Kayla Manning

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a second-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges, and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

Kayla Manning on social media

3 Key Tips for Dealing with a New Celiac Diagnosis

3 Key Tips for Dealing with a New Celiac Diagnosis

I vividly remember the overwhelming sense of helplessness following my diagnosis with celiac disease. At the time, I didn’t even know what gluten was, but a quick Internet search made it seem like it was in everything. This was back in 2013 before the gluten-free diet became the cultural phenomenon that it is today; I cannot even imagine facing my diagnosis 20 years prior when gluten-free products were virtually nonexistent. Luckily, I learned that my diagnosis did not mark the end of the world as I knew it. However, certain pieces of wisdom would have made for a more seamless, stress-free adjustment period.

3. Prepare yourself for common misconceptions about celiac 

While the rise of the gluten-free diet has helped increase the prevalence of gluten-free options in stores and restaurants, its close ties to modern diet and wellness culture can sometimes do more harm than good. Not only do we run the risk of people not understanding the severity of our situation, but we must also face people’s misconceptions that the absence of gluten in one’s diet equates to a superior level of “health.”

Those of us with celiac disease or gluten intolerance understand that gluten-free and “healthy” are two independent adjectives. However, gluten-free alternatives for processed food exists, and I am grateful for that fact. In my opinion, it is much more healthful to freely eat the foods that you desire than to live with a constant preoccupation with the self-imposed virtue of your food.

A friend once told me that she wished she had celiac disease so she would be forced to eat healthily. While that statement definitely takes the lead as the most outrageous comment I have received regarding my celiac disease, you may benefit from preparing yourself to hear comments along similar lines. Responding to such sentiments with anger or frustration helps no one. Understand that they do not fully understand the implications of their comments, and do not judge them for their lack of knowledge. In fact, I cannot help but experience a certain degree of sadness for anyone who would wish an autoimmune disease upon themselves in hopes to shrink or manipulate their body. Your diagnosis does not change anything about you except for the fact that you must now avoid ingesting a single type of protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.

2. Accept your celiac diagnosis as reality

Once you accept your diagnosis, you can redirect your focus to bigger and better things. Aside from the aforementioned “health” comments relating to my gluten-free diet, people also comment on the fact that it “must be so hard” because “gluten is in everything” and they “could never live without gluten”. If you are struggling to come to terms with your new diagnosis, these comments may only exacerbate your feelings of confusion. However, once you get past the transition phase of learning about and adjusting to your new situation, a gluten-free diet becomes second nature. The sooner you take ownership over your new lifestyle, the quicker you will adjust and learn that there is no reason to feel embarrassed or disheartened about your condition. Celiac disease only plays a minuscule role in forming a multifaceted individual, and accepting your reality allows you to cultivate and develop the more interesting parts of your life.

1. Learn to research and prepare gluten-free snacks

Any difficult situation for those with celiac disease typically stems from a lack of preparation in some shape or form. This tip is rather simple, and it becomes instinctive over time. While I have already written an entire article covering this topic, it essentially boils down to conducting research in advance and bringing snacks.

If you are struggling to cope with your new diagnosis, know that you are not alone. While you may have to make a few lifestyle adjustments, life gets so much better once you move past the initial transition phase. By preparing yourself for the misconceptions regarding your gluten-free diet, accepting your diagnosis, and preventing uncomfortable situations, you can enjoy living your full, vibrant, and gluten-free life.

Diets, Eating Disorders, and College: 4 Warning Signs for Students

Diets, Eating Disorders, and College: 4 Warning Signs for Students

Until a student goes to college, his or her eating habits typically follow those of their family. With a newfound sense of freedom, some people learn that they prefer to eat more whole foods, while others gravitate towards more processed options. A shift in dietary habits in college is nothing out of the ordinary, but it is important to keep an eye out for disordered behaviors. For students with celiac disease, this becomes especially problematic since they already have to avoid particular foods; research indicates a positive association between celiac disease and anorexia nervosa. While some warning signs may appear harmless on the surface, disordered eating patterns may start innocently but turn deadly. Celiac or not, the behaviors described below may indicate an unhealthy relationship with food. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, I have observed these tendencies in my friends and I as we struggled to find our sense of balance in college. This should not serve as a diagnostic tool, and it is solely based on firsthand experiences.

