Eating out can be quite the challenge these days. Finding a place that serves a healthy, diabetic-friendly meal is easy. Finding a place that serves a healthy, diabetic-friendly meal that is also gluten free is a different story. I find that I usually have to choose between which of my diseases I will accommodate, and because finding anything gluten free to eat at restaurants can be so much of a challenge and I usually have to settle for whatever gluten free options I can find, diabetes usually loses.
After searching online forever, I finally found a sort of "fast food" type restaurant that had gluten free options-- Red Robin. It is a restaurant chain that I've never eaten at. I did sacrifice the guidelines of a diabetic-friendly meal in lieu of finding something -- anything-- gluten free. You see, while diabetes has food "guidelines," celiac disease has food "requirements" with no room for error. And not adhering to the diet has severe, immediate, and long term consequences. Eating even trace amounts (we are talking less than a crumb here, for those of you who aren't celiac) of gluten causes severe damage internally.
It was my first restaurant hamburger since July 2010. It was the first "fast food" I've had since then, too. I had a gluten free cheeseburger with bacon on it and guacamole (delish) and a side of french fries. These were also the first french fries I've had since my July 2010 celiac diagnosis. I ate it all, the whole burger, fries, all of it, and damn near licked the plate it was so good. Afterwards I felt like a bloated blob. And my diabetes punished me for eating it, as well, for the next 4 hours. I hovered in the 200mg/dl area for a long time, even though I bolused well in advance of the meal, and after it.
I wish I didn't have to choose between accommodating one disease over another when it comes to eating out. But the food requirements can be so vastly different between a diabetic diet and a celiac diet, I often times have little choice in the matter.
There are so many days when I wish I just had diabetes and not diabetes with celiac. It puts an extra burden on my shoulders and makes managing my diabetes even more difficult.
Can't imagine it's easy, but thank you for sharing your story on this and providing this perspective. Best your way in navigating both celiac and diabetes.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I never really much thought about it before even though I have both coeliac and diabetes. There are many restaurants here (UK) that do offer GF meals and also some that are mega healthy! Las Iguanas and Giraffe are two of them, even the burger (no bun) and chips doesn't do too much, I think because of the even balance of factors :)
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