By Ellie Schulman, Film and Television student, College of Communication

Best of the Food Web is a series that features websites and blogs that we find helpful and interesting. Some focus exclusively on food or health, some combine the two, but all are worthy of your attention!

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I recently found two really great resources for people who live with Celiac Disease, so I am going to post a review of one today and another tomorrow. Consider this part 1.

First up is Celiac Now, because that’s the first one I wrote down in my notebook.

Celiac Now

Celiac Now is a resource for people with Celiac Disease (and other gluten-related disorders, they ain’t elitist!), whether they have been recently diagnosed or have been living with it for a while, whether they are old or young, and whether they just want to get a smidge of info or a complete reference book’s worth. The website was set up through the Celiac Center at the Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston.

It’s great because you can take baby steps or kanga-leaps to learn about Celiac. If you were just diagnosed, you’d probably overwhelm yourself if you tried to learn everything about Celiac all at once. Likewise, if you’re just trying to figure out why your roommate didn’t eat the cookies you baked for him on his birthday, you probably aren’t too worried about figuring out the difference between the typical or atypical symptoms. So for all of you, you can easily read the Level 1 information.

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But if you’ve been in the game for a while and are more interested in being a guru than a novice, you can level up with Level 3 information.

There’s also a section about eating out which I know can be stressful when you have special food needs. I know that for me personally, as someone who has lactose intolerance, I always get so stressed when a friend invites me for ice cream because I don’t want to refuse and seem aloof or picky. I’ve found that it’s all about learning what your options are and how you can still go out without hurting yourself. For example, I might do a quick online search for a place nearby that serves coconut-based ice cream (bless Boston for having a J.P. Licks near my house). If it’s gluten that you need to avoid when eating out, the “Dining Out” section on Celiac Now gives some good tips like this to help you plan better.

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As SCNC food allergy expert and Registered Dietitian, Lisa Ferreira, points out, the “Dining Out” section also, “…helps you know the right questions to ask about ethnic cuisines.”

The third great thing about Celiac Now that I want to touch upon is the plethora of resources offered. I’m serious, there’s a massive list of medical centers, organizations, reference books, magazines, websites, apps and have I sold you on it yet? Not even kidding, I didn’t bother counting how many there were because it would have taken me longer to count them than to write this post.

So go check it out. And stay tuned for another great Celiac resource tomorrow.

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