Here’s a question for you: How much responsibility does the media bear in promoting celiac awareness?
Maybe “promoting celiac awareness” is the wrong terminology.
Maybe it should be “how much responsibility does the media bear in connecting gluten-free to a serious health issue?”
Gluten-free is trendy. I get it.
And while something remains trendy, there will always be hoards and hoards of people trying to profit off that trend.
But gluten-free is different. It’s not the South Beach Diet. It’s not Atkins. It’s not the Mediterranean Diet.
It’s the complete removal from your diet of a common protein that has devastating health effects on millions of people across the globe.
It’s not a fad. It’s here to stay.
So when a professional chef, with her own TV show, with a gazillion social media followers, with the power to educate the masses, does a show specifically on gluten-free cooking and doesn’t mention celiac disease once, has she failed?
Let’s give a warm Gluten Dude welcome to Rachael Ray.
I’ve mentioned her several times in the past. There was the time she called us picky eaters. And let’s not forget the Jimmy Kimmel debacle, where she told us to “have another bowl of pasta”.
Yeah…not my favorite person.
She has a show on the Food Network called “3 in the Bag”. It’s a 30 minute show where she makes three different meals. She recently did an episode called “Gluten-Free Times Three”.
I recorded it. It wasn’t pretty.
Actually, the recipes looked good. No real qualms with the meals themselves.
So what are my complaints?
- Not one mention of celiac disease.
- Not one mention of gluten sensitivity.
- Not one mention of cross-contamination.
- Not one mention to make sure the ingredients check out completely gluten-free.
- She kept using the damn phrase “figure-friendly” to describe these meals.
Now look…I could be wrong here. Mrs. Dude will rightfully tell you that I’m wrong an awful lot of the time.
But it just seems like such a wasted opportunity. Even a quick 30 second blurb at the beginning of the show would have been nice.
I’m not asking for the world. I’m just asking that the media please take their role in educating their audience more seriously.
Well…maybe that is asking for the world.
Your thoughts?
GF is “Figure friendly”? lmFATao
Once I started absorbing again, I gained 45 lbs. from GF pasta, GF bread, GF pizza. I had to go all primal to gain control and lose some of the glutenfreegoody chubster weight.. lol
Neither of these two women give a rat’s butt about CD, kiddo.
I am never surprised or disappointed anymore by what the celebs/media say and do in regards to celiac/NCGS.
They will only care about it when it happens to them–or someone they love.
(and for the love of mike, let’s hope that drOZ stops talking incessantly about gluten gluten gluten) 🙂
Don’t even get me started on Dr. Oz.
lol…don’t get ME started on DOZ, as I call him. (insert that eye-rolling emoticon here)
Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC interrupted a United States Congresswoman in mid-sentence to report that Justin Bieber was arrested. No Dude, I don’t think we can count on the media for much.
What counts as “newsworthy” and relevant is astonishing, isn’t it, Ken?
There are simply no words…
There are words, but they’re bad, bad words.
Oz. Rachel Ray. “Dr.” Phil. They’re all in Oprah’s network of pseudoscience and woo. She’s famous for her “I heard [wacky cure/treatment/cause] from [celebrity] so it must be true” approach.
oy, Ken….makes my head hurt just thinking about my poor doctor who told me he cringes when someone starts out with
“so, on Dr. Oz, he says ….”
I told him to put a sign up in the exam room:
“THANK YOU FOR NOT MENTIONING DR. OZ”
(I saw it in a New Yorker comic and figured it might work…)
Love it, love it, love it. Like everything else, DOZ included,
just take it with a grain of SALT. Unfortunately., there those
who believe everything they see on TV or on the internet is GOSPEL.
You have to really weed through the crap to get to the truth which, in most cases, barely resembles the original idea.
