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| May is celiac disease awareness month. |
Living Without Your Daily Bread
by Karina Allrich
Since the birth of agriculture, when our ancestors began to cultivate and harvest grains, human beings have cherished bread. It was a minor miracle, this almost magical transformation of grain into dough. Bread became the staff of life, a daily source of nourishment, symbolic of spiritual renewal.
But what if bread was suddenly poison? What if wheat was toxic, and every bite of a toasted bagel, slice of pizza or forkful of penne inflicted damage to your body?
This scenario is a daily reality for those carrying the gene of an autoimmune disorder known as celiac disease.
Little did I know as I wrote my second cookbook, happily creating recipes for lemon infused pasta primavera and olive-rosemary focaccia, that a hidden twist in my own eclectic heritage would soon disrupt my life. After years of subtle symptoms, an acute phase produced a twenty pound weight loss, joint pain, skin rash, and malabsorption. By December, 2001, I knew I had celiac disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, celiac disease (also known as celiac sprue or gluten sensitive enteropathy) is on the rise, and more common than previously believed, affecting 1 in 100 Americans.
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