Article by Anglea Morken
So, you have recently been diagnosed with celiac disease. You are probably feeling quite overwhelmed by all the changes that you have to make in your lifestyle–food shopping and planning your daily menus come to mind. Now is the best time to find a support group to help you cope with the disease. You may feel like you don’t have the time to go to a support group meeting or search the internet for other people with celiac disease, but the time it takes to connect with other people on the gluten-free diet will save you an incredible amount of time and effort in the future.
Celiac support groups, whether in person or on-line, offer a sense of community. People new to the gluten-free diet always have a lot of questions to ask and need someone to answer them. The best people to answer these questions are those who just weeks or months earlier had to face the same problems and decisions.
Celiac disease support groups are wonderful for helping those new to the diet. They are a great help to the newly diagnosed in their efforts to integrate the information needed to adjust to gluten-free lives. By joining such a group, you are benefiting from the experience of people who have been in the gluten-free world for years, sometimes even decades. Finding truly enjoyable gluten-free specialty foods such as breads, pastas, cookies, crackers, cakes, pizza, piecrusts and other gluten-free baked goods can take a lot of time in the trial and error method. But, by asking other people with celiac about their favorite products, you can focus on the products and recipes that most people like, rather than being faced with an endless list.
On-line support groups are a great resource. Most archive their discussions, sometimes going back years. If there is a certain type of product or a brand you have questions about, searching the on-line discussion board will almost always provide the answers you need. If not, posting a new message will bring in advice from people who have been exactly where you are right now. In-person support groups have their own benefits. Meetings are like food-tasting parties with members encouraged to bring food to the meetings. Discussions of places to eat out–like a new local restaurant that makes gluten-free sandwiches or a national chain with special gluten-free menu, opening nearby, are the norm.
No matter which type of group you join, most are filled with discussions–and almost always about food. Recipes are swapped, the gluten-free status of mainstream foods are confirmed, delicious gluten-free specialty foods are raved about and stories of much less delicious gluten-free disasters are shared. Whether you are more comfortable communicating online, or enjoy the company of people with whom you can sit and have coffee and gluten-free cake, the benefits of joining a celiac support group are endless. Life is just too short not to have delicious food and great friends to share it with.
For more information on Celiac Support Groups, be sure to visit any local support group in your area or on the Internet. There are plenty out there that really focus on helping Celiac sufferers and giving solid support to its members. You can live with Celiac and still have a great life.
Angela Morken is an expert and sufferer of Celiac Disease. She has been living gluten free for over 20 years now. She has a highly regarded guide to living with Celiac Disease at www.celiacreport.com
