Please watch this upcoming Super Bowl Sunday ad:
(If you do not see the above video, you can click here.)
I’ve been angry before about the jokes and the insensitivity.
I’ve written letters to talk show hosts.
I’ve used connections that I’ve made over the years to get personal emails of those in the public eye who talk about eating gluten free as a joke.
I’ve written a book devoting an entire chapter on this very subject and WHY this kind of joke just isn’t funny.
I’ve ranted, I’ve raged, I’ve cried and I thought of walking away.
I meet people every day at my bakery who have been ravaged by this disease called celiac.
I’ve seen people so frightened because their loved ones are so frail and ill and they felt so helpless.
I’ve also seen people grieve because this disease had taken their family member or friend’s life.
The only relief these people have – IS FOOD.
It’s not a pill.
It’s not a surgery.
It’s not a treatment.
It’s eating GLUTEN FREE. That’s it.
That is how we keep ourselves away from cancer, how we keep our insides from bleeding, keep ourselves from dementia, other horrible illnesses and debilitating pain.
Would this kind of joke be made of person treating their cancer with chemo?
Or would a diabetic be considered “weak” for taking their insulin?
I understand there are people who eat gluten free for the fad of it all but there is an enormous community of people whose lives depend on it.
I love laughter and my sense of humor has helped me through the hardest times in my life but I do not find NEEDING to eat this way and being mocked for it funny.
Do you?
Please stop mocking this community.
People are hurting.
Be Well.
I have signed and commented on the petition. I also posted on Facebook. I commented that the food sources have been altered so much that our bodies haven’t and can’t adapt to the changes. I think it is sad Americans can’t support each other. I thought that is what the founding fathers and our solders fought for this right. Jennifer, you are right about the cancer patient and chemo or the diabetic with insulin. People would and do encourage them to TAKE the medicine. Hopefully one day people will see that this is just as serious as any other disease. People have a hard time with change and what they don’t understand. Thank you for the blog and all your dedication to the community and trying to get narrow-minded people to change their viewpoint about the disease.
im signing and sharing on my nutrition FB page. I’m a dietitian but more importantly am recovering from 2 major surgeries after my colon perforated from this disease. No laughing matter. People always laugh at what they don’t understand.
Read, watched, signed and shared. As a Celiac I am so offended. Thia is wrong and needs to be removed!
I can not believe how insensitive this ad is ! My granddaughter has celiac disease and eating gluten can set off a horrible reaction in her digestive system and even life threatening……please get RID of this ad !
I have not been tested for celiac disease but I can tell you this, I have an autoimmune diisease called “Hashimoto’s ” that is actually linked to celiac disease and if I eat gluten it causes my body to attack my thyroid. It is sad that it is “acceptable” to bully those with diseases. If it were a commercial mocking diabetics it would never have been aired. It’s sad that other diseases are accpeted but just because some people wanted to make gluten free into a “fad” instead of what it really is, a way for those who suffer with diseases caused from gluten consumption to heal their bodies,the people that suffer from this disease have to
be critisized because of it!
Thank you for all you do and standing up for those not only with celiac disease but those that also suffer from other diseases that are affected by gluten intolerance, allergies and sensitivities.
<3
i was misdiagnosed for 3yrs.! then told I was going to die 2 years ago from my past gastrointestinal doctor. And u till I walked into that lil bakery and saw that kind woman who sat me down an informed me I wasn’t dieing, and that no celiac patient should every have dairy…. My eyes were filled with tears of joy, so relieved and yes Jennifer Esposito I’m speaking about you, you were kind & understanding you changed my life. Why people laugh at us I’ll never understand!! I tell everyone my story some listen some say Ya Ya Ya just another fad. Well we can’t help their ignorance I feel sorry for their stupidly.! Wake up people it’s for real we need to ban together do a walk do something to b noticed and heard
What do you mean celiac’s shouldn’t have dairy?
My daughter has celiac disease and eats yogurt, butter and ice cream with no side effects…
People with celiac are likely to cross react to dairy and other grains due to the similar protein structure. I have Celiac disease and I do not tolerate casein and I cross react to all grains.
Same here, I can not handle grains or lactose either.
Lara,
Many celiacs have lactose intolerence. I can drink milk, but have no problem with cheese. Yogurt and Ice Cream I take Lactaid pills but still have problems sometimes. Also Shredded cheese, ice cream and yougurt often have gluten in them.
I think she means initially because the small intestine is responsible for producing the enzyme that breaks down lactose and when it’s injured, it does not produce this enzyme.
