Some Frustrations

I went to the dentist last Saturday for a regular cleaning and check-up. All is well, except I have a little cold sensitivity in a couple places. To help regulate it, my dentist gave me a product that is to be rubbed on the gum line to help recalcify those areas of my teeth. Great! The product went in the dental goody bag alongside the other samples he sends home with you, and off I went. Later on, though, when I went to try it for the first time, I see on the front of the box a cautionary notice printed in red. It reads something along the lines of "Caution: The propietary ingredient is derived from milk casein. Do not use on patients with a milk protein allergy."

Hmm. One of the areas that I'm still navigating with some frustration is finding suitable vitamins, supplements and the like. The dental product is just one example. Yesterday, I stopped by one of the groceries I use, and noticed that they had a new brand of vitamins that were purported to be gluten- and dairy-free. Hooray! My jubilation was short-lived, however, because upon reading the label, I discovered that the product contained soy and barley grass.

The soy immediately disqualified it for me. I have found some products that are free of gluten and casein, but soy ingredients continue to be problematic. So I'm still looking for a multi-vitamin that I can tolerate. A bigger concern is that these vitamins contain barley grass but are labeled gluten-free. Barley grass can contain seeds, which would render it unsafe for those following a gluten-free diet. Perhaps the company has ensured the formulation is free of gluten, but even if I could take these vitamins, I would be skeptical and follow up with the company before taking them. Even then, I'd closely monitor for any adverse reactions after taking them.

With regard to the dental product, at least the caution notice was clearly visible. While I essentially read every label before I ingest anything (restaurant fare notwithstanding), there are those who don't. Worse is that because the vitamin line is touted as gluten-free, some people could -- and probably will -- take it at face value, use the vitamins, then wonder what is wrong if they have a reaction. Getting sick (a.k.a., having a reaction) and not knowing the cause is very frustrating, and quite frankly, a little frightening, too, but I'll save some of those experiences for another time.

The allergen labeling requirement that took effect in 2006 has helped celiacs avoid unfriendly products and inadvertent consumption, but it certainly hasn't been foolproof. The FDA's new gluten-free labeling guidelines are due in August. Here's hoping they'll be more effective.

Dinner and a Movie

Last night, B. (my significant other) took me out on a proper date. For dinner, we went to Nosh, a place that's quickly become a favorite of ours. A casual, Zagat-rated restaurant in Geneva, Ill. that we discovered about a month ago, it boasts an urban atmosphere and wonderful food.

It's rare that we can go out and have a meal that's better than what I can make at home, but it's truly a treat to eat there. The menu is inventive, the chef makes an effort use gluten-free ingredients, and the staff is well-informed. It's a great place for breakfast and lunch, and Thursday through Saturday evenings, they serve tapas-style, when patrons are especially encouraged to linger and enjoy themselves.

I started with a bowl of gazacho, minus the croutons, then sampled the beef tips and potatoes in a cocoa sauce -- yum! B., the good Southern boy that he is, had the corn fritters to start, and as his entree, the fried tilapia. And I was informed that they had altered the tilapia dish to make it gluten-free for me, should I want to try it. It's that type of awareness and service that makes Nosh a restaurant we will visit again and again. For dessert, B. tried the flourless chocolate cake (alas, it wasn't dairy-free), which he reports was decadently rich.

More well known for its breakfast and lunch menus, Nosh has been great when I've been there for lunch, too. I love the bruleed grapefruit to start, and the steak salad with a mustard-herb dressing is lovely. And you can't beat the fresh-squeezed mimosas.

Suffice it to say, we'll be back.

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One of my goals in starting this blog is to document my experiences, my adventures, if you will, in eating out, in traveling, in navigating the world from a gluten-free perspective. As I mentioned before, I had a hard time accepting my diagnosis -- primarily because it affected my lifestyle so radically. As you probably can tell, I love to dine out and try new restaurants, maybe even write about them, and for a long time, I felt I couldn't do that. Happily, that's changed.

Getting Started

It's taken a long time to get here -- that is, to get to a point where I could embrace my dietary restrictions and the associated lifestyle changes. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in August 2003. Given that my mother and brother both had been diagnosed, it came as no surprise, but I was bitterly angry for a long time. Fortunately, a couple events helped me accept my new lifestyle. A year or so after I was diagnosed, when I was going to skip a work function due to the challenges, a colleague and friend was kindly blunt enough to remind me that it was my reality now and I might as well get used to it. She was right. And then, my brother and sister-in-law sent me a decadent chocolate cake for my birthday -- something not widely available at that time -- and I finally realized I did have options.

It's been a wild ride since then, sometimes bumpy, sometimes smooth, but always interesting. I would like to invite you to join me on this journey. More people are being diagnosed every day, awareness is growing, and the options for those of us on restricted diets thankfully are increasing.

It's bound to be exciting.