As I was wandering through my local Whole Foods Market the other day in search of coconut flour, I was musing about the black/whiteness of the gluten-free label. Fine for foods, a little limiting for people. It led to this spectrum of categories on the topic of gluten consumption.
Gluten ignorant: These folks have never heard of gluten. I’m pretty sure none of them live in Boulder County. Think somewhere near where Beasts of the Southern Wild was filmed.
People who are gluten-aware have heard of gluten, and they know it exists in bread and pasta. They probably don’t know about the places gluten hides. They make little, if any, effort to reduce their consumption of foods with gluten. They may be seen to roll their eyes at the thought.
Gluten-conscious people make some effort, maybe hit-or-miss, to avoid gluten. Except pizza night. They still may not be knowledgeable of hidden sources of gluten or cross-contamination. They are open to exploring alternatives to their old gluten-containing favorites.
People who identify as gluten-lite make an active, ongoing effort to avoid gluten most of the time. They are knowledgeable about hidden sources of gluten and cross-contamination, and take that into account. They may still, consciously or unconsciously, consume food containing gluten on occasion.
Gluten-intolerant people are vigilant about not eating gluten, whether it’s because their bodies will not tolerate the least bit of it, or because they’ve simply decided their lives work better that way. I have the utmost respect for them.
I’m in the gluten-conscious category moving toward gluten-lite. Except on pizza night. How ’bout you?
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