free things you're eating are just placebos. Can you prove that the diet you are going through is what helped you? To me it sounds like you're just wasting money." This woman could have been my mother, age-wise, yet I was tempted to yell at her that day once I recovered from my initial shock.Can I prove it? No. But honestly: if you have severe acne and dandruff, then after starting the diet with no medication taken whatsoever, after ca. 10 days both things are nearly completely gone, do you NEED proof? That woman barely knew me or anything about my diet, yet she had the audacity to throw her doubts at me and say to my face that she thinks we're wasting money without doing any research? Oh but she's a doctor too, right? She's gotta know. So it's her uninformed, biased word against that of a specialist who's taken samples and analyzed them.
If denial is how she treats every disease that she doesn't have solid proof of, I'd like to take her doctor's degree and stick it where the sun doesn't shine... along with a baguette for good measure.
"(Note to self: insert quote & picture once I find stuff)"
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