I have celiac disease. I have never heard that we aren’t suppose to have dairy. I know some people can’t tolerate dairy since their guts are so fried out from gluten. I eat dairy products daily. Are you sure that Jennifer said that celiacs should never eat dairy? I don’t think we should be misinformed on this blog.
A common problem for celiac patients is lactose intolerance – lactose is the sugar in milk and other dairy products. (Others, not necessarily celiac patients, cannot tolerate the protein in milk – casein.) Lactose requires the enzyme lactase produced by the epithelial cells near the tip of the villi (of the small intestine) so it can be broken down and absorbed. Since the damaged villi in CD cannot produce the enzyme lactase to properly “digest” and absorb lactose, the lactose moves unchanged into the large intestine where bacteria acts upon it producing acid and gas. Water then moves into the large intestine to dilute the “undigested” lactose leading to the classic lactose intolerance symptoms of watery and acidy diarrhea with the accompanying bloating and gas. On average, it takes 6-12 months of a gluten-free diet to heal the small intestine. Estimates vary but most specialists noted that 60-70% of patients will have villus healing that also allows the epithelial cells to once again produce the enzyme lactase such that the patient is no longer lactose intolerant. Others find that they can never tolerate dairy again (not producing lactase) – and this can also be due to a genetic issue producing lactase) while many have a ceiling on the amount of dairy they are able to tolerate. There is also the issue that food additives may prohibit healing of the villi or have an inflammatory impact that prevents lactase production. Many NCGS patients also have lactase production/lactose intolerance issues that often dissipate after several months on a strict (the key word is strict) GF diet.
My daughter was hospitalized for about a month and could not find out the reason for excruciating pain in her stomach. It took a couple of weeks to find the cause of it. I was in tears thinking the worse and thought she was going to die. No one has the right to make a joke of a serious illness and negative side effects of eating curtain food.
Anyone that thinks celiac disease is a joke , should sit with my little 3 yr old granddaughter when she is sick and vomiting from eating the wrong pasta by mistake. This only happened one time since she has been gluten free. Her health has improved so much since going GF.
I support and thank you for trying to educate people that this is a diease.
Not a fad diet, not a thing to try so your able to say, yes I don’t do gluten either, I want to go on a diet.
It isn’t that, gluten-free is our medication to heal our body.
my dear husband is dead…I wish I knew who the advertising company is who created this trash I would make it go viral. this makes me sick…
They aren’t making fun of people with celiac disease. That’s 1% of the population. They are making fun of people who are gluten-free and don’t even know what gluten is. There is no reason for people without celiac disease to avoid gluten. It is a fad diet.
Jack, you and I understand that but for the majority of the people who would see that commercial they wouldn’t know to separate the 2 – those are the jokes that make people not take people like me with Celiacs serious because they don’t know any better – they just hear people making fun of gluten and they think that goes for anyone who eats gluten free regardless if they have Celiacs.
I agree
Signed the petition with some strong comments to try to bring an understanding of how devastating this disease can as for many tomes it impacts every organ and every system in the body. And it can lead to other disorders – that are often diagnosed and treated separately while the cause celiac disease or NCGS remains undiagnosed perpetuating the other issues and diagnoses because the underlying cause is not being treated.
Hopefully othe GF sites will start to post this video and petition.
I’m signing and I wrote NASCAR an email. We can all write them at [email protected]
Thank you, Jennifer for being a voice for us. God bless you.
For those of us who have celiac disease, this is not a funny ad. Although there are many who do gluten free as a fad diet, inconsiderate ads like this hurt those of us who MUST avoid gluten in order to survive. I have signed the petition. I will no longer support Nascar in any way due to their insensitivity to those of their fans that do need to “fear” gluten.
Getting angry is not going to solve a thing. Some people are angry about one thing, some about something else, some just rant and rave about anything that displeases them, some want all to think their way, some just like to criticize. We do not need to listen to the bullying and waging war on the rest of the world. We will harm our own mental state and make ourselves sicker. In my 80+ years I have, I hope, just learned to accept myself as I am and not to stress over what people think. I eat as I have to eat, dress as I want and can afford, and enjoy the activities I like. I accept all my family members as they are and try to help them when I can. Life is too short to worry about everyone else accepting us. After all, I do not understand others and the way they look at life, other people, and the world in general. God bless all.
I think that my state of mind has much to do with my feeling well despite the lactose and gluten intolerances. Eat what you are allowed to remain well and stop worrying about what other people want of you.
Aili,
50% of me agrees with you as us folks cannot afford to mentally drain ourselves as when we do you are right it hurts us. I am Involved in some government issues in my town with some other folks, and the mental effort does drag me down physically. I can feel the change. Your post helped me make this connection.