Preoccupation with the Freshman 15

Media portrayals often only show the side of disordered eating that manifests itself as a hyper fixation on losing weight. However, motivations behind abnormal eating behaviors take many shapes and forms. I have seen students develop an eating disorder out of the fear of gaining the infamous “Freshman 15”. Fear of weight gain often results in the same destructive behaviors as an obsession with weight loss. Over time, attempts to control one’s weight may slowly fade into something not only detrimental but potentially deadly.
Changing eating habits in college can sometimes result in weight fluctuations. By itself, a shift in weight does not necessarily indicate an eating disorder. It is extremely important, however, to not comment on another person’s change in weight if you observe it; you never know how someone may receive your observation. If a student has gained weight, your words could damage their body image. If the student intentionally lost weight, your comment may validate their efforts and fuel them to continue to lose weight. On the other hand, if the student did not try to lose weight, you may make them fear the potential of gaining their weight back. While each scenario looks different, any of these reactions could spiral into an unhealthy relationship with food and/or exercise. A weight-centric comment, even if well-meaning, fuels society’s narrative that our weight plays a defining role in our lives, but in reality, an individual’s external appearance is the least interesting thing about him or her.

Extremely Healthy Eating

People often think of disordered eating in a black and white way, but in reality, you do not have to have a clinical diagnosis of bulimia or anorexia to need help. Rather than restricting calories, individuals may restrict particular foods, food groups, or macronutrients. Of course, individuals with celiac disease or severe food allergies must eliminate single ingredients from their diets. However, the continued elimination of foods and the development of food rules may be a cause for concern.
The refusal to eat “unhealthy” or “bad” foods may indicate an overly restrictive mentality; students can have preferences but moralizing food takes it a step too far. Students should not feel guilty after eating something they deem “bad”, nor should they develop “fear foods”. Life is so much better when you develop the freedom to eat and move on. Food fuels us to pursue our passions; do not waste any of that valuable energy by micromanaging every facet of your diet.

Thinking About Food

In the face of starvation, our brains crave food. Constant food thoughts can serve as a sign of mental hunger. This may be difficult to differentiate between celiac behaviors, but obsessively looking at restaurant menus in advance may indicate a problem. The key difference between scoping out gluten-free options before going to a restaurant and engaging in a disordered behavior is if the individual further limits themselves to the “healthiest” items on the menu or never intends to visit the restaurant. Also, looking at recipes all the time may indicate food fixation resulting from disordered eating behaviors. The individual may never actually make the recipes, or they may make the recipes but refuse to eat them because they do not fit within their self-inflicted food rules.

Compulsive or Compensatory Exercise

Active students may struggle with the sedentary lifestyle of sitting in a library all day. Humans naturally crave movement, but exercising solely to burn calories sucks the enjoyment out of it. Physical activity can serve as a wonderful form of stress relief, but it far too often serves as a source of stress itself. Compulsive exercise often coexists with eating disorders and disordered eating. Some red flags of compulsive exercise I have observed in my past self and others include refusing to take rest days, skipping social events to go to the gym, only doing high-intensity exercise or cardio, and going to the gym multiple times each day. Exercise should serve as an addition to your life, not a compensatory behavior.

As humans, we all struggle sometimes, and there is no shame in being human. Seeking help does not indicate weakness, but instead shows the strength to fight your battles head-on. It is important to seek help from a healthcare professional if you are concerned with the eating behaviors of yourself or a loved one. If you believe that you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, you can reach the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at (800) 931-2237. More information can be found online at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

Note: When I speak of restriction, I am not referring to the elimination of gluten from one’s diet. A strict gluten-free diet is necessary for individuals with celiac disease. When properly executed, a gluten-free diet should not feel restrictive; nearly all foods have some version of a gluten-free alternative. An example of restriction while following a gluten-free diet is the outright refusal to eat gluten-free treats because of the calories or “unhealthy” ingredients.

