Alright! It's time to start planning your summer vacation! For those of you with celiac disease or other gluten intolerance this can often pose a problem (or at least barrier). For whatever reason, gluten allergies are deemed to be the most inconvenient of allergies to fellow travellers. Sure, that might be because the starlets of the world have made gluten-free eating trendy instead of health-related, but let's take a moment and show some compassion.
What most people don't realize is that a gluten sensitivity trigger stems far deeper than just eating wheat, rye, barley or oats. For many, eating foods that have touched the same surface as those ingredients or using utensils that have been contaminated is enough to bring on a reaction. In many countries where fried foods are popular, restaurants do not understand that if gluten free and wheat battered foods are cooked in the same oil that a reaction can be caused.
I once travelled with a celiac companion. Yes, it was challenging, and even frustrating at times when you walk form restaurant to restaurant trying to find a suitable option for lunch. What took me a long time to realize is that it wasn't just having the allergy. The inability to communicate it to restaurants and waiters that must have been so hard for my friend. After all, how can you expect to avoid something if you don't even know how to describe it to them?
The answer is usually a game of consisting of half broken telephone and half charades. Travellers pointing, gesturing, trying to remember a little high school Spanish, and inevitably still failing to explain their allergy.
To help, we've selected a few of the world's most spoken languages and created 11 translations to help you explain that you have an allergy to gluten and what foods contain it. I sincerely hope that this translation infographic helps you on your next food journey!
