The Worst Article Ever on Celiac Disease

worst celiac article

Normally on Thanksgiving, I will give a shout out to some folks that I am more than thankful for. This year, while I am still blessed and so thankful for so many in my life, I’ll just save my thanks for one team of people: Mrs. Dude’s doctors and nurses. You have my undying gratitude and I am in awe of your skills, your bedside manner, your senses of humor and of course most of all for taking care of the one and only Mrs. Dude. THANK YOU!!!

So in lieu of my thankful list of many people, let’s put our focus on one person this year…one Sharron Macfarlane. I have no idea who she is, but she now officially holds the title of writing “The Worst Article Ever on Celiac Disease.”

You can read it in all it’s glory here.

[Dude note: One hour after writing this post and them getting slammed in the comments on their page, they took the article down. Weasels. Gotta love it.]

[Dude note 2: Someone in the comments below just posted a cached version of the article. Here it is. Gotta love technology.]

Let’s focus on some of her gems, shall we?

She says: People who have celiac disease suffer in a way that people with lactose intolerance do.

Dude says: While I am not minimizing the pain-in-the-ass that lactose intolerance is, to compare it to celiac disease is just idiotic.

She says: Celiac disease is similar [to lactose intolerance], except that a person with this condition will experience great discomfort when consuming gluten — the protein found in wheat.

Dude says: Really? It’s just in wheat. You mean I’ve been avoiding barley and rye all this time for no reason. Silly me. Moving on.

She says: This does not necessarily mean that a person with celiac disease cannot eat wheat, but it’s a good idea to avoid it or take some form of medication or digestive aid.

Dude says: What the ever living hell?! No words at this point.

She says: Only about 7 percent of people have celiac disease, yet “gluten-intolerane” is a term people use to describe why they do not eat bread.

Dude says: Should we focus on it’s 1 percent and not 7 percent? Or maybe that she can’t spell “intolerance”? Or that it’s more than just bread? So many choices, so little time.

The rest of the article is a series of bad info and run-on sentences. Seriously, how does anybody write an article like this? And how does it get published?

What if a newly diagnosed celiac who got no instructions from their doctor saw this? We all have a responsibility folks to tell “the truth” about our disease. Heck…about any disease.

So this Thanksgiving, let’s all be thankful we’re a bit more educated on our disease than Sharron Macfarlane. What a turkey.

Gobble, gobble everyone.

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35 thoughts on “The Worst Article Ever on Celiac Disease”

  1. My first question is, “who are you to be writing an article on Celiac disease?”

    Are you a doctor? Did you actually research your topic before you wrote?

    Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about and this article never should have been published. Shame on you for spreading misinformation about a disease that many of us suffer from!

  2. Yeah, that article was pretty much the most horrible thing ever. And, unfortunately, something my family would read and cling onto to use as justification for lack of support for a gluten-free diet. Ugh.

  3. And yet, in spite of all the horsemanure in the middle, what she says at the end is actually fine “Thus, anyone who does not have celiac disease (so, most of the world) should think very carefully before implementing a gluten-free diet; perhaps even see a nutritionist or dietician to get more information”

    1. I’m afraid if we make our comments in the comments section that this site will count it as a victory, upping their site stats and helping them earn advertising money for this cwap.

  4. I love that you called this out. As a trained reporter – who worked at several big newspapers – this is a disgrace. She should be appalled – and her editor should be fired for not fact checking and making sure the writer, of all people, fact checked. BUT I love how everyone has attacked her in the comments. HILARIOUS! Hi five Gluten Dude for bringing awareness to the article and getting everyone to comment on it. I’m still learning about Celiac and had I “stumbled” upon this article, I may have actually believed it (I’m passed that point but I may have; I know my friend who’s daughter was just diagnosed 2 weeks ago would!)

  5. I can’t believe that a so-called medical website even publishes work by someone so ignorant. I found another earlier article by this same author on the FDA guidelines for gluten-free: http://diabetesinsider.com/fda-clamps-new-labeling-standards-gluten-free-products/34626
    I am so happy to know that I only suffer from “diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain and weight loss.” This brain fog, joint pain, fatigue, dizziness and insomnia must be in my head.

  6. I can’t think of anything nice to say. Maybe…, the article was not likely to have been plagiarized? That’s not so nice either, though.

    Hmmmm, dilemma

  7. I see they took the article down. Victory! A few good people CAN make a difference. As a communications professional who happens to have the “yak” I see this as a win. Thank you for putting a stop to terrible communication practices, Dude.

  8. Sure wish I could read this article but all the links are not working. Here in MI this week – a school board was discussing birthday snacks for children with allergies and an extremely ignorant and callous school board member actually said “Maybe we should just shoot them”. WHAT!!! Luckily it was all caught on tape and has been played on the news and she has resigned but it is so disheartening to think someone would make such a cruel and insensitive remark under the guise of humor. My daughter said it has gone viral.

  9. Given that the website has no information about who they are, who their authors are, or who is looking over their “medical” information, I trust nothing at all on there. I do not trust someone who can’t tell me why I should read and listen.

  10. Speaking of articles, the latest edition of Consumer Reports has an AWESOME article on gluten. They mention not only celiac disease but gluten sensitivity, and they don’t underplay the health impact so far as I can tell. I’ll try to find a link online and post it.

    1. It sounds like something you’d find in your garage. You know, like propane, turpentine, rustoleum…right next to the can of intolerane. Weatherproofing, maybe?

  11. I think I’m just going to file this one under “WTF?!??!!!” And get back to my Turkey Day baking. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  12. Thanks Gluten Dude for another great post! She does not realize the damage she could do to any person newly diagnosed with Celiac. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

  13. A lot of what she is saying is accurate. I have celiac. I can go out and eat whatever I choose to! And guess how I choose to eat? Gluten free. Yes, although I can eat as much wheat, barley and rye as I want to, my desire to eat them is outweighed by my desire to have villi and a functioning intestine.

    However, comparing celiac, which has symptoms more like autoimmune illness and sometimes like GI illness, to lactose intolerance, which has only GI effects, that’s nuts. How long does the average celiac take for their diagnosis? About 20 years! 20! I was diagnosed with IBS in 1994 and celiac in 2013. That’s 19 1/2 years of a possible misdiagnosis. When I first failed my serology I was over 500x over the normal limits. When I got my endoscopy (EGD) done, I had zero villi, and flattened scallops where the villi would have been. And even longer wait after that before I could get a diagnosis until the pathology and FINALLY genetics came back.

    One scoop of ice cream, and you KNOW if you have lactose intolerance.

    While the article, which has been removed, sounds to be full of crap, I can honestly say I can eat anything I want. But I choose to be gluten free which means a LOT more than avoiding wheat, barley and rye.

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