Thoughts

Pre-Diagnosis - COMING SOON 

"It's all in your head" - COMING SOON

Misconceptions - COMING SOON

"You can have a little bit, can't you?" - COMING SOON

Taking off the croutons - COMING SOON

My Experience As A College Student With Dietary Restrictions

I have been fully gluten free since 2015. While I'm still learning how to manage my dietary restrictions nine years later, I have always tried to keep a positive outlook on food. When applying for colleges, I tried to look into some that had gluten free or at least gluten friendly options. I only went on a few college tours and I was sold on one instantly. They had a station that catered to the top 8 allergies at the time (and has since changed to 9 to include sesame). After I started going here, I started to recieve heavy judgement from the other gluten free people at my school. Everyone argued that the food was terrible and that people often got sick from here. I had a very different opinion at the time. The food was decent (not phenomenal every time, but had reliable quality) and I knew that it wasn't going to make me feel bad, which is always a bonus. I was so passionate about loving the ability to just eat with friends and not have to worry about anything that I even started working there for a while. While I worked there, I tried to educate them more on the difference between gluten free and gluten friendly and provided some suggestions about how to advertise to the food allergy community. After a while, I had to stop working because I got too busy in school, but I continued to eat there and encourage others to eat there. That all changed when I started to feel sick and other symptoms at random times. One day when I was staring at my dinner, I was looking at the lentils and they looked different. What would have normally been a potato lentil mix, had something that looked like puffed bulgur wheat. I decided to ask the person serving what they thought it was and they said it looks like puffed wheat. I then  asked them about the station still being gluten and wheat free. She replied by stating that she hadn't caught that she was serving a major allergen. It was not in any way her fault, since she was not one of the allergy chefs, but I made sure to notify the manager. The manager said that they would go through with a formal investigation of their allergen vetting proceedures and that they would contact me when everything was figured out. They never contacted me. Eventually, when I decided to eat there again, I continued to feel unwell, even though the station was supposedly top 8 allergen free (including gluten and wheat), which led me to stop eating there for a whole semester. I have eaten there a few times since then successfully after avoiding it for a long time, but my trust has been broken with feeling safe to eat there. Since I don't eat at the cafeteria anymore, I find other places to eat with my friends. I either bring my own food or I suggest places off campus that I feel safe eating at. Planning to go places with friends is definitely stressful. I have a friend with a severe peanut allergy and a lot of times she can only eat at places that I can't and vice versa. I also have a friend who is lactose intolerant. Between the three of us, it's quite stressful to find places to go that accommodate all of our dietary restrictions. Even when I'm with friends who don't have any dietary restrictions, I feel guilty or like I am a bother when it comes to making plans. I know that I need to advocate myself, but sometimes it can be tiring to have to constantly explain why I'm not eating or why I can only eat at certain places. It isn't all bad though. I have definitely made stronger bonds with some of my friends through talking about our dietary restrictions. I'm also learning to be a better advocate for myself and teaching others about dietary restrictions along the way. I have since cancelled my dining plan with my college and have been packing all of my meals. I have night classes most of the week in addition to my normal classes, so I'm often packing for two to three meals a day. While packing meals for myself consistently can by tiring, I'm much happier that I'm not having to worry about possible reactions. However, in a food emergency, I am so lucky that my school has some gluten free snacks and gluten free frozen meals for purchase. My school is also right across the street from a grocery store, so that is also good in a pinch. To any of my fellow college students with dietary restrictions: stay strong! You are not alone in worrying about safe options and figuring out making plans with friends. Just be sure to do what makes you feel safe, and you'll feel better in the long run.