First I must say how incredibly grateful I am to have finally found this site and community just a over month ago. You rock! So many of you have helped cut back on years of independent research, trial, error, error, success, more trial, repeat…You get the idea! Spending a huge amount of time trying to catch up post blogs and comments, many of which confirm what I’ve learned (don’t get me started on all the GI docs and procedures from a very early age who misdiagnosed my CD) and so many more turning me onto much needed info with your comments and links. Much of it some basic stuff that allows me to enjoy a few things I didn’t know I could with serious limitations on my diet to 1st heal a leaky gut. With very limited TV viewing now (I seriously had to NEVER watch DrO again 3 years ago) and not reading mainstream magazines I didn’t even know going gluten free was so intensely trendy. To think I was wondering why I get the eye-rolls and smirks… Yes, I do believe the media bears some responsibility since they reach so many people and have such influence. The jokes made…I had no idea there either. Now I finally get it!
I’d like to give a special shout out to IrishHeart. Thanks for giving me my fighting Celtic spirit back! Btw, over the decades my weight has been all over the place, I’d LOVE to have some weight back on and be curvaceous again…maybe we could do an exchange if technology ever develops again bc I’ve been waaay underweight for over a year now!
Irish Heart deserves lots of special shout outs 🙂
Amen to that
Hi Mary!
Celtic Warrior princesses must stick together, yes? 😉
I lost 90 lbs. by the time I was Dxed and I looked like …well, hell.
The first year, I put on about 8 lbs. But my appetite was still wonky,
my worst symptoms persisted for the most part, but many were resolving and I was struggling to believe things would get substantially better. But I never lost hope they would. I had several celiac “veterans” telling me to just stay the course and be patient. And so I was.
Around month 15, something kicked in and my appetite turned on and I felt better. I could cook with glee once more because I was stronger and I sampled every GF goody there was and I honestly did not see the gradual weight rise until I caught my butt in a 3- way mirror. lol
Asked the hubs, why didn’t you tell me I was getting fat? He said:
“I like you better this way”. 🙂
You may very well put on some more weight. (just be careful, it sneaks up on ya!) If I can help in any way, please call on me.
Hang in there and Slainte’, dear Mary!!
Thanks Irish!
Same thing here. Eating gluten free actually made me gain weight. I know I’m not eating the healthiest, but I never have. So this myth that gluten free is going to make you lose weight needs to stop. It doesn’t. It isn’t a diet. The people who have lost weight going GF probably have done so because they replaced what would have been gluten with something healthy, instead of swapping regular muffins for GF muffins.
Hey IH!!!
I was just thinking ” gluten is very figure friendly to me”! In the throes of figuring out what the hell was wrong, losing 40 pounds in 5 months, struggling with the diet etc a youngish guy at work said to me “I know you’ve lost all this weight and have this wasting disease, but you look fantastic”! To his credit, he knew that I knew what the problem was and his dad has celiac so he was actually sympathetic.
I need to lose a few pounds, all this absorption and appetite is bulking me up. Gimme a bagel.
Hi Ada! 🙂
I always wonder how you are doing and I am so happy to “see” you.
We have come a long way from the very ill women we once were, haven’t we, dear girl? 🙂 Yeah, that 90 lbs. loss I had was something. I always wanted to be thin, but not that way. I’m back to a more “robust” me now.
Cheers and best wishes always,
xxIH
I so agree! As a mom w/a 4 year old that has celiac I am constantly finding myself having to tell his entire story ( of all the hell this perfect kiddo went through before we knew he was allergic) just for believe to BELIEVE me! It has become so trendy, it is irritating. I could go on and on but won’t…
Preach! “Figure friendly”? I went from 110 to 215 in a year! Still trying to get me figure to be ‘friendly”. They’re idiots.
Rachael Rae cooking gluten free. I have heard her make negative comments in the past so I was interested in seeing if she educated herself. The answer is NO. She paired the term GF simultaneously with figure friendley every recipe. She also used terms like guilt free, diet, meat free, satisfying even though GF. I could go on. Never did she mention gluten and effects, nor did she check ingredients such as cooking sprays and hot sauce. She wanted to experiment with “pasta” so she made zucchini shredded. She even made a stew and left out the meat so it would be GF. Who can educate this fairly intelligent woman. She is a nut and they let her air her show on tv with no credibility! I hate her more now than I ever did. She should just give up and shut her mouth. So frustrated!
Rachel AND Martha (shaking my head and taking deep breaths)…. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are influenced by these two and their ilk. Would they do a sugar free/low glycemic show and not mention diabetes? This is exactly what undermines Celiac and NCGS.