 

Surviving College with Celiac Disease: Craft a Captivating Care Package

Surviving College with Celiac Disease: Craft a Captivating Care Package

Receiving an unexpected package sparks excitement in a college student’s heart akin to the giddiness of a young child on Christmas morning. Speaking from personal experience, care packages from home are greatly appreciated while in college. While many parents may feel inclined to throw in some store-bought snacks and call it a day, you can easily spice up any care package with minimal effort. Here are some ideas that can add a personal flair to a care package and make your student feel especially loved:

Baked goods

High-quality gluten-free baked goods are few and far between in the college environment. If your sweet-toothed student has a soft spot in their heart for a particular food from home, this is an essential item to include in their care package. Whether you send a loaf of your secret recipe banana bread or a batch of chocolate chip cookies made from store-bought dough, your student will greatly appreciate the taste of home while at school.

Handwritten notes

Handwritten notes allow you to craft a thoughtful message for your student, and something as simple as recognizing familiar handwriting can help the student feel more connected to loved ones. Writing a message on anything ranging from a birthday card, a postcard, or a folded sheet of notebook paper can make your student’s day.

Holiday decorations

Last year, my roommate’s mother never failed to send seasonal packages with appropriate holiday decorations. We decided it would be fun to let the decorations accumulate over the course of the year as a way to preserve a timeline of our memories. It started with Halloween, but before we knew it our dorm was covered with holiday decorations ranging from turkeys to leprechauns and everything in between. Our common room eventually resembled the interior of a party store, but at least it served as some comic relief from the stresses of college life.

Lighthearted gifts

My favorite gift from a care package was a pin meant to be worn on your shirt. However, this was not an ordinary pin, and I never wore it on my shirt except for a brief photo-op when my family came to visit. This particular pin had my sister’s varsity volleyball picture printed on it.

I could not help but laugh when I pulled it out of the box. While I only wore the pin once, I kept it visible in my dorm as a tribute to my sister and her silly personality. This is just one example of a lighthearted gift that could easily make your student’s day. You know your child better than I do, and doing something creative shows that you put some extra thought into making them feel remembered.

Surviving college with celiac disease: Tackling school gluten free takes prep

Surviving college with celiac disease: Tackling school gluten free takes prep

While typical college dining halls are often difficult to navigate safely for students with celiac, less obvious but equally important issues exist beneath the surface. Research indicates that students with celiac face greater struggles in academic and social settings. The condition’s far-reaching impact on the lives of college students creates unique academic and mental health challenges for the affected students, but recognizing these risks can help them prepare for when they strike.

The hidden challenges of going gluten free at college 

Brain fog

Following gluten exposure, students with celiac often experience “brain fog,” a state of cognitive impairment that hampers both the ability to perform everyday tasks as well as academic work. Because the reaction lasts for weeks, this symptom may interfere with students’ ability to produce high-quality work by the required deadline.

Lower GPAs

A study found that independent of gluten-free compliance, female college students with celiac had an average GPA of 3.30 while female students without celiac had an average of 3.45. So while gluten exposure may worsen the academic difficulties experienced by students with celiac, it appears that something about the nature of the disease itself could cause this significant difference between the GPAs.

Anxiety and depression

Students with celiac exhibit greater susceptibility to anxiety and depression compared to their peers without the condition, independent of dietary adherence. However, researchers did find a direct correlation between performance anxiety and the duration of a gluten-free diet— patients who had followed the gluten-free diet for a longer period of time exhibited greater levels of performance anxiety. College students already have to deal with the rigorous academic demands of their coursework, and performance anxiety only adds to the difficulty.

A step in the right direction

While colleges can easily address dining-related issues through tweaking their protocols, solutions for the academic and mental health difficulties are much less straightforward. However, acknowledging the existence of these challenges prepares both students and universities to take action when these issues present themselves. For example, the campus accessibility office should clearly articulate academic accommodations to account for cognitive difficulties following gluten exposure. Also, universities and students can identify problematic behaviors and direct students to the appropriate mental-health and academic resources in the case of anxiety, depression or unusual academic struggle.

Handling the dining hall as a gluten-free student

My first semester, I used the food lines as a typical student, and I picked up a few best practices along the way. Here are some of my best tips and strategies on how to effectively tackle the college dining hall with celiac disease.

The salad bar is your friend

The fresh vegetables and hearty add-ons on the salad bar foster the ideal environment to dodge both gluten exposure and the “freshman 15.” The salad bar served as a dependable option that always promised variety. Broccoli, beans, grilled chicken, baby carrots and hummus became staples in my diet. Also, the salad bar lies far away from the hot food line, which hosts the majority of cross-contamination culprits. While the salad bar served as a safe haven for me, this tip only holds true if the gluten-containing croutons are isolated from the rest of the ingredients (which was the case at my school).

