... and it's gluten-free!

"Gluten-free" prominently displayed on the labels!

Isn't it funny that when you learn a new word, a word you'd swear you've never encountered before, you hear it nearly every day? For the past couple of years, the word I've been hearing nearly every day is "gluten-free."

While much of the hype is related to the new gluten-free diet fad (which may or may not work long term for weight loss or athletic performance), the increasing frequency of that word and its accompanying products is a blessing to those of us with celiac disease.

No need for labels here!

It has certainly become much easier to find celiac-safe food, both in grocery stores and in restaurants, in the past twenty-some years since Doug's nephew was diagnosed. When I think about how difficult it was twenty years ago for Doug's brother and sister-in-law to educate themselves and those around them about what is and what is not gluten-free, I find it hard to believe how relatively easy it is now. Nearly everyone has at least a basic understanding of it.

I hope that when/if the diet fad passes, the awareness of potential problems with gluten (and processed food in general) continues. I also hope that producers continue to look for ways to eliminate unnecessary gluten from their offerings. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy seeing my new vocabulary word in print and hearing it in the news and advertisements on a daily basis.