Oh No, I feel a rant coming on!!!!
Just to be clear, Miss Martha was not on the episode. I just grabbed a pic of them together.
My mistake. I actively avoid watching both of them, although I admit to having watched Oz in horrid fascination for 5 minutes at a time.
Martha –does not welcome any people with food allergies or intolerances.
read her words:
“Oh my God! Don’t ask! My rule is do not ask about dietary restrictions,’ she says, clearly averse to making an extra effort for certain guests.
‘We had a charity dinner – we had every single kind of restriction. It was horrible!’ she recalls to the newspaper.
The cooking maestro, seemingly so welcoming and in control, does make one minor concession.
‘You have to be semi-prepared,’ she says of picky eaters. ‘But don’t fret about it. Everybody can miss a meal.”
Gracious hostess, my arse.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2074302/Gluten-free-diets-welcome-chez-Martha-Stewart.html
I say Feh! to Martha Stewart. Feh I tell you!
well, “feh” is one word… lol
A truly good chef who is passionate about their work will gladly accommodate those with legitimate dietary restrictions. Many even welcome the challenge and embrace it as a way to learn about new ingredients and cooking/baking techniques. This is just one more reason that I can’t stand Martha Stewart!
gffairy: “A truly good chef who is passionate about their work will gladly accommodate those with legitimate dietary restrictions”.
true, true!
My best friend is a chef. She told me flat out “most chefs do not even use
gluten in their cooking. It’s no big hardship to sub in if necessary and to prepare things from scratch. It’s not rocket science. It’s just making dinner.What’s the big deal?”
Don’t you love her? yeah, me too. lol
I have never had a chef treat me like I was a pain in the arse.
waitstaff, yes…chef, no.
Anytime I have a good experience, I write and thank the chef and every time, s/he has written back. They want their customers happy.
I have an assignment to create a personal essay film for a grad school class, and I was pitching my project to my professor. I started out with celiac is a chronic illness, talked about how long I’d had symptoms, the challenge of getting diagnosed, how it affects my daily life. She was fascinated and interested and sympathetic. Then she asked what causes this autoimmune disease to flare up. I mentioned the word gluten, and suddenly she pulled back, saying “Gluten?! I don’t want to hear about gluten any more!” Fortunately, once I explained that the popularization and bastardization of gluten free is an issue for me, and demonstrated that I understood the science, she took me seriously once again.
So that’s my anecdote to say that yes, any public who talks about gluten free diets needs to mention celiac. My professor had never heard of celiac but was already sick of hearing people avoid gluten for weight loss.
And THIS is why we advocate.
Indeed, GD. And to think, this woman who “do[es]n’t want to hear about gluten any more!” is quite extensively educated (presumably, she’s a graduate school professor after all) and probably has enough letters after her name to make Alpha-Bits jealous. Most people in our society don’t share such highly-credentialed backgrounds.
So if even SHE has no problem betraying her hostility to our community, where does this put the rest of the masses?
Best wishes to Comrade Svilova on his/her (?) film project. I’m sure it’ll be a very elucidating document.
Thanks for the good wishes! I use she/her or they/them pronouns. 🙂 I appreciate your choice not to assume either way.
I’m in the humanities, so while the professors are highly educated in their field, I do notice that their scientific knowledge is sometimes (quite a bit) shakier than other highly educated groups. And celiac/NCGI make some demands on us to be or become much more scientifically literate than the general population!
Comrade said:
“I’m in the humanities, so while the professors are highly educated in their field, I do notice that their scientific knowledge is sometimes (quite a bit) shakier than other highly educated groups. And celiac/NCGI make some demands on us to be or become much more scientifically literate than the general population!”
You got that right, kiddo. lol
Good thing this former English Prof. married a scientist.
And I really had to pay attention reading all the research about celiac
the past 3 years….. My brain hurts. lol
Good luck with your project! Let us know how it turns out.
