to be rather annoyed with tonights' 'Parents' episode (gluten-free faddishness)?

[megandraper]

That TV comedy thing with the blonde woman from Smack the Pony.

In tonight's episode, her poncey snobby 'friends' from London come to visit. Their crowning ridiculous trait is their fuss about gluten in their food.

That touched a nerve. DS1 (4) was diagnosed coeliac earlier this year, and will be on a gluten-free diet for the rest of his life. Friends don't understand it and some clearly think it's a bit odd and 'alternative', and that we are extreme or over-scrupulous in our carefulness about it. But, quite simply, gluten is poison to him (and the other 1 in 100 people who are coeliac).

DH said to me that we probably come across like the nobbish couple in the programme. But that didn't upset me too much. More the thought that DS1 will constantly and forever have to deal with people's ignorant prejudices about gluten-free diets. Portrayals like this only reinforce them.

On the plus side though, DS was splashing around in the paddling pool this afternoon and DH and I were sitting watching him, glowing with happiness at how 5 months of eating gluten free has transformed him from an ill, tired child with a body like a famine orphan (stick-thin limbs, hugely bloated belly) into an energetic, happy little boy exploding with energy and excitement and filling out into a lovely, healthy shape. Which is more important, of course.

Saw that last night.

Have a friend with coeliac and one with Crohn's disease, I'd take the programme for what it is - a total piss take on pretentiousness. It doesnt mean I dont understand what allergies can mean nor what problems can occur with certain conditions.

So YABU to assume the rest of the world don;t understand.

My little boy had to have wheat and dairy free diet for some time. The hardest thing was that people so not understand how many things contain these ingredients.

A friend of mine wanted to give him a sausage.

The hospital where we went to see the paediatrician who recommended this diet only offered him ham and chips for lunch and tea. I had to beg them to feed him properly and refuse the chips as so many frozen ones have whey powder.

Many more things to worry about than a TV programme. Having said that, YANBU.

It's comedy.
The characters were utter tossers
and
hasn't everyone heard of coelic disease by now?

Obviously being a coeliac is no joke but the programme is. The programme also includes the fact she has lost her job and they have lost their home. It's very likely that topic touches a nerve for a fair few people across the country.

I know quite a few people who follow a gluten free diet but aren't coeliacs so it does happen. Although for you the topic isn't funny, there are probably other topics included that you laugh about that others won't.

You are right, of course, a TV programme is very low on the list of issues in my life.

But it does reinforce the common idea that gluten-free eating is faddish, when it is a medical necessity to many people.

Sawseesaw - I wish everyone had heard of coeliac, and knew what it meant! Definitely not the case, but glad to hear you know all about it :)

Mamma - I know how frustrating hospital food is - it is amazing to me that they don't cater for coeliacs - I worry sometimes about what would happen to DS on an emergency admission.

Ruby - good point re: lost home etc. Actually, I don't find the programme that funny generally so probably won't continue watching, but your point still holds. Everything is personal to someone.

I think the point you are missing is that people do act like that, going on faddish diets against gluten, or dairy, or whatever. Comedy reflects reality.

Penis - well, that couple were certainly faddish rather than coeliac, because their preferred choice was takeaway pizza, which would be far worse than shepherd's pie for gluten.

So I am UR to be upset/annoyed by the programme? I know comedy isn't a public information service.

I suppose, really, what I am upset about is the lack of knowledge/understanding about coeliac generally. Though apparently things are far better than they were 10 years ago, and I hope will be better still by the time DS is grown up.

6 months ago I didn't know what coeliac was either. And had only the haziest idea about what gluten was. The last few months have been an incredibly full-on learning curve. So skewed emotions, no doubt.

I don't know if this helps or hinders but the other thing is that the more people going on a gluten free diet, whether for a fad or a genuine reason like yours, then the better for you.

In Australia, it seems practically unheard of to eat gluten (although will add disclaimer that it might just be my area!) and you can buy whatever you like, wherever you like gluten free. I have a coeliac cousin coming to stay and went shopping for food for her and could really get whatever I liked. Pasta, bread, sausages and lots of different brands of them. All my local pizza places do gluten free pizzas. So fads could be your friend in driving increased choices for your son. I know my cousin is very excited about the pizzas here!!

Bel, I have an Aussie friend who says the same thing - definitely a potential holiday destination one day (finances & DH's flight phobia allowing...)

I agree about the idea that the more people wanting to eat gluten-free the better, as it makes gf food more available. The only worry is about cross-contamination - you have to be extremely strict in the way you store/prepare food to avoid this, and if places think they're catering for faddy eaters rather than medical need then they may not go to the full extent. But there is new legislation around saying food is gf, which should help.

I would avoid giving gf pizza in a normal pizza place, because I don't see how they can protect the gf pizzas from the wheat flour in the air.

I have a coeliac child too bedhopper.

I didn't see the programme but I can tell you that I am sensitive to any sort of sending up or portrayal of a gluten-free diet as a pretentious/ middle class/ trendy fad.

Coeliac disease presents so many challenges and difficulties - for us as well as our kids. My daughter and I have found the emotional side of things and other people's lack of understanding much harder to cope with at times than the practical side of things. You are completely entitled to feel however you feel.