We love fruit!

Most dining halls serve plenty of desserts, including cakes, cookies and soft-serve ice cream. Though the baked goods are not gluten free, the soft-serve ice cream machine might not be the best option, either. I have witnessed far too many students obliviously brushing their cones against the spout of the machine, ruining the possibility of soft serve for celiac students.

Luckily, whole fruit serves as an excellent option for those who are looking for dessert substitutes or something sweet to add to their meal. My favorite dining hall fruits are pears, plums and grapefruits, but most schools also offer timeless favorites such as apples, oranges and bananas. I make it a habit to grab one or two pieces of fruit as a snack for later on in the day. If I have to pay for a meal plan, I might as well maximize its utility.

Keep it simple and accessorize with condiments

My dining hall always has a station with plain brown rice, which proved an excellent filler food for days that lacked other gluten-free options (make sure the rice does not have spices or sauce that contain gluten). Brown rice, grilled chicken and the aforementioned salad bar staples form a balanced, satisfying meal. However, this can begin to taste bland after a while.

While it may be tempting to try some of the more exciting entrees and sides, the over-processed nature of dining hall foods means that there’s likely plenty of gluten hiding in the prepared dishes. I found that it was safest for me to load up on simpler foods and then turn to the spice rack to experiment with different seasonings and sauces. I really love spicy food, so hot sauce became my best friend last semester. I learned that if you add enough hot sauce to subpar food, you can only taste hot sauce.  

Inspect your plates & silverware

My school’s notoriously subpar dishwashing system often leaves remnants of food from the previous meal on silverware and dishes. I quickly developed the habit of checking my plates and forks to ensure the absence of food residue, and I encourage you to do the same. Everybody could benefit from this habit, gluten free or not.

college student on the quad

Talking to peers about the gluten-free diet

I don’t want to make celiac disease the first characteristic people know about me.

Since I was not diagnosed with celiac until eighth grade, I was fortunate to experience the majority of my childhood without having to read nutrition labels and worry about cross-contamination. I had the freedom to eat all the cake that I wanted at birthday parties, and I could innocently say “yes” to any snack that my little heart desired. By the time of my diagnosis, people in my small town had a well-rounded understanding of me as a person, so I did not have to wear the label of the “gluten-free girl.” I never allowed celiac disease to become central to my identity, and I never intend for that to happen.

When people find out, it’s best to own it rather than downplay the severity.

Once people know about your celiac disease, the last thing you want them to think is that you dine gluten free for the “trend.” If your relationship is built upon the belief that you avoid gluten as a preference rather than out of necessity, your needs may not be taken seriously in the future when picking out a restaurant or requesting food for an event.

When people inquire about my gluten-free food, I usually ask if they have heard of celiac disease. If they have, then I tell them that I have celiac and the conversation ends there. In the event that they have not heard of celiac, I briefly explain that it is an autoimmune disease triggered by the ingestion of gluten. In response to this, people generally react with a sympathetic, “Wow that sucks!” or an inquiring, “What can you eat, then? Isn’t gluten in everything?” The best way to handle these questions is to reinforce the severity of the disease while assuring the listener that maintaining the diet is not that difficult after you have adjusted to the gluten-free lifestyle.

Sometimes self-deprecating humor helps, if confidently executed.

Every night, I email my dining manager my meal orders for the following day. Then, a chef safely prepares my meal in the back of the kitchen for mealtime pickup. Even though I have carried the label of “celiac” with me for the past five years, something about carrying a shrink-wrapped plate from the back of the kitchen, through the food lines and into the packed dining hall is still embarrassing for me.

When people inquire about my unusual accommodation, I find it best to respond with some self-deprecating humor. I own the fact that I have to eat gluten free and usually make a light-hearted joke referencing my personalized plate. While using humor as a defense mechanism may not be the best method of coping for everyone, it works for me.