On the other hand, he other 50% of me recognizes that a major commercial like this, trivializing gluten may lead to one’s server in a restaurant or family member
or friend flremoving croutons from a salad – leaving the crumbs – instead of making a fresh salad, or thinking a little wheat flour to thicken a gravy is no big deal. This trivializing will be picked up by society with potential associated actions (no big deal, buck it up) can make us sick for 2-3 weeks and cause possible serous long-term issues.
I signed the petition.i am not trivializing the disease , not with so many of our family members having it. But we have to look at the positive side of life. I am still glad to be a member of the human race, living in a free country. My husband served in three wars, starting with the Second World War; he returned with so many horror stories that I cannot compare our problems with the problems our men and women returned with, if they returned at all.
They and their families are scarred for the remainder of their days. We don’t need to trivialize our food problems, but we do not need to dwell on only them. Life is too short. Best of luck in your management of this disease.
So after I shared the link to the NBC/Nascar petition on my personal fb page I got this response, “I watched the commercial and I thought it was hilarious. The gluten content was literally one line of the commercial. Is Celiac real? Yes. Is Celiac shitty? Yes. However, I’m a fat guy and if it was a commercial revolving around fat people I’d have laughed too. My sister has RA and I see her laugh at RA stuff all of the time. You gotta be able to laugh at yourself or situations. That commercial is the first thing NASCAR has done well in a long time. You know you’re one of my faves but I think you’re wound up over nothing.” I am so upset. The point isn’t that I can’t laugh at myself or that I dwell on being Celiac. The point is that the awareness for Celiac/Gluten Intolerance is no where near the level where we can safely joke about it. The people watching this and laughing are the ones making our food… how could we possibly laugh at the thought of their entire knowledge of gluten coming from TV and commercials.
Don’t criticize until you have walked in a Celiac’s moccasins…they would give anything to not have this dreaded condition and be paranoid if a restaurant is really gluten free and following the rules of a dedicated kitchen. Eating out is a crap-shoot…sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and get sick. Maybe someday there will be a revelation to these ignorant restaurant people. It’s not a matter of worrying about what other people want of you, Aili G. …it’s about having so-called GF establishments understanding the need to not poison people and make them sick. They warn of salmonella if you eat undercooked food, so they need to worry if wheat, rye, and barley products have contaminated the gluten free food. Thanks for listening..my daughter is a celiace so I have first-hand experience as to the suffering. Keep up the good work, Jennifer.
Incredibly disappointed in Nick Offerman for doing this ad.
Ditto, David!
I agree, I love Nick Offerman. As part of a woodworking buisness he’s an idol… this was a dagger to the heart.
Signed the petition, emailed NASCAR, and tweeted at Nick Offerman. Won’t make a darn bit of difference, but one has to try.
Oh no, I read some tweets to Offerman. More are congratulating him for the gluten joke or quoting it than being disgusted. I think i’m going to be sick. And if I hear, “calm down and eat some bread” one more time i’m just done for the day… or week.
I am not Celiac, but I am gluten free and I support Celiac’s. I don’t understand why people don’t get it. I signed the petition and will share on FB. Jennifer, have you ever thought of making your own commercial regarding being Celiac and telling people that being gluten free is not a joke and nothing to play around with.
Go bless people like you Jennifer as well at Gluten dude. I as well as my 5 year old daughter have celiacs and it makes a difference when people who have a voice use it for good! Whatever good that may be! I thank you for the hard work you do in supporting us and trying to help the world see that it is not all a fad but that people’s lives that are at stake. It is not funny when I see the pain in the eyes of my little girl when she is keeled over in pain Because I myslef know that pain all to well! Once again thank you for your hard work for the celiac community and I do hope that this works!!!!
Why don’t you directly contact NASCAR and make them aware and maybe they can publicly acknowledge what struggles come with having to live a gluten free life.
People who know nothing about how truly ill gluten makes many people will see this add and think most people are just eating gluten free as a FAD. I agree with another poster that it’s staff members at restaurants (even extended family members) who will think eating gluten free is a choice. Yesterday I had a doctors appointment after being very ill for last 1 1/2 weeks -after I accidentally ingested a tiny amount of gluten. I lost 14 lbs and my doctor is extremely concerned. After a life time of not knowing gluten was what was making me so sick, my health is practically destroyed. Please speak out everyone to make entertainers, doctors, nursing home’s & hospital’s food service,and restaurants understand they might kill a person by being careless.