In recent years it seems that no disease is given any credibility unless the news media covers it incessantly. Katie Couric had a colonoscopy on live TV and all of the sudden, insurance companies and doctors alike said “hey, that’s a legitimate concern – maybe people should have colonoscopies more often.” As a result, today that procedure is likely over-recommended by doctors and also completely covered by most insurance plans. ABC has been particularly guilty of using cancer screenings to get ratings – Robin Roberts and Amy Robach spring to mind. And while I’m not trying to belittle their conditions or their suffering, don’t we already have enough awareness about breast cancer? When they showed Amy Robach getting her hair cut short recently because the chemo was making it fall out, it made me want to cry. Not so much for her – again, not trying to minimize her suffering and not that I didn’t feel for her because I do. It is particularly devastating to a woman to lose her hair. But I wanted to weep even more for those of us who have had to do the same thing due to celiac disease. Where are the f$*%#ing stories about that? I think Irish is exactly right – until it happens to someone of prominence in the news media or someone they love, celiac disease will be largely ignored.
You’re spot on Mr. Dude lol. I don’t know what they are thinking and this craze with GF being figure friendly….hello, people who choose to not eat it are missing some vital nutrients the rest of us have to supplement. SO I’m glad they helped FURTHER exploit the “fad.” Figure friendly my fat butt…literally. When I first learned gluten was what was causing me to be so sick (had my gall bladder removed when it ruptured and because I was right out of college and no insurance, NO ONE, not even my doctor, told me this was going to happen more than not) I ate all sort of carby gluten free items and I’m NOW going paleo trying to get a friendlier figure. Thanks Martha and Rachel… how can you call yourself a pro chef when you don’t ascertain for your fans about eating this way…guess its not as profitable.
My take on this is that since no one in the media without a personal relationship to celiac/NCGS ever gets the information right, I would prefer that they leave it out and ignore it. I agree, GF is not a “figure friendly” way to “diet” and that those types of comments are pretty lame, but I appreciate that she presented some GF recipes.
Anyone with celiac/NCGS knows to watch for cross contamination and to scrutinize the labels for hidden gluten. It is up to us to ensure that our meals are safe for us to eat.
I don’t feel that we should look to celebrity chefs and media personalities for health information. If doctors can’t get it right, why would someone without any training?
Excellent points Andrea. Misinformation IS worse than no information and if most doctors can’t get it right, how can we expect a celebrity chef to? But, doing a show like that without even the mere mention of celiac disease or NCGS is misinformative as well because it adds to the notion that this is only a fad diet. And Rachel Ray is more guilty than most because you can’t tell me – especially after she’s stepped in it several times with the celiac/NCGS community in the last few years – that she is not aware of the health issues that come along with consuming gluten. She’s just like most other people – she thinks we’re all crazy and is more than willing to capitalize on the fad while she can.
Personally I think it is passive aggressive; she didn’t mention celiacs on purpose. She has gotten her laughs and attention dissing us in the past so she’s sticking with it. She will get way more viewers and money with her figure friendly helpful hints and after all she is doing all of this for the money. If she really cared about her viewers she would not show so many unhealthy recipes.
I watched a segment of Rachel Ray once when Jeffrey Dean Morgan was on it. When that segment was over, I turned the program off. That’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge of Rachel Ray. And based on what I’ve read here, I’m okay with that.
As to how I feel about the media educating their audience about CD and NCGS…in a perfect world they would do exactly that. Celebrities and news people would use their fame to their advantage. But this isn’t a perfect world, and most of them are in it for…well…the fame (and the money).
Also, Andrea F is right, too. My former doctor treated GF like it was a choice, and might as well try it since I wasn’t feeling better from the thyroid medicine she put me on.
Figure-friendly? Well, in a way I suppose it could be. I mean now that I’ve been off gluten since last May, I admit to admiring my feet and ankles on a regular basis. The way gluten made them swell up, it’s totally cool to see them looking like normal feet and ankles.