While most of these strategies help alleviate the shyness that I have surrounding the topic of celiac disease, I am by no means implying that it is something you should be ashamed of. Until we have a cure, celiac disease is something you have to live with, and when well-controlled, it is rarely burdensome. However, the nature of college life can complicate celiac disease, and the ignorance of college students often leaves students with celiac disease susceptible to unwarranted judgments. We all have our own ways of coping with the transition to college life, and hopefully some of my methods can help others dealing with similar issues.

Adjusting to College from High School with Celiac Disease

Adjusting to College from High School with Celiac Disease

A doe-eyed 14-year-old entering high school and a worldly 22-year-old leaving college live worlds apart on the maturity spectrum, yet only a few months stand between when an 18-year-old leaves high school and enters college. College life poses challenges for everyone, and celiac disease may further complicate the situation. Comparing high school and college is no different, and celiac tends to amplify some of the lifestyle changes that accompany the transition from high school to college. Here are some facets of college life compared to high school that are either new or different for students with celiac.

Events with free food or food provided

If you ever wish to attract flocks of college students to a particular event, simply advertise free food. Life in college revolves around events with food provided, but this poses a challenge for students on a gluten-free diet. While parents and teachers often provide food for special events in high school, caterers and restaurants typically handle food for college events.

This difference often leads to a stark contrast in the level of personalization. Whereas most parents and teachers in my small hometown had a general awareness of my celiac disease, caterers do not have advanced knowledge of your dietary needs. In college, you must either make prior arrangements with the food providers or come prepared with your own snacks.

Social events/parties

Nightlife in college differs dramatically from that of high school. While high school parties typically take place exclusively on weekends, some colleges have parties every weeknight. I am anything but a party animal, so I cannot offer any specific advice regarding that realm. However, it is important to go into the night knowing that not all drinks are gluten free. If you choose to go out, research safe options in advance.

Roommates

While many people live at home with siblings prior to college, dorm life often poses a new difficulty for students with dietary restrictions: you must share a living space with non-gluten-free individuals who may not understand your situation.

In high school, I was fortunate enough to have a family that prioritized my health and took extreme caution in keeping my food supply safe. Luckily, my transition to dorm living went relatively smoothly. I accomplished this by informing my roommates of my situation from the start and making sure we kept our food separate. It turned out that another one of my roommates had a severe nut allergy, so we both understood the delicacy of one another’s situations. My other two roommates readily adapted their organizational habits to prioritize our health and safety, and we had a year free of celiac flare-ups and allergic reactions resulting from cross-contamination.

Snacks

I picked up quite the snacking habit while in high school, and who could blame me given that most days I left for school at 7:15 a.m. and didn’t return from basketball practice until 6:30 p.m.? While I am no longer living the hectic life of a student-athlete, I still have busy days and I continue to observe my beloved snack times throughout the day. Unfortunately, I can no longer rely on my wonderful parents to maintain the stockpile of snacks in the pantry like they did in high school, and I am responsible for my own shopping. While this allows for fun and creativity, it also means that I must take the initiative to ensure that I do not run out of food.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a second-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

Tips For Dining In and Eating Out as a College Student with Celiac Disease

Tips For Dining In and Eating Out as a College Student with Celiac Disease

The pain following gluten exposure may cause some degree of food-related stress in most college students with celiac disease, and rightfully so. While we must accept celiac disease as a fact of life, food should not serve as a constant source of worry.

These tips have helped me prevent food-related stress both on and off my college campus, and they will help to make every dining experience enjoyable rather than stressful.

Bring a variety of nutrient-rich, calorically dense, nonperishable snacks

The confines of a gluten-free diet often lend themselves to situations where there are few, if any, gluten-free options available. In these situations, the only thing worse than not having any snacks is lugging around snacks that will not fill you up, take up an exorbitant amount of space in your bag, or are at risk of melting, crumbling or rotting.

I like to keep spare RXbars and GoMacro bars in my backpack or purse as portable, filling snacks. The balanced macronutrient profile will help to keep you satiated without filling up your bag, and they come in a delicious variety of flavors.

Tip: when selecting bars to keep in my bags for emergency situations, I always go for the non-chocolate varieties to ensure that I will not have to clean up a melted mess upon unwrapping.

Research restaurants in advance

Dining out with college friends is supposed to be a fun, relaxing experience where you can get off campus, enjoy time with others and try new foods. However, the risks of gluten exposure and cross-contamination throw a wrench in that plan for those of us with celiac disease.

