The Gluten Free Traveler

By Betsy Power

Não Contém Glúten. These words are like sweet music to a roving Celiac. Most folks inflicted with this condition rarely leave the safety of their own kitchen, let alone travel through foreign lands with undecipherable languages.  But Brazil was a haven for my overly sensitive system that goes into convulsions at the mere thought of breaded anything.

I have an intolerance to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other related grains. I am also a food importer and a compulsive traveler - passions that often collide head on with my body’s limitations, usually resulting in major internal collateral damage. But recently, on a three-month trip through South America, I fell in love with Brazil and their apparent national concern for people just like me.

Unlike the U.S., where we are just beginning to wake up to the issue of gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease, Brazil has mandated that every single product in the supermarket must reveal whether it does or does not contain gluten. I believe that this concern stems from the president himself, whose wife is Celiac (or so I was told numerous times during my travels).

When I was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease seven years ago, I was 33 years old and had spent much of my adulthood trying to understand why I constantly felt bad, all over. I had been to the doctor for every conceivable issue. We finally realized that most of my conditions were caused by a deficiency in one vitamin or another, the root cause of which was the destruction that gluten had done to my digestive track over the years, hindering my ability to absorb nutrients.

Doctors used to believe that gluten-intolerance happened to only one in every 100,000 people, and would always show up at a very early age. So very wrong. Now we understand that close to one in every 110 folks in the US are afflicted with this condition. Some specialists have begun to think that as many as one in every 10 people has some sort of gluten intolerance. It is a hereditary condition that some specialists believe can lead to, if left unchecked, other serious illnesses such as lymphoma and Alzheimer’s.

People often ask why this condition has become so prevalent. Is this just another fad? Another “healthy” diet? Although I have done my share of investigation into gluten and what it does to me, I am no expert. But given my experience in the food industry, I do have my fair share of theories.

Our bodies and minds are bombarded more than ever by stress and environmental toxins. In addition, the processed substances masquerading as food in our modern diets is full of substances that are not made by nature, causing our digestive system and internal organs to work harder to process.  Our wheat is no longer the wheat our grandparents ate. It has a different genetic make up and is higher in gluten, because Americans love that sponginess that gluten gives our bread.

Under such a barrage, our digestive systems, which may have been able to cope with food sensitivities and intolerances in a less stressful environment, are beginning to break down more severely and more frequently.  The body loses the ability to minimize the negative impact of gluten. The results can be dramatic, and can affect every part of our body and mind.

Yet gluten, like corn and soy, are in almost every processed food in the market. It is found in foods (and even drugs) that you would never consider. Even food that has gluten-free ingredients is probably processed in a facility that processes wheat and thus has gluten levels that are dangerous to a person with gluten-intolerance. Companies are beginning to recognize this and taking voluntary action to clean up their processing and their products and letting customers know what is safe. But safe from gluten does not necessarily mean healthy – with the likes of “natural” flavors, additives, colorants, GMO ingredients still running rampant through our food sources.

Courtesy of NASFT. Photography by Mark Ferri

Buying local organic produce and responsibly produced foods and ingredients is the best solution, and not just for us gluten-fearing folks. Yet, eating at home isn’t always feasible, and hitting the road can be a minefield for my body. Breakfast for the traveler is mostly wheat, dairy, and egg based – all substances I am unable to eat. (Casein, the protein in dairy, has a similar genetic make up to gluten. People with a gluten intolerance often also have an issue with dairy).  Lunch is usually sandwich based. Dinner is full of sauces with unknown ingredients. Add to that, the fact that most people don’t even know what is in the food that they serve – restaurants often use packaged sauces and dressings, fake butter and syrup, soy sauce made with wheat. It just seems safer to stay at home, maybe under the couch.

But I refuse to give up my wanderlust. And fortunately there are places that welcome me and my kind, like Brazil! Or Peru, with its amazing diversity of Old World grains and flours that are naturally gluten free, such as quinoa and kañiwa. There are places on Earth that continue to cultivate ancient varieties of grains that industry has not yet had a chance to deplete their natural goodness. 

And every day new gluten-free products hit the U.S. market. Gluten sufferers, take heart!