By the way…love your security questions. I’m so tired of CAPTCHAs that are almost impossible to read that I wish everyone would switch to this. As long as you don’t add fractions. 🙂
What does Martha have to do with Rachel? I saw this show, three in a bag, and I figured it was only a matter of time until one of the blogs mentioned it. I too was slightly annoyed by the coverage of gluten free without a mention of celiac (incredibly annoyed by the healthy/slender refrences). However as I watched I reminded myself she is not a public servant she is a television personality whose goal is to reach her audience and that audience is interested in the fad diet of gluten free(and every other fad diet), not disease treatment. I think it is a coincidence that on todays Rachel talk show she said that she does not recommend the gluten free diet for people who are not suffering from “the serious disease celiac”she also said gluten free is not a healthier option for the general public nor is it a weight loss solution. I would rather it not be mentioned than it be mentioned along with bad information by people who are not qualified to be giving medical/health advice. Rachel is a cook not a nutritionist or a doctor we should not be looking to her for medical information. The media as used in this broad sense does not bear the responsability of public education on celiac disease. Certain sectors of the media do bear a responsability for getting the word out but not every Tom Dick and Harry with a show/microphone needs to educate the public.
Basically, if you don’t mention checking to be sure that ingredients are truly gluten-free, you’re making someone, somewhere sick.
Rachel Ray is just a jerk.
It was a long time before I was aware that cross-contamination could be an issue! My doctors never mentioned it (in fact, my GI doctor said gluten cc doesn’t exist!) so I got sicker and sicker, until I found better information online. Many of us posting here have educated ourselves, but there are definitely people watching the show who just got diagnosed or who just learned that a friend or family member has been diagnosed, and they will think they’ve learned about gluten free cooking, when in fact they have not…
If you’re in a position to help others, and deliberately choose not to, then at least have the minimal decency not to disseminate misinformation and keep the disdain muted.
I don’t believe the disclaimer that a show is about entertainment, and so responsibility to educate/remind viewers as to vital facts becomes optional. It’s not pure entertainment anyway when she says a GF themed recipe cooking show is specifically for those that need it; although that statement of hers is seemingly disingenuous, it would classify her show as educational/informational. With that comes at least a little responsibility to be accurate.
But she’s a gluten-consumer that apparently hasn’t been forced to think any other way (an idea stated here already). Which is an indictment of possibly an even uglier sort, because it’s a way of saying she appears to have a decently sized uncompassionate jerk facet to her (TV?) personality.
No matter what the situation is, I always try to be fair. It doesn’t matter if it’s politics and it’s the guy I don’t support, or whatever. I always have to find the ‘proof.’ Given that I’m not a Martha Stewart fan, nor have I ever been, so I set about finding a website quoting her about gluten so I could post it on Facebook.
What I found is that she said it in 2011…but since seems to have had a change of heart. There are several videos from her about how to deal with food allergies, and one from 2012 where she specifically says she always asks guests about food allergies (http://www.marthastewart. com/254137/food-allergy-qa – I put a space between the dot and com).
I’m not defending her in any way, but I do realize people can change. And I think as we try to educate the world about gluten issues, it would be good if we stay very current on everything – including making sure that when we quote someone, that it’s still their actual opinion now.
Personally, I think Ms. Stewart probably dealt with a lot of backlash over her ‘everybody can miss a meal’ statement and what followed is nothing but damage control.
lol, well….Kristy
You raise a good point and I am all about “second chances” (I assume you are directing that comment about “keeping current” at me)
but I will happily respond with my thoughts about “people having a change of heart” This is just IMHO. 🙂
When it comes to someone who’s reputation has been harmed by their thoughtless comments and they stand to lose MONEY or prestige because of it, spin control and a reversal of that less than gracious stance on the PITA “people with dietary restrictions” rule….well, that just seems less sincere to me. Call me skeptical perhaps.
I just do not see much sincerity in apologies that come from people because they are offered under duress or they “got caught” or from fear of losing money and endorsements.
We see this often in the “celeb” and sports world.
As you say, most of them are in it for…the fame (and the money).
Again, just my take on it.Feel free to disregard. Cheers!
Oh, I would bet big bucks she’s not remotely close to sorry. Apologies because someone was caught, or because they took a lot of flak over something they said or did, are rarely sincere.
I only brought this up because I know a couple of people who live to prove other people wrong. Half of the hits on Snopes and Urban Legends probably come from those two. And there are a lot more like them in the world. Their goal in life seems to be to discredit anything and everyone they can.
