Blog breaks stigma of food allergies

A blog called Glutey Girl is helping break the stereotype of food allergy diets being a fad.

Christina Stewart, who works at Wintec in marketing, started Glutey Girl in 2014, as a way to help educate and communicate with people like her.

In 2002 a doctor told Stewart that she had severe Celiac disease, and later discovered that she was also allergic to most Fodmaps foods like dairy, sugar, and processed food.

“When you first get diagnosed with food allergies, depending on what they are, it can be like what the hell do I eat,” Stewart said.

“It’s kind of like you can’t imagine your world without that food.”

For many years after being diagnosed, she ate lots of processed foods, which were more expensive, and lacked nutrition.

For Stewart being Celiac was manageable, but having other allergies on top of that made it difficult, especially in social situations.

“There is nothing glamorous about having food allergies especially if you have IBS [Irritable bowel syndrome].”

She has had to deal with many awkward situations where she ate food beforehand or spent most of the evening in the toilet.

One time she ate before going to a event and when dinner was served a man asked her why she wasn’t eating.

“The head guy went ding ding ding, and stood up and said I just want to let you know that the young lady has been fed, she’s just got food allergies.”

She says people often have the best intentions, but it can be very embarrassing for someone with food allergies to stand out of the crowd.

She wants her blog to be a place that acknowledges these awkward moments, but also recognises the importance of food education.

Her blog has about 100 views per article and has become a space for people to interact and talk about their own food allergies.