COELIAC AND TRENDY don’t usually feature in the same sentence. As a diagnosed coeliac for almost 40 years however, it’s been impossible to ignore the rise in the number of people who are citing gluten as something they avoid.

Having lived with gluten-free since the days when the bread came in a tin and was as palatable as dried out wallpaper paste, it is interesting to think someone might cut out gluten as a choice. This trend has had its impact on those of us whose gluten-free diet is the only medical treatment for what can be a very debilitating disease. But being honest, the impact is not all bad.

Firstly, to consider the downside; I will mention the difficulties and uncertainty it causes when eating out, when your server asks you ‘are you a full coeliac?’ In other words, ‘are you gluten-free because you have to be, or because you think it’s the latest weight-loss paragon?’ (Note: being GF has never helped me to lose weight!). It is worrying to think that varying degrees of being coeliac are being touted as a catering industry standard, when so much as a breadcrumb could send a coeliac to the toilet for days on end or leave them unable to function due to crippling pain or fatigue. It makes you doubt. You wonder will the server’s experience of the ‘coeliac’ who ate the cheesecake because no other dessert was available, mean that they won’t bother checking whether your fries were cooked in the same oil as the wheat flour-coated fish.

It also means that in the rush to bring gluten-free products to the market, from artisan producers to the supermarket brand leaders, you wonder if the specific nutritional requirements of coeliacs is taken into account – reduced fibre, lack of calcium and iron being a shortcoming of a gluten-free diet unless the foods are specifically fortified. More and more I see gluten-free ranges stored in with mainstream foods, making it harder for newly diagnosed coeliacs to figure out what they can eat. Labelling becomes a minefield and you want a food science degree (and the eyesight of Superman) to determine whether it’s safe to eat ordinary products.

There are genuinely affected people who don’t have a proper label for what makes them ill. They have had every test known to modern medicine, but no diagnosis, yet gluten-free makes them feel well. While, they may or may not be coeliac, or have the controversial non-coeliac gluten-intolerance (NCGI), whether a gluten-free diet is having a placebo effect – they are feeling healthier and happier on a gluten-free diet. As long as they are aware or supported in ensuring they have a nutritionally adequate gluten-free diet, then what harm?

In fact, and this is the other side of the argument, it could be said that the growth in the demand for good quality gluten-free products has caused a surge in the availability of foods that were once off the menu for coeliacs. Now you can get wraps, readymade sandwiches at lunchtime, every sauce known to cuisine, even pizza begorrah!

Having watched the development of the market over the past number of years and seeing every hotel, restaurant and manufacturer want to get on the gluten-free gravy train, I say work away! Make it so coeliacs have more to eat, choice, availability and a greater chance of sticking to an essential diet when it’s much more acceptable above all, to need to do so.

Another factor that should be mentioned is the high cost of gluten-free foods. I often balk at foods I would love to try, because I can’t help comparing the price to the mainstream version and cringing. Do I really want to pay €4 for a box of biscuits that really I’m just going to regret (cranberry and white chocolate flavour or not!)? Treats aside, with competition increasing on the gluten-free market and various supermarkets launching their own ranges, there is the possibility that price may be driven down over time.

I choose health 

No-one enjoys coeliac disease. The awkwardness of having to quiz your friends and family on their ingredients, never mind complete strangers – it’s just not something you want to do. As a woman with coeliac disease I have had to commit to a lifelong gluten-free diet or suffer symptoms in the short-term and risk of bowel cancer and osteoporosis in later life. It is no flippant matter. Food is integral to life and I certainly don’t leave the house without thinking about where my next bite might come from. I often overcompensate (eat before I go) to be sure. No wonder weight-loss is an issue…

But I choose health. So if trendy helps me be healthy, then I salute this craze. Just let’s recognise coeliacs from the trend-setters… and don’t offer us the cheesecake.

Emma Clarke Conway, coeliac. Emma specialises in small businesses and charity communications. Contact her at emmaexpresspr@gmail.com or on Twitter @EmmaCConway

Coeliac Society of Ireland provides information, support and advice www.coeliac.ie (01) 872 1471