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It is one of the most under diagnosed common diseases, potentially affecting more than 15 thousand people in Utah alone. It's called celiac disease, and the biggest challenge facing those who have it is finding food they can eat.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.
The disease is triggered by consumption of gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye, common ingredients in a lot of the food we eat.
Diane Bell's store "Against the Grain" sells only gluten-free food. Her reason for opening it was very personal. At age seven, Diane Bell's daughter, Jennifer, was severely malnourished and weighed only 38 pounds. Bell says, "She [Jennifer] was very skinny. She had no muscle tone and just was very gaunt looking."
For years doctors tried to diagnose her symptoms. Finally in 2004, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. For Jennifer that meant most of the food she was used to eating was now off limits. Dianne says, "I think at first we didn't comprehend it because it's like, ‘Oh, there's gotta be stuff.'"
The gluten-free diet put a huge strain on the family. Meal preparation and grocery shopping both became major ordeals. Diane would spend up to three hours at the store reading labels. She says, "Every time I would go into a grocery store, I would just cry and that seems silly, but when you go into some place and can't find food you can feed your child, it's draining."
Diane knew other families faced the same challenges. So she decided to open Against the Grain. "There's not really a gluten-free distribution where you can go and get everything gluten free," she says.
Against the Grain sells everything from fresh baked goods to pasta.
Surprisingly, soda pop is one more thing people with celiac disease have to be careful of because of the caramel coloring. Diane called Pepsi and Coca-Cola to find out which brands were OK to drink. Diane says, "We spend a lot of time calling manufacturers to be sure their sources of certain things that they put in that are called hidden glutens."
Sticking to a gluten-free diet has changed Jennifer's life. She no longer lives with pain. Diane hopes her store will make life a little bit easier for others living with the disease. "It's a very emotional experience to come in and see all of this food, and they just cry, and it seems silly to someone who can eat normal, ‘Why are you crying?' This is ridiculous, but you do because you're so deprived."
Diane initially hoped Against the Grain would simply generate enough money to cover the cost of rent. Well, sales have tripled her expectations, and she's now looking into opening another store.
For more information on celiac disease and the store Against the Grain, click on the related link.
