I
would like to take the time to write a more reflective post on my experience
with gluten-free dieting. I undertook this blog, not just to assist with my
final year research project, but also because I wanted to document a stage in
my life. So in a sense this blog exists as a form of autobiography. The general
conception of a biography begins with ones birth and might end toward the end
of life, or at ones death. But in actuality biographies tell stories of life,
they might describe a few interesting years, document an era of greatness, or
simply present it entirely, from start to finish.
We
don’t commonly equate diets with biographies, we usually think of them as quick
ways to lose weight, or sub narratives in our lives’ greater story. However
inconsequential diets might seem in the scheme of things, they do mark our
lives.
For
many, diets hold great significance with regards to their personal identity.
Religious beliefs are enmeshed in dieting, such as Halal in Islam, or Kosher in
Judaism. Ethical beliefs also lead people to become vegans or vegetarian.
Though
I have never held a single dietary pattern for my entire life, I have
personally found that each time I undergo a diet it is for a different series
of reasons, and tends to mark a different period personally for myself. Reasons
can be physical or health related, like the time I stopped eating sugar to lose
weight or dairy to clear my skin. Reasons for dieting can also be mental and
emotional, like the times I stopped drinking coffee because it made me nervous,
or when I became vegan at the age of 11, after being horrified by a PETA
pamphlet. Regardless of motive, the diet you undertake will define a deep need
within yourself to control your consumption patterns.
People
go on gluten free diets for a host of reasons. Though not backed by nutritional
science, many Americans and Canadians think that this diet is healthier for
them. Others have claimed a heightened mental clarity when they remove gluten
from their diet. A friend of mine who took up the diet suffered from severe
acne, after going gluten-free his face became spot-free. Severely allergic
individuals have complained of eczema outbreaks and bloating. Celiac patients
become sick to the point that they sometimes can’t get out of bed and lay weak
for days.
For
someone like myself, taking on a gluten-free diet is only temporary. After all,
even if I did unknowingly have a slight allergy to gluten, it hasn’t impeded my
life in any noticeable ways. However, undertaking the diet, especially inside
of Hong Kong, where assistive resources are limited, certainly has caused some
trouble. Social relations are strained, and the lack of gluten free options has
at times left me rather starving, willing to eat just about anything that
doesn’t contain gluten, be it healthy or not. I would not chose to continue
this diet here for any longer than I have to, it is simply too extreme of a
hassle.
Others
unlike myself will continue to avoid gluten for their entire lives. For them
the diet has nothing to do with novelty and curiousness, their bodies simply
cannot function with gluten inside.
So
how would I define this gluten free dietary stage of my life? Let me start by
considering the personal motives, which led me to do this. Before moving to
Hong Kong, I was rather unaware of gluten free eating. I have an Uncle with
celiac in Pennsylvania. Though I had witnessed the discomforts of his disease,
I didn’t see him that often growing up, so the condition lay removed from my
everyday life.
Upon
arriving to Hong Kong I began to meet new people with celiac. One close friend
in particular shaped my perspective on what it was to live gluten-free. He
developed an extreme digestive disorder a few years after moving here; I spent time with him and his
partner nearly every day. His partner took the time to cook for him, and make
delicious gluten-free concoctions. They were both enthralled with the diet, and
I suppose also the sense of empowerment they felt preparing and consuming the
meals.
I
learned a lot about the diet from these two over the course of that year, so
much so that I thought it would be great to contribute what I learned toward my
final year thesis. So for me taking this diet has represented the cumulative
learning process I have undergone for well over a year.
In
this year I didn’t just learn about the diet, I learned people’s life stories,
explored nooks and crannies of the city, gained friendships and partook in many
adventures. But these experiences were always from an outsider perspective.
Going
gluten free myself has led me to understand the inner perspective of these
individuals. For me this story is just a page in my life, for others it's the
whole book. Going gluten free in Hong Kong has let me see myself, the city, and
those around me in a different light; a segment of my life has thus been
memorialized through undertaking this diet. In this sense, my blog acts an autobiography,
documenting a particular phase in my life, shaped by a dietary shift.