Coeliac woman shares the ‘food identification system’ her cousins made for a party & people say it’s ‘genius’
A COELIAC woman has left people seriously impressed after sharing a snap of the drastic measures her cousins went to ensure she doesn’t consume gluten at a gathering.
Coeliac disease is a common digestive disease that affects one in 100 people in the UK – and someone who knows a little about this is social media user Sue Vlaki.
The disease which is triggered by gluten (found in wheat, barley and rye) is a life-long condition that can lead to bloating, nausea and tiredness, and according to experts, this can only be changed by swapping your diet and consuming special gluten-free products.
This means that attending dinner parties or BBQ with your friends and family can oftentimes prove to be quite the challenge, with delicious food all around you.
However, to ensure Coeliac Sue doesn’t experience uncomfortable bloating and other side effects by mistakenly consuming gluten, her cousins took a rather drastic approach.
Seriously impressed by their creativity, the foodie took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share the ”genius” solution.
Rather than creating a separate dish for her – or setting her plate full of goodies aside – the relatives decided to make a special ”food identification system”.
This included having small printouts with a photo of Sue smiling, which had then been attached to several toothpicks and placed by the items she could – and couldn’t – eat.
The ones the foodie could enjoy included a block of cheese, as well as some juicy fruit and a bowl of nuts, whilst, for examples, crackers had been branded a no-no, with Sue’s faced crossed out.
”I got diagnosed with celiac a few weeks ago and my cousins were fully prepared with a food identification system,” she wrote in the now-viral tweet.
Needless to say, fellow social media users were truly amazed by the caring efforts, as the post soon racked up a whopping 8million views, even landing on Instagram.
”10/10 for effort,” wrote The Archbishop of Banterbury in their post.
Another chimed in: ”As someone living with Coeliac disease, I fully support this.”
A third penned: ”The fact that the loved ones actually took the time to learn about it is everything.
”Too many of us with health issues have families who don’t give one crap because it doesn’t affect them.
”I absolutely love this post. Simple, mindful, effective.”
”Can’t believe I’ve not thought of this. Simple, yet effective,” someone else tagged their pal in the comments.
What are the symptoms for Coeliac disease?
There are many symptoms for the disease, some of which are mouth ulcers, crippling fatigue, stomach pain, regular diarrhoea, weight loss and indigestion.
Kids who have it may not grow at the expected rate and could later have delayed puberty, it’s been reported.
The condition is thought to affect one in 3,300 people and a number of famous faces, including Megan Mckenna and Ulrika Jonsson suffer from it.
However, this number may be larger, as many people go undiagnosed – or the symptoms may get misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
What causes it?
Coeliac UK describes it as an autoimmune disease caused by a reaction of the immune system to the protein gluten.
A sufferer’s immune system reacts to the gluten by damaging the lining of the small intestine.
Some people have genes which means they could develop coeliac disease, although it is unclear why this is.
What are the symptoms of gluten intolerance?
- Bloating
- Diarrhea, constipation and smelly faeces
- Abdominal pain
- Headaches
- Feeling tired
- Skin problems
- Depression
- Unexplained weight loss
- Iron-deficiency anaemia
- Anxiety
- Autoimmune disorders
- Joint and muscle pain
- Leg or arm numbness
- Brain fog