It's great news that your DS is recovering well - I wish him and you all the best.

I hope your son is managing well with his new diet, OP. It must be a shock to think the rest of his life this is going to have to be a 'thing' he worries about.

As someone with severe peanut allergy and who has a son with the same, I sympathise about the way things are portrayed on TV. I wrote a steaming stinky letter recently to The TImes because they were really shitty about nut allergies and how it 'imposed' itself on other children and what lunches they wanted to choose. I had a written apology in the paper the following week.

But... comedies are comedies.
I hated it when I heard that one comedian was chucking peanuts into his audience to see if anyone was going to react. (Incidently, if a peanut touched me, I would come out in hives!) but if it's comedy I bite my lip and just get on with it because if we are not too careful we could end up censoring everything in life.

So...in summary - fight your battles with any other medium but comedy, I'd say. Educate people, don't get hysterical, don't take things personally (like my cousin who wrote about the Peanut-allergy Nazi's on her FB page! [grr] I deep breathed and then didn't delete her even though I was enraged for a couple of mins.) and learn to get a thick skin. People sometimes don't understand allergies unless they have had to face them themselves or have them in the family.

bedhopper my sons was an emergency admission. I kicked up one hell of a fuss. Complained and moaned and got a visit from the head of catering and a letter promising me they would improve matters.

What really baffled me was that all I wanted to give him was some meat, veg and potatoes. Fairly basic!! Yet in these days of 'pre-cooked' meals, they couldn't manage it.

YABU, it is only comedy.

The characters were meant to portray the kind of idiots who cut out whole food groups for no reason other than fad.

It wasn't about coeliacs.

Mamma - yes, that's shocking, isn't it. It's not hard to provide a gluten-free meal if you cook properly, and it's completely irresponsible that hospitals don't. I am hoping that now diagnosis is increasing, hospitals will have to get better - with 1% of the population coeliac, most hospitals will surely have at least one coeliac there most of the time (caveat, not done the maths, but still...)

YouToo - yes, you're probably right, comedy is not the place to start - it does reflect a general view though (gluten-free = pretentious).

Threeteens - we are on the same page. There are other, unrelated, health issues in my family as well, and it is always other people's attitudes that are the hardest. Wishing you and your DD well. x

ITs a comedy they were taking the piss of pretentious parents who diagnose thier children with all sorts of 'intolerances' whic does happen, I dont think they were having a go at ill children,

Thanks Bedhopper. She probably knows that info but I didn't and I'll give her her own cupboard here!

What programme is it? Not heard of it.

YANBU.

Also, on a tangent, you're right to worry about hospital admissions. I'm GF & was unexpectedly admitted to hopital one morning at 9 months pregnant - could eat literally nothing from the meals provided. Had to eat vending machine rubbish all day until DH could get home & bring me food I could eat. No idea what would've happened if I hadn't had cash on me! Nightmare.

Pomtastic You poor thing - how depressingly awful. I have very recently heard the same story from a coeliac lady who gave birth last week in an NHS hospital last week and had to take all of her own food in. It's quite unbelievable that an NHS hospital can't deliver a basic gluten-free menu.

I know several people with coeliac disease and then I also know lots more who are irritating attention seekers who cut out food groups, typically gluten or dairy because of fads and probably an easier and less obvious way to go an a diet without people judging them. Blame these people rather than the comedians.

Pomtastic - I sympathise. Have just been off rushing around to get things together to take DS to A&E because he's not well and hadn't wee'd since last night and NHS Direct told us to go straight there. Had to stop and pack a load of g-f food for him as I know they wouldn't have any. Of course, once I'd done it, he managed to wee, so no need to go (though are going to GP since looks like he might have a UTI, so will take snacks with us there).

I do think the NHS needs to be able to provide g-f meals at a moment's notice. Let's face it, they could do a baked potato and (Heinz or other gf) baked beans - it hardly needs to be complicated!

Mrs TP - you are probably right in that there are many faddy dieters. Thing is, I don't mind them not wanting to eat gluten, that's their choice. (I have largely given it up myself in 'solidarity' with DS for the time being...) I just don't want the general public and in particular the catering industry to assume gluten-free = fad.

Actually, after chatting to a (very healthy-looking!) man who follows the 'paleo' diet, I am sort of convinced that is a much healthier way to eat in general than our high-carb high-processed high-gluten Western diet.

Whoops, posted too soon. Just meant to say, so I think non-coeliacs can choose to eat gluten-free without it being silly or faddish. But they shouldn't behave rudely like the couple in the programme, of course.

I agree that we should all eat less white starch. I'm not talking about that. I'm just sick of people here (I live in hippy central) who won't diet so unhealthy but will 'cleanse' and cut out food groups. I actually think they make it harder for people who genuinely have food intolerances.

I spoke to a doctor at length about it. He was African and we spoke about the fact that a lot of African/Caribbean people have lactose intolerances which are undiagnosed. However, cutting dairy out seems to be a white middle-class fad. Far fewer white people are actually lactose intolerant but they are the ones cutting out dairy.