Celiac Awareness Month 2017
Disclaimer: I am not a licensed medical doctor or counselor. All of my posts are from my own personal experiences in the areas of my own health and wellness. My posts are meant to inspire you in your health journey, but do not qualify for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Please consult a licensed medical professional or counselor. I cannot be personally held responsible for any advice you take from my blog postings and implement into your life without consulting a medical professional first.
This time of year is great because it is a cross between Spring and Summer. The sun is shining, the temperature is rising, the grills are going, and you know the long days of summer are upon us. For me May is a great month because of this, however May is also great because it is Celiac Disease Awareness Month!Now I am not going to do a huge introduction to my Celiac Disease story. You will find out more of that along the way. Make sure to check out my Youtube Videos that I filmed during my first Celiac Disease Awareness Month, and even the night I was diagnosed. They explain and show my personal journey even more so. Please disregard my lack of knowing how to use video technology haha.
To give you a quick run down though I have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease for around 5 ½ years. It is crazy for me to think about how much life has happened during that time and how much I have changed. A big part of all the changes to me as a person is the result of being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Even though it greatly impacted my life in SO MANY ways, I think at the end of the day it has brought out the best in me. It made me STRONGER in ways I am still uncovering.
For those of you who do not know Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. It is when your body does not have the ability to digest the protein known as “gluten.” When you ingest gluten your body attacks itself, much like how food poisoning is. Celiac Disease has over 300 symptoms and it is as common as 1 in 100 people.
Now, things to expect this month from ImpactInfluenceInspire.co, is my honest and vulnerable opinion on life with Celiac Disease. The truth is living with a chronic condition is hard! There are so many people who do this everyday, and some diseases are far worse than Celiac Disease. I do not disregard the more serious realities of other conditions.
The fact food is the medicine and treatment for Celiac Disease is a blessing in many ways, but it is hard because there is so much confusion in the society we live in. Sometimes people think I am making up my request, that I follow a gluten free diet for fun, or that I am just high maintenance. This month I want to uncover the truth and educate/advocate on the reality of living life with Celiac Disease.
Now there is a lot that I know but I want to find out what YOU want to know. Please submit questions through email at impactinfluenceinspire.blog@gmail.com.
Idea’s of what you can do to raise awareness this month would be to visit local restaurants and talk to them about gluten free options, buy gluten free products to see what they taste like, or talk one on one with a Celiac. I am always happy to volunteer as tribute for that last one! Do a google search to see if you have any symptoms and call your Doctor to see about getting a blood test completed. I am more than happy to talk/walk you through this! Most importantly, be open to learning and seeing things from a different perspective.
If you want to REALLY go above and beyond you can make a donation to the Celiac Disease Foundation, or do what I do and shop through Amazon Smile. You can select the Celiac Disease Foundation as the organization you want to donate to every time you make an online purchase.
Until next time,
