How to make traveling with Celiac Disease (a food allergy) easier
Traveling with pre-existing food allergies can be daunting. It is like playing Russian roulette three times a day with meals. Living on the edge is part of the excitement of travel. Food experimentation however, is not a luxury you can afford if having a reaction on the road can be potentially dangerous. The good news is; recently there has been a rise in worldwide awareness of Celiac Disease.
No Gluten
For those unfamiliar with it, Celiac Disease is a digestive disease wherein one’s body cannot process gluten proteins. Exposure to these gluten proteins (through ingestion or direct contact with the skin) sets off a negative chain of reactions that may affect many areas of the body. It makes eating out and shopping for food in your own country an adventure!
What if you’re going where you don’t speak or can’t read the native language you say? A little forethought and the following resources can help.
Celiac Travel has cards in 51 different languages that you can print out and easily hand to a friend, wait staff, or chef explaining your allergy.
Gluten Free Passport offers a plethora of links and resources across the globe.
You can take along an ELISA test and become your own mad scientist. Granted…the kits are slightly expensive. When you weigh the difference, however, between spending money on prevention or missing a day of walking around exploring, the dollar amount may prove highly worth it.
Also man’s best friend is presently being trained to sniff its way onto the prevention scene with Gluten-Detection Service Dogs, which are currently being trained in Slovenia. If you are curious about these types of Service Dogs please contact me and I will be happy to share more details with you.
Do you know of any other great resources?
February 23rd, 2012 at 2:16 am
[…] How to Make Traveling With Celiac Disease (a Food Allergy) Easier […]
February 23rd, 2012 at 3:41 am
Thanks for posting this. Whether due to Celiac disease or a preference for avoiding gluten, it can be very difficult to travel.
February 23rd, 2012 at 2:49 pm
I never had the problem. Allergies seems to be a 21st century disease. And travelling with such a disease decreases experience. My companion had that, and she spend all 10 days eating almost nothing until she got seriously seek.
Thanks for sharing some cures.
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:33 pm
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February 24th, 2012 at 1:09 am
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February 25th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
@Chris, True. I’ve met people who make a point to avoid large amounts of gluten regardless of weather or not they are allergic.
@ Tigranuhi, Sorry to hear your travelling companion had a difficult time. You’re are partly correct about allergies becoming a 21st century problem; so much of our food is’tampered’ with (and genetically modified) which is triggering a new mess of issues with human and domestic animal health.