5 Reasons Why Eating Gluten Free Doesn't Suck

It seems to me like a lot of people like to think eating gluten-free sucks. Some people assume that eating gluten-free means you are stuck to eating vegetables and other plain foods. People who are uneducated about it may think this is true. But if you do a little research you would learn that you can actually still enjoy a lot of foods while being gluten-free! I've been gluten-free for 4 years and I love it. I'm not gunna lie...it sucked at first. Over time I learned a lot of things though that made me realize that eating gluten-free really doesn't suck at all! Here are my reasons as a teenager for why I think eating gluten-free does not suck.


5 Reasons why I think eating gluten-free doesn't suck:

You can finally start feeling better again - This one is obvious and one we hear a lot. Eating gluten-free is a lifestyle change and it all starts with your food. Sure it's going to be hard at first but over time it does get easier! The best part is, the longer you go gluten-free the better you begin to feel. Just be careful of cross contamination.

You might find yourself getting sick less often -  I personally haven't gotten sick in over a year. I noticed that I almost never get colds now unless I've accidentally been glutened. Part of it has to do with your immune system finally being strong due to all the real foods you are eating! I'll admit...it's pretty nice feeling healthy when others around me start to get sick.

You learn to appreciate real food a whole lot more -  I never realized how great real food actually was. Going gluten-free allowed me to explore all sorts of new foods and flavors. Before, I just ate food to eat. But now I eat food to actually enjoy what I'm eating and enjoy the flavors that come along with it. Going gluten-free really made me realize how much better real food is compared to processed food. (I do like the occasional gluten-free cookie, pizza, or ice-cream every once in a while though:)

You get a whole new perspective on things - I don't know about you but going gluten-free made me see life a whole lot differently. It made me realize how fortunate the people out there who can eat any food without worrying really are. I noticed I had to pay attention to everything I ate which made me a lot more aware of my surroundings. Going gluten-free has allowed me to appreciate the little things in life a lot more since so many people don't have to worry about traces of gluten like I do.

You can treat almost all your symptoms with food - It's pretty nice that we can treat most of our symptoms with food. I'm sure some of you have other illnesses and have to take multiple vitamins as well. But knowing that we can treat a lot of these things with what we eat each day is pretty nice. We don't have to be stuck on a hospital bed or get horrible surgeries or treatments. We can treat our illness with food and I know I feel pretty fortunate to feel better this way.


The one reason I dislike it to this day:

Social situations are a whole lot harder - I'm not going to sugar coat this one. I'm not one to be negative about certain situations but I will admit, social situations are a whole lot harder. It's annoying having to explain your allergies to a waiter, search each individual restaurant for something you can have, and even after you find something, having to worry about if you will get sick from cross contamination anyways. This is one reason why I think being gluten-free sucks because it's pesky having to worry about this. This has always been my opinion as a teenager but you may feel differently! There may be some spots you've found where you don't have to worry about gluten so much but I still haven't found a spot like that. I'm hopeful one day that I will which is why it's important to always stay confident about being gluten-free and stay open minded. Be prepared for any social event and realize that going gluten-free will make it harder. Don't let that get you down though because you can still find places to go out to eat and have a good time! You can make any social situation better as long as you have the right mindset and put some effort into it. As long as you don't let being gluten-free take over your entire social life, you'll be just fine.

Why do you like being gluten-free? Why do you not like being gluten-free? Comment below!