GLUTEN FREE IN DC! DC Gluten Free Expo heads into town, Sunday, June 7th!

An expo featuring over 70 gluten-free vendors, educational information, and support for celiacs is coming to the DC Metro area, all happening this Sunday, at the Doubletree Bethesda, (8120 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD, 20814). It takes place from 12-4 pm. For information and tickets, go to http://www.dcglutenfreeexpo.com/tickets.html

As a celiac diagnosed almost 30 years ago, I can attest not all people who need to avoid gluten are doing it as a diet fad. It is a serious disease with significant consequences if gluten isn’t removed entirely from daily food consumption. Perhaps the best result of such an upswing in interest by the public about the value of eating or avoiding gluten in the diet is the increased number of patients given the official diagnosis of celiacs disease, which is an autoimmune disease causing those who cannot process gluten damage in the small intestine when the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, is ingested.

It is often misunderstood, and much maligned of late, because so many are choosing to go gluten-free out of a belief it will just be healthier. Believe me, I and all my celiac friends would love to eat at Krispy Kreme or some swanky bakery if we could. For many, it isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity to avoid gluten.

I often see the newly diagnosed wandering the gluten free section of supermarket aisles in search of items to replace what they loved eating and now must avoid. I remember when I first tried to eat spaghetti, the brand was so awful, I didn’t eat it again for a year. It took quite a bit of trial and error to find the best kind, and learn how to cook it correctly.

If any of you readers are wanting to actually TRY gluten-free foods so you don’t waste the many hundreds of dollars I did in my early days, this expo will be great. I have checked to see all my favorite companies are represented, and even with all my knowledge and gluten-free savvy, I look forward to finding some new snacks, main meals, and recipes this weekend! I’ll be writing again about my experiences on Sunday, but if you are interested, the expo is offering Patch readers a 25% discount on the admission, if you use the coupon code PATCH25OFF.

Hope to see you there!