While my computer endlessly freezes and force quits applications, I’ve been sitting here thinking about campus food.
I realized recently that I was a whole (WHOLE) lot more paranoid last year, perhaps because that terrible feeling of sickness-because-I-just-ate-some-gluten was still clearly stuck in my memory. Now, it’s been awhile since I’ve eaten any noticeably sick-making amounts of gluten.
This is good.
However, lately I’ve noticed myself going to Usdan, grabbing some saucy meat or tofu stuff that seems to be just runny enough that it may have not been thickened with wheat flour, adding on some rice and on top of that some stir-fry sauce that doesn’t look like it contains soy sauce, and going on my happy way. The problem is that any of these could contain gluten. Maybe there is soy sauce or wheat flour in the sauce!
I justify this by thinking that it’s only trace amounts and doesn’t make me sick, and I’ll be better the next day.
Then I remember that article I read during the summer about a man who “cheated” every once in awhile and ended up in the hospital getting a more-than-one-inch long whole in his intestine sewed up (well, the section removed and intestines sewed back together). Sounds like fun, eh? He “cheated” in big ways, like eating a piece of cake sometimes, but I know that when a body is allergic to gluten, it hurts the body every single time gluten enters it.
Every single time.
So Usdan. What shall I do?
Well, for starters I’m staying a way for a bit. But, I need to get off my ass and go ask them what contains wheat products and soy sauce (yes a wheat product but almost everyone doesn’t realize that it is…). Usdan will never be certifiably gluten-free (well, unless we campaign a lot!), but there are ways to be more conscientious of its dangers and generally safe products.
Paranoia here I come!!!
