<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

> A lot of a person's success at living GF is related to the family
> support he/she receives. I have one celiac family member whose spouse
> treats the condition as a burden and an imposition, and refuses to
> cook or alter the family's diet.  She seems to think he should be able
> to will this condition away and that is a personal attack on her that
> he won't do so.

If his wife is this inflexible with celiac (something easy to cook
around), I'd hate to see what happened if he got *really* sick :-( If
she is that ignorant, she should be educated - if she stays stupid -
well, he may need to make other arrangements for food :-(

> On the other hand, I have another family member (my
> dad!) whose wife and kids were very excited to finally learn what his
> problem was, and so relieved that we could DO something to help make
> him healthy. We treated it as an intellectual challenge to find
> creative recipes. <snip>

This is not just a problem in celiac families. In my immediate
family, we have a variety of food problems in addition to celiac -
deadly shellfish reactions, a vegan (no animal products consumed
for health reasons), soft diet (a disabled child who can't chew), milk-
free, beef-free, violent reactions to melon, no pork, no nitrates, etc.
It is interesting to watch how it is treated at each house, as my
siblings and I are now adults. One sibling cooks what she cooks,
and scr*w the rest of us. My mom (vegan) and I (celiac) refuse to
eat there anymore out of self-defense. Three of us are "gracious
hosts" - everyone should be able to get enough to eat to be
content, although not necessarily be able to eat everything on the
table. We've even pulled things out of the cupboard when our
nephew couldn't find enough to eat without chewing. My youngest
sister's reaction amazed the middle sister - she was getting ready
to dig into emergency supplies for her son, and was asked what he
needed - my baby sister then proceeded into the kitchen to make
scrambled eggs and cottage cheese for him so he could eat - baby
sister was putting on the "mildly insulted" act - she fed all her
guests properly ;-) no one should have to bring food to her house ;-)
this after putting on a lavish spread that took everyone's needs into
account (child didn't like hoummous or tuna, so needed some
protein).

The best thing that you can do is support the supportive family, and
find excuses not to eat where you are not supported. It's a lot
easier than being many miles from home and being violently
ill...been there, done that, and *will not* do it again, no matter how
insulted middle sister gets...

karen

Karen Davis
Davis and Associates Consulting
[log in to unmask]
The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming train...