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The Celiac Student’s College Packing List
By Colleen Fennessy
The amount of cooking any college student on a meal plan does is highly variable, and also depends on one’s definition of “cooking”—making ramen every night doesn’t really count. However, with a gluten-free diet and generally terrible dining hall food, cooking for yourself can become really important.
It doesn’t make sense to get enough dishes for a fully stocked kitchen if you live in a dorm, but there are definitely some essentials you should buy. At least one plate, one bowl, and two sets of silverware are necessary, as well as a pot big enough to cook pasta or rice. Along with that pot, you’ll need a strainer and a bigger spoon for stirring the pasta. I found that the collapsible strainers are really great for saving space, and they’re pretty cheap. An electric tea kettle is essential for many things; but especially for coffee and tea. If you’re like me, and eat a lot of quesadillas and eggs, you’ll want a non-stick frying pan and a spatula. I personally don’t eat a lot of rice, but if you do a rice cooker is a worthwhile purchase. If you think you’ll use it, a cheap knife and cutting board can also be worth investing in, but be honest about what you’ll be cooking. Even the savviest of chefs probably won’t be making gourmet meals every night in a dorm kitchen, and buying too many things will just clutter your room.
One of the most useful things you can buy if your dorm kitchen has a toaster is a toaster bag or two. Obviously it’s impossible for someone with celiac to use a communal toaster, but amazon.com sells these amazing toaster bags that you can put your bread into, and then put that into the toaster to avoid cross-contamination. I also found that a cheap cookie tray was something I used a lot; it was great for cooking frozen pizzas and anything else that you wouldn’t want touching the oven rack and getting contaminated.
A lot of colleges have cabinets in the communal kitchens that the RA will tell you to put your cooking implements in for convenience. While this is very convenient, it also means that anyone can use your pots and pans. Of course, they shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. I personally felt much better storing my dishes in a bin in my dorm room, even if that meant carrying them to the kitchen every time I wanted to cook.
Meal plans are a nice part of the college experience—you get to have the freedom of living on your own without the added responsibility of feeding yourself every day. However, even people whose diets aren’t restricted will invariably get sick of dining hall food, and having a few basic pots and pans at your disposal will be very helpful in spicing up your college diet.
Middle School and High School
Middle School and High School is often the time when students become most concerned with assimilation.
For this reason, spending the time to determine what, if any, foods provided in the cafeteria are gluten-free may be very important for your child’s emotional well-being. Eating the “same” foods at lunch as their peers often is especially important to the student with celiac disease. Some students may bring their own lunch from home, however, many middle and high school cafeterias will have an increased selection of foods and snack items and, hopefully, some of these options may be gluten-free.
While the use of food within the classroom may decrease because of fewer parties, it can still be present in the curriculum. The use of food as “rewards” may also continue. Bake sales or other foods for purchase for fund-raising events can exist. Unlike in elementary school, your child may now be hesitant to have a parent approach the teacher or the school. The middle or high school student may decide to handle this issue on their own, or simply bear with it and eat nothing.
Some things a parent can do at this stage:
Exploring options in the cafeteria
Contact the head of food service during the spring prior to your child’s entry into the school and explain the dietary restrictions. Request the opportunity to read the ingredients on food labels and the ingredients used in the cafeteria. Contact the companies yourself to determine the gluten-free status of questionable ingredients. Learn about the preparation techniques of potentially safe items, (i.e. are the French fries baked or fried? If fried, is the oil contaminated? Are the French fries coated with any unsafe seasonings or flavorings?) Read the labels of anything you think your child might consume (a note of caution, some hamburger patties contain oats or other fillers).
School trips
School trips are often a part of the middle/high school curriculum. Start early to research the places the school may take the students to eat on these events. Provide portable foods to supplement your student’s diet, if necessary. If you are lucky, you may be able to encourage the selection of restaurant choices that are able to provide a gluten-free menu selection (however, if they go for pizza, the options will be slim at best). Contact the restaurants yourself and supply the student with the gluten-free options in advance, if possible.
Establish open lines of communication
Although your student may want their independence and feel that you no longer have a role, establish open lines of communication with the teachers and the administration. Gently remind them to avoid singling out your child so that the student will be less embarrassed. Work as a team and don’t forget common courtesy when arrangements are made to accommodate your child’s diet.
For more information download and share
Managing Celiac Disease in Learning Environments.
Managing Celiac Disease in Learning Environments outlines recommendations from a national coalition of educators, health care professionals, food service providers, advocacy groups, and parents/guardians to develop standardized recommendations and training resources to ensure the safety of a child with celiac disease in any learning environment.
Celiac Disease 101: The Basics
By Dascha Weir, MD, Associate Director, The Celiac Disease Program, Boston Children’s Hospital
Celiac disease is a common autoimmune condition involving the small intestine that is triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically predisposed individuals.
A healthy small intestine has finger-like projections, called villi, which maximize the ability of the gut to absorb nutrients. When gluten, proteins found in wheat, rye, barley and most oats, are consumed by someone with celiac disease and enter the small intestine, the immune system reacts and causes inflammation and damage in the small intestine. This damage specifically causes blunting or shortening of the villi which leads to malabsorption of nutrients and a range of health issues and symptoms.
It is estimated that celiac disease occurs in approximately 1% of the population, but most people do not know that they have it. Untreated celiac disease is associated with long-term symptoms, nutritional deficiencies, autoimmune disorders, low bone density, infertility and some cancers.
People with autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1 Diabetes or thyroiditis, are at higher risk of developing celiac disease. People with a family member with celiac disease and children with Down Syndrome are also more likely to get celiac disease in their lifetime. Some of the genetic factors predisposing people to celiac disease are understood. Specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types, markers found on cells that regulate the body’s immune system, are found in patients with celiac disease. In fact, almost all patients with celiac disease have either HLA type DQ2 or HLA type DQ8. However, these HLA types are commonly found in the general population and only a small percentage of people with these markers ever develop celiac disease. We do not clearly understand yet why some people with genetic predisposition get celiac disease and others do not, but there are clearly other genetic and environmental factors involved.
Celiac disease develops in both children and adults and shows up in varied ways. Many kids with celiac disease have gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, vomiting or gassiness, but some have no gastrointestinal symptoms at all. Iron deficiency anemia, joint pains, oral ulcers, fatigue, irritability, dental enamel defects, low bone mineral density, headaches and delayed puberty are also seen. Poor weight gain and short stature can also be signs of celiac disease but many patients with celiac disease have no growth concerns and some are even overweight. These commonly occurring signs and symptoms, however are also caused by a range of conditions, beyond celiac disease. The first step to diagnosing celiac disease is recognizing that it should even be considered as a potential cause of a child’s medical concerns.
The medical evaluation for celiac disease starts with bloodwork. In patients with celiac disease, gluten-triggered immune system activation leads to the formation of specific antibodies or markers in the blood. Tissue transglutaminase IgA (TTG IgA) is the most commonly used blood test to diagnose celiac disease but endomysial IgA and deamidated gliadin peptide IgG are sometimes used as well. One or more of these markers are usually elevated in cases of celiac disease. These tests are very good at detecting celiac disease. However, these tests are not perfectly reliable, especially if a person is already on a gluten-free diet. Celiac disease can sometimes be present without positive celiac markers in the blood and not all people with positive celiac markers have celiac disease.