It’s because of people like these that I mentioned this at all. I hope I didn’t offend you. I spent quite some time trying to word it as generically as possible…and clearly failed. 🙂
Hi Kristy,
Absolutely no offense taken. I was just “chatting” with you.
I think we are on the same page. 😉
Cheers, IH
Figure friendly my big rear end. I’m one of the 30% of Celiacs that’s over weight. I gained a lot of weight as a child, now I realize I was vitamin deficient, and craving foods for that reason. I did slim down as a teen and in my early 20’s, but have been battling the bulge ever since. Rachel should have mentioned something about CD, but she’s was evidently riding the fad of the gluten free diet. It’s really sad. I happen to love the show Chopped and have seen two Celiac contestants on the show. When it comes down to the tasting the judges are completely clueless about CD. Oh, but have someone on who’s allergic to shell fish and they are completely sympathetic. Disgusting.
Thank you for ranting about this! I called out Mary Roach for her one mention of people avoiding gluten as a fad in a derogatory way, and in her entire book that focuses on the gut she makes no mention of celiac. She made some lame excuse in her response, showed no respect, and I will never read another one of her books because of it.
After my diagnosis of gluten intolerance I thought I would be “deprived” but hey, potato chips are GF and there are those Udi’s muffins. GF is not fat free or sugar free. We can still get fat and unhealthy on GF fare. I make conscious efforts to balance those “bad” foods with the healthy. Figure friendly is not how I would describe this new lifestyle.
In my opinion, no the media is not responsible. If we rely on the media for anything, we are sure to be led in the wrong direction. That’s the problem with society, everybody wants someone else to take responsibility. We need to take responsibility for ourselves, not the other way around.
Ugh, I just went back again and watched that Jimmy Kimmel vid from the link in the OP above.
“I don’t even believe gluten exists!” ?!?!?
Oh it does, Jimmy… you can even buy yourself a big ol’ heaping can of it, straight off of Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Vital-Wheat-Gluten-3-5-Pound/dp/B0006ZN52E
And of course RR herself shows in the clip that she’s well aware of gluten-related health issues as she snickers: “Some people got cramps after dinner… and moved on.” But she chooses to play it all for laughs — to the extent that she even plays it at all.
With the rise in Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance, I think that by NOT mentioning illnesses associated with eating gluten free, they are just pushing the “gluten free fad” agenda. They need to be educated just like people in restaurants, etc. If we make enough noise, they HAVE to pay attention, right?
Yes the media bears responsibility in getting it right. It’s not a matter of relying on the media, it’s a matter of at least being honest. When I discovered being gluten intolerant, nobody knew what I was talking about with very few products available, just in 2010. I tried to keep it quite and just pick my way through menus at restaurants and parties. Then it exploded with some restaurants even offering me separate GF menus.
Now I get a response of rolled eyes if I ask if there are gluten-free items. I have to tell people it’s a medical condition, not a loose-weight diet. If they’re particularly annoying I tell them they’re welcome to pay my emergency room bill the next day.
We could use a little help here in educating the public! At the very least they could get it right. There’s enough to put up with, without now getting the rolled eyes too.
Love this response! It’s so, so disturbing that Celiacs get treated this way. Do diabetics and cancer patients get treated like this? I’m writing a memoir about this because it needs to be told–the harassment, the judgment and the lack of truly safe safe foods available. Not to mention the social isolation. Celiacs need some compassion and support like other diseases get.
Just found this site as I was looking up a RR recipe from today’s show and hoped to GF it for my daughter, 53, and me, 73. She is super-sensitive and her diet is so limited, she is struggling to educate herself on her own and there’s just not enough time or energy to do it !! I just couldn’t stop reading the comments !! I’m hoping for info for GOOD sites to go to that I can trust. Please, let me know when you are published !! Would make awesome reading and hopefully educate !!
My brother, 65, was celiac as a baby, was on a special diet then eating the same 3 ingredients 3 times a day !! He was gradually weaned to a ‘normal’ diet, however ‘problems’ returned in his late 40’s and he would not consider his CD had returned. However, he has since become a staunch advocate for GF and his life has changed 180* !!