I am working on an open letter to FDA regarding not simply gluten disclosure labeling for which two reps tried to put forth a bill) but eliminating gluten and the FALCPA food allergens from the inactive ingredients in over-the/counter (OTC) and prescription drugs. I recently was hit with ibuprofen the gelatin did not declare wheat-based. (CVS makes gluten free ibuprophen but it does contain lactose.) It’s also time for FDA to expand FALCA (the food allergen labeling law) for newer food allergens/sensitivities such as corn and seaweeds and seaweed additives (carrageenan, algin/alginates, agar, etc ) that are a growing issue for many of those with CD and other GI diagnoses. In addition, FALCPA also needs to be applied to alcoholic beverages by ATF (they are addressing this which is more than FDA is doing with drugs!). Both my husband and I got ill from just a few sips of red wine on New Years Day. I made the dinner in my GF kitchen so we were both asking what could have made us ill? Careful folks they are starting to use things like nuts and caramel to flavor wines. Spoke with company and they noted caramel is not gluten. They clearly did not know that the source can be wheat or barley or non-gluten substances.
I have signed and shared this on FB, Twitter and mailed to those I know who will do the same. We may not win this campaign, but we can try. And if we educate a few people along the way and help dispel the myths about gluten not really being dangerous and celiac or NCGS not being real, then we’ve done a good job. Thanks to Jennifer and everyone here who is trying to make a difference.
Thank you for posting this. I just signed the petition.
This Beautiful girl im dating has celiac i care about her so much, that helping her in anyway whether is a petetion or not im always will try my best for her safety and health This superbowl ad is just wrong ban it! America!
I have Celiac Disease and I have learned that some people are simply uneducated and insensitive. Awareness is the key!
You are sooooo butthurt right now. This is the stupidest petition I have ever seen. No wonder no one is listening to you.
I hope you never have to live with this disease.
I just believe ignorance breeds jokes. I remember when peanut allergies were first discovered. Every comedy show made fun of it for years. Every ‘nerd’ character in every sitcom had a peanut allergy. It was a running joke for years.
Sadly – it will take our country a few more years to realize this is an actual disease, because of the band-wagon jumpers who are doing it for a lifestyle.
Keep getting the word out there – and that’s really all you can do.
Signed petition and sent an email to Nascar…got a robotic response. But then again these are the same people that think left, left,left, repeat is a sport – geeesh!
Thank you for fighting the GOOD fight with your STRONG voice, Jennifer!
celiac is not a joke, is a serious illness that took all my youthful years away, I am 33 yrs old, I was diagnosed three years ago w celiac.( I believe I was born with it). When I was diagnosed I told my sister who was 37 yrs old to ruled out for celiac and bum, she was positive. Now her two beautiful daughters one 3yrs old and 6 yrs both were diagnosed w celiac. gf diet its our only treatment, but for me it failed so many times. Im soy and dairy free. I am still struggling w celiac sxs,(acne, fatigued, adrenal. hormonal, vitamin d and b6 b12 deficiency, 15 yrs of chronic insomnia, asthma, severe sinusistis, leaky gut syndrome, depression and severe anxiety, add and brain fog) unable to go back to work, to feel myself, to live my life. I just want to feel normal like my friends, enjoy my family and my husband, nut most of the days I cant, .No one have any idea how hard its to live w celiac, celiac its not a food allegy its a real autoimmune disorder!!! Fight and advocate for celiac.
Thanks Jennifer. I said almost the same things to my husband about cancer and diabetes just before reading your post. I’ve signed the petition and asked my friends and family to do the same. I was diagnosed with celiac disease 81/2 years ago and still get very emotional when people think it’s something to joke about.
I was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine in September 2014. I had a T4 tumor removed from my small intestine, and YES IT WAS POSITIVE FOR CANCER!! I am now in the process for d chemo, I have 7 treatments done with 5 to go. So I am NOT SOFT!! My celiac disease was never diagnosed until it was too late!! The ignorance is maddening and sad, if you don’t know what you are talking about, then shut up!! I AM. OT SOFT NASCAR,YOU ARE JUST IGNORANT!! ALL DONE…..THANKS.
I signed the petition a few days ago…and just saw the commercial a few minutes ago during the pregame show.
As a person with celiac and Type
whoops, accidentally posted too soon…
As a person with Celiac and Type 1 Diabetes I can tell you that Diabetes is joked about quite often.
Part of the problem is that being gluten free has become a new fad diet. As a holistic practitioner, clients come to me and tell me they are gluten free. I ask if they have celiac or gluten sensitivity and most say “no”. People think it’s a quick way to lose weight. They buy many gluten free products that are not healthy and just as processed as packaged food that contains gluten. This has taken the emphasis off the fact that Celica and gluten sensitivity are real conditions that are life threatening and not to be taken lightly. Like so many things in life, it’s all about education.