OK, So Maybe I'm Possibly Kind Of An Asshole...Sometimes

Maybe.

I wrote a while back about a lady who went all apeshit on me about requiring a meal that was gluten-free. I assumed that she had an allergy, which is actually more common than you'd realize. Said assumption got me yelled at on my floor, and didn't exactly set this lady in a good light in my mind, and representation here.

Luckily for me, my loyal readers are always here to help. Commenter Baddfrog posted the following just recently:

Some people have an autoimmune reaction when they eat gluten that causes the body to attack itself. That's called Celiac Disease and it causes a host of problems. Most people just have the gluten sensitivity of allergy.

One of the side affects of Celiac is irritability...which apparently your drama queen patron was experiencing at the time!

Well, you sir are correct. Celiac disease is indeed a disease, and though I'm no doctor I probably could have been a little more aware and/or mindful at the time. So, Ms. Crank Customer, The Mad Chef says "my bad."

And because I KNOW you're dying to learn more about Celiac disease, here are some fast facts...

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.

When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.

Celiac disease is both a disease of malabsorption—meaning nutrients are not absorbed properly—and an abnormal immune reaction to gluten. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress.

Knowledge, people...that's why I'm here.