Living with someone who has celiac disease or gluten intolerance can be hard. But as hard as it is for you, it is ten times harder for them, because they have to deal with it every single time they eat.

Gluten intolerance simply means that someone can’t eat gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley. The problem is that gluten is often added to foods where you wouldn’t expect to find it. It can turn up in seasonings, sauces, dressings, and condiments, and it can be used as fillers, thickeners, and binders. That’s why people who have gluten intolerance have to question every single food that they put into their mouths.

Gluten intolerance is permanent; it never goes away. When someone with gluten intolerance eats even the smallest amount of gluten, it starts a whole array of negative reactions within their body. Crazy as it sounds, if a crouton gets put on their salad and they remove it...

This is why people with gluten intolerance can’t even use a toaster that has had regular bread put in it—or why they’ll avoid a jar of open mayo, because someone might have spread some on bread and then put the knife back in the jar.

Unlike diabetes or high blood pressure, where you can cheat on your eating regimen once in a while—and where what you eat today only affects you today—when a gluten-intolerant person eats even a little gluten, it can cause damage to their intestines that can take years to repair. That’s why the gluten-intolerant person you know may seem absurdly careful—and why they’ll be so adamant about never eating the slightest bit of gluten, even on a special occasion like their birthday. (It can take up to three years of being completely gluten free to recover from any damage that eating gluten may do to their body.)

Here are some of the health problems that can occur when someone with gluten intolerance eats gluten:

• Thyroid disease
• Cancer
• Type 1 diabetes
• Anemia
• Osteoporosis
• Autoimmune liver failure
• Lupus
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Severe gastrointestinal problems
• Frequent infections
• Skin problems

So, even though the gluten-intolerant person in your life may act strangely at times, cut them some slack. Take seriously what they say and do—and what they ask of you—because it may make the difference between sickness and health for them.