Growing up I never had any allergies or health problems until I hit 18. I was working at Marie Calenders where I would eat a piece of toast everyday which shouldn't have changed anything because that is probably what I would have eaten at home. As a few months went by I go really sick. I was constantly tiered, I experienced extremely irregular menstrual period, and I was very weak. After 1 month of doctors visits I realized that I had celiac disease.
My dad and a couple great aunts and uncles have it but I never dreamt that I would have it. I was never officially diagnosed with it because I decided that paying hundreds of dollars to see an experienced pathologist was not worth the price. I feel perfect when I am on the diet but the moment I eat gluten I am tired and restless.
When I went home this last time I talked to my uncle Walter about it, who has severe celiac disease. He told me that he has been told he has it and that he doesn't. Only expert pathologists can identify Celiac Disease which makes sense why my primary care physician couldn't figure out what was going on.
I have planned many times to go off the diet but going to Bylakuppe has made it difficult. I know that if I go on the diet perfectly I will get very sick when I have to eat food in Bylakuppe. Ever since I found out the staple food of India was barley I didn't know what to do. In my research I found that Tibetan Refugee women consume approximately 477.8 grams cereal a day which consists of barley and wheat (ie. tsampa and momos). Although I may feel the effects I am hoping that by still eating gluten every once in while will lessen the effects that I feel while I am there. If at all possible I hope to remain on my diet but considering that I don't have a whole lot of choice in what my host family feeds me I doubt it will be possible. The best I can do is deal with the problem and remain on my diet when I return back home.
Can you eat rice? I don't know much about celiac disease, I don't know if rice has gluten. Because the standard south indian diet is basically just rice. They do not use any wheat or barely or anything like that. It doesn't grow very well in the south indian climate, I am told. I don't know quite what to tell you about your tibetan host family, but everything else in the south (except for biscuits) is essentially gluten free. (as long as you can eat rice.)
ReplyDeleteI would strongly recommend seeing if you can work out something where you can stay on your diet. If you can explain your situation, Indians are really understanding. It takes a little effort, but when I explained to people that I didn't drink tea and coffee for religious reasons, they were super understanding. The only people that aren't understanding is when you visit poor people and they want to impress you by giving you something. Okay, but back to what I was saying, I would really really recommend that you try to not go off your diet. Have you lived in a tropical climate before? Banagalore is probably among the most mild climates in India, but I am not sure your exact location, most of India is ridiculously hot and humid during the summer, even year round in South India which I find to be very exhausting. I guess what I am saying is, I wouldn't want to have to deal with a double dose of things that make me exhausted feeling, especially with a big project to do. Because getting tired from the heat and the humidity doesn't ever entirely go away, especially in such a short time period. Monsoon season will come towards the end of your time there, but it could make your first month or two much more difficult to be productive.