There it was, plain as day, the end of gluten for me. On that fateful day in September, 2006, I was sitting in the GI doctors office half listening to what I already figured out online and half day dreaming about the beers I will never be able to drink again. As I snapped back into reality the doctor was giving me a referral for a dietician to help transition me to a gluten free diet, he might as well have handed me a funeral guide for all the food I would be missing out on. Unlike most celiacs, my diagnosis was a complete shock. I had never had any negative symptoms and enjoyed every last bite of every piece of bread, cookie, pasta and cracker, and especially enjoyed washing them down with a barley soda. My diagnosis was a complete fluke as the doctor had only wanted to scope my stomach to check on stomach ulcers, when low and behold he found severe damage to my intestines. He promptly sent me for blood testing and confirmed my celiac status. 

After realizing what a huge impact food and dietary restrictions have a on a person's life, I spent the next several months moping around, upset over everything in life that I would seemingly miss out on. After tossing everything out of my kitchen cabinets that contained gluten, I did what any sane person in my shoes would do, hit the internet to find a gluten free beer. While looking for gluten beer and various other products, I realized how difficult it actually was to eat "normally" as a celiac. Not only were there significant road blocks in how manufacturers labeled foods but there also were not great outlets to get food from. Many places did not carry gluten free food and most restaurants not only did not cater to gluten free diets but they did not even know what the term "gluten free" meant.

Much has changed in the past three years. I no longer mope around, instead I am too busy running, playing soccer, going to BBQs and restaurants and otherwise living a normal life.  Gluten free foods have become more abundant and readily available. More and more restaurants have a gluten free menu or acknowledge gluten and offer alternatives. It seems celiac disease has now touched most people's lives either by watching Oprah or because someone they know has been diagnosed with it. I am always on the search for a new restaurant with a gluten free menu or that can accommodate gluten free restrictions.  I also am continually searching for new performance foods and drinks to keep my energy sustained while otherwise enjoying a very active lifestyle.