Oops, Not Gluten-Free!?!?!

When I first started dating my now husband, I did what any supportive partner would do, I researched celiac disease. After a few articles and blog posts I thought, “Okay”, this doesn’t seem so bad. I can handle this. I already eat fairly healthy, mostly whole foods, with the occasional boxed pasta thrown in. I use organic seasonings and spices, cook at home often, and genuinely enjoy it. Confident and motivated, I decided to cook dinner for him.

I grilled some chicken, made zucchini noodles with tomato, onion, oregano, and basil, and added a pot of rice to keep things simple. It felt safe. Familiar. I set out all the usual toppings for dressing up chicken and rice, butter, barbecue sauce, and soy sauce until I paused and did a quick search. That’s when I learned something I definitely did not expect: soy sauce is not gluten‑free. Who knew?! And as if that wasn’t enough, I stumbled into articles about cross‑contamination from pans and cookware. At that point, my confidence was slipping fast. Panic may have started creeping in. Clearly, I still had a lot to learn.

Dinner itself was easy and normal. We talked about work, kids, and the usual day‑to‑day stuff. Eventually, curiosity got the best of me, and I asked how he was diagnosed with celiac disease. Long story short, he had Lyme disease, which triggered an autoimmune response that ultimately resulted in celiac disease. I asked what guidance he received from doctors and nutritionists after the diagnosis. Their answer? “Stay away from gluten.” Simple in theory, not so simple in reality.

After a year of following a strict elimination diet and still experiencing reactions, he finally discovered the problem wasn’t food at all. It was his shaving cream. Yes, shaving cream. Turns out, many skincare and personal care products contain gluten because it’s used as a binding agent. Since these products aren’t technically meant to be ingested, companies aren’t required to label food allergens like the food industry. But products like shaving cream, lip gloss, and moisturizer can easily make their way into your mouth and trigger a reaction.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just reading food labels, I was scrutinizing skincare products too. What I once thought would be a small lifestyle adjustment turned into an eye‑opening lesson on how many opportunities there are for contamination and cross‑contamination. It felt overwhelming at first. But it also felt important.

So here I am, learning as I go, label by label, product by product. It may not be as simple as I thought, but that’s okay. I’ve got this. I’m ready to take on the gluten‑free lifestyle challenge.