Most TV personalities are just that. The information they spout is usually gleamed from assistants and researchers who unless they too suffer Celiac Disease provide minimum information which may or may not be read by these personalities as they head to the stage. Fortunately, the internet provides avenues of information freely available should verification be paramount.
My biggest problem is all medical professionals, rescue paramedics, etc. that I have been in contact with when I needed help during CD reactions that are so severe that I can’t move, or am vomiting violently, and other violent reactions. II just had a violent reaction to supposedly GF pizza this past Friday. The non doctors didn’t know what was going on. Fortunately, I had a doctor with CD provide medical assistance. She also figured out that the fibromyalgia makes these CD reaction so bad. (Duh, why didn’t I figure that out. Oh that’s right, I can’t think when I’m vomiting!!!) I’ve been accused of having overdosed on pain medications; that I was faking it (for pain meds); or the standard “I don’t know what your problem is. I don’t know what to do for you.” I have fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis along with Celiac Disease. So, no I’m not overdosing on pain meds. Without them, I don’t function. I have printed out documentation about Celiac Disease but it’s hard to handout paperwork when you can’t move! You would think with the internet readily available to do research on, the people I mentioned above would take the time to read, Read ,Read!!!!! I have to. Why don’t they??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blessed Be Well!
PS: I have passed this awful genetic disease to my only child, daughter, who passed it on to her two sons. Can anyone imagine how I feel knowing what they are going through?
I’d like to re-frame the question. I don’t think the problem is that Rachel Ray has a duty to educate people (she could get off that hook way too easily). I think the issue is that she is spreading misinformation that is ignorant and dangerous and she should be liable for that. If ads claim something that might harm others they are liable, why is she not? It is dangerous for those who are truly ill with gluten intolerance or Celiac to follow her procedure because she doesn’t know what she is doing. I wonder, has she done a segment how to cook for diabetics? If she were to do that no doubt she would have to consult a doctor first. Why didn’t she consult a doctor first for gluten-free cooking?
So I was grocery shopping this evening and came across something interesting. First time seeing it so I don’t know when this became a thing, but there on the shelf was…
Rachael Ray-branded chicken broth. With her smiling face on the carton. And yes, unbelievably it was labelled gluten-free.
Can we trust it? Should we trust it? Either way, I don’t feel like putting money in someone’s pocket after they tell me to “have another bowl of pasta”.
Should we trust it? Probably. Should we buy it? I’ll let you decide…
I just can’t, not after her dreadful conduct. There are plenty of other safe choices available to me in that category, and I prefer bouillon cubes anyway (they’re much lighter in the shopping cart, take up far less space in my small kitchen and there’s far less garbage to deal with).
Mr. Dude I am very happy that you wrote this. It is sickening how often I get sick because places cross contaminate while misrepresenting the use of “gluten-free”. For those who suffer horrible side affects, it is an insult that our disease is exploited for a fad diet. I use to watch Rachael Ray all the time and I have used some of her fun ideas but I will no longer be a supporter. Not acknowledging the disease and writing it off as “picky eating” while doing a special on “our food” is like doing a show on hand guns and not mentioning that they can kill people and should be kept in a safe place away from small children.
One time I got into an argument with a blogger who has an entire site dedicated to gluten free and suggested a number of restaurants and food options that are cross contaminated and not gluten free. I hate when people say, it only has a little bit of gluten. Right now I am sick, swollen, and feeling horrible for 3 days now because I restaurant that I went to said that they had gluten free pasta, not mentioning that they cook it with all the same supplies as the regular pasta. Another time I got sick at Shakeshake because the manager added a malt & barley powder to my milkshake. When I told him that it contained gluten he argued that they had a special kind of barely & malt that was without gluten. Instead of making me a new shake like I asked, he swapped out the straw and lid of the first shake and gave it back to me. I realized what happened while I started to swell on the plain and during my ruined vacation. I spent most of my vacation curled up in a bed sick, tired and with hives because of Shakeshake and people’s lack of education about Celiac.
Great info. Lucky me I recently found your website by chance (stumbleupon).
I’ve saved it for later!
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