May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month! #sparkleswithceliac

Besides Justin Timberlake reminding us it’s May #sorrynotsorry

May is also an important month in our household; it’s celiac disease awareness month!!

Throughout the month, I will share a series of posts about our family’s journey living with celiac disease, providing resources, and explaining how our household is gluten free for our six-year-old daughter, Sophia, who was diagnosed with it at the age of two-and-a-half.

“Celiac diseases a serious autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine.” -Celiac Disease Foundation

In Sophia’s case, once she eats gluten or has food that has “cross-contamination” (gf food cooked on the same surface as foods with gluten) she vomits uncontrollably for 2-3 hours (you can read about our last experience here). 

Luckily, she hasn’t had an episode in almost two years!

Sophia’s eying-up a gluten free cupcake made into a donut! 

Since Sophia was diagnosed almost four years ago, there have been a plethora of resources that are now available to educate and assist those with this disease. Because The Hubs and I are verbal in the celiac disease community, we are often sought out and asked for advice on how we live with this life-altering disease.

One of the first things we recommend to others who are first diagnosed is this app. which is available for iPhones and Android devices. 

The Gluten-Free Scanner scans barcodes of foods and will tell you whether or not it’s gluten free! #lifesaver

It’s super simple to use.

1.Scan the barcode of the food you’re checking

2. It will tell you:

A. “It’s Gluten Free”

B. “No gluten containing ingredients” (Then I google the company to see if I can find anything in the nutrition section of the website)

 C. “Contains gluten”

D. “Buy the upgrade for $3.99” ::::the upgrade is worth the money:::: #buyit

We use this in grocery stores or even at birthday parties to scan food items that don’t already have the GF label.

This App is user-friendly, even to the point where my father uses it when he buys snacks for Sophia. #ifhecandoitanyonecan

Secondly, we recommend attending the Mid-Hudson Walk for Celiac Disease for our friends here in the Hudson Valley area. 

This walk and vendor fair takes place on 

at the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie

and is organized by the Digestive Disease Center Community Fund and the ongoing research programs of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. 

After the walk, participants are able to obtain information about the disease, sample/purchase gluten free foods/beverages, watch cooking demonstrations from a Culinary Chef, and not have to ask, 

“is this gluten free?”

You can register the walk Here.

Here is our team for last year #teamsophiaandlily

I will continue to share our story and encourage you to share yours if you or a loved one have this disease. 

 Yes, it’s life-changing but living with celiac disease and following a gluten free diet is manageable more than ever.  In fact, I would even say Sophia #sparkleswithceliac