To prevent this, it helps to do your research before dining out. I have relied on the Find Me Gluten Free app to scout out restaurants and read reviews since my celiac diagnosis in 2013. The ability to search by address or current location allows you both to select a restaurant in advance or choose spontaneously with friends (we all know that is how most things go in college). Filtering results by category, best-rated and even celiac friendliness allows you to tailor your restaurant selection to your specific wants and needs.

Sometimes decisions on restaurant selection are out of your control and you find yourself in situations with a lack of food availability. Whether you are stuck at a restaurant without any gluten-free options or you feel at risk for cross-contamination, at least you have your variety of nutrient-rich, calorically dense snacks to hold you over until you find your next safe food option!

Be open about your dietary restrictions

If you do not tell people that you need to eat gluten free, they will not know that the need exists when making plans. This applies to friends as well as restaurant or dining hall employees. Luckily, the rise in gluten-free awareness over the past several years has helped make dining with friends a more fun, social experience rather than a Q&A session about your special dietary needs.

At restaurants, I always notify my server right away that I have celiac disease (and if their only response is a confused look, which happens often, I just label it as a severe gluten allergy). Then, when I order a gluten-free plate, I re-emphasize my need for a completely gluten-free meal. When the plate arrives, I once again verify the absence of gluten. While this process may seem obsessive and over-the-top, establishing these checkpoints helps to minimize risk while emphasizing the importance of your needs. Having these verbal layers of security from order to delivery allows you to relax and enjoy the food upon arrival.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a second-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

College With Celiac Disease: Reflections on My Freshman Year

College With Celiac Disease: Reflections on My Freshman Year

Looking back on my first year handling college with celiac disease, I feel that I handled the transition to college life relatively well. There were definitely bumps in the road, but that comes with the territory of moving across the country at the age of 18, regardless of your dietary needs. After some reflecting, here are some broad lessons learned from my first-year experience as an individual with celiac disease in college.

Planning is always necessary in college with celiac 

For most students (myself included), high school academics pale in comparison to the volume and rigor of college coursework. I could no longer combine the tasks of completing my homework with watching The Bachelor, and I definitely could not count on walking into a test unprepared with the hopes of walking out with a feeling that I aced it. The academic demands of college require planning and time management in order to complete all tasks at a high standard by the deadline.

Similarly, safe, gluten-free dining in college requires advanced planning and careful management. Unfortunately, not every dining hall labels gluten-free options, so this often means that you must engage in supplemental research into the ingredient lists of dining hall dishes. If you decide to venture outside of your meal plan, you do not have the ability to grab a quick meal from the nearby fast-food restaurant like other students.

Sometimes the most convenient option does not cater to your needs, and I learned that it was best to block out time in my calendar for meals to ensure that I could squeeze in three meals per day on top of my ritualistic snack breaks. While this extra layer of planning may seem like an added stress, it is much better than the alternative of accidental gluten exposure. Speaking from experience, there is nothing worse than trying to manage schoolwork while recovering from a celiac episode.

Take snacks, not risks

Food is everywhere at college, and it is difficult to resist the temptation to try a bite of something that should be gluten-free. However, I know from being in college with celiac that a few minutes of delicious food that might be gluten-free is not worth the weeks of discomfort to follow in the event that your innocent bite did indeed contain gluten.

Instead, I learned it was much better to splurge at the local grocery store to stock up on my favorite snacks to keep on hand. That way, I never found myself feeling like I was missing out on a snacking opportunity. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy curating my own personal selection of snacks to keep on hand. Self care manifests itself in many different ways, and sometimes wandering through the aisles of your local grocery store serves as an excellent break from studying in the library.

Real friends are willing to adapt

While I know that medicine cannot cure my celiac disease for the time being and I am comfortable with that thought, I do have my moments of insecurity around sharing the topic with others. In my last piece, Celiac in College: Talking to Peers about Celiac Disease, I touched on how I did not want celiac to be the first thing that people knew about me upon my arrival to campus. I learned, however, that the right people will understand your circumstances and accommodate your needs. This manifests itself uniquely for different relationships; while some people express their thoughtfulness through overbearing concern at restaurants, my more sarcastic friends playfully joke about my special diet (in the most loving way possible, of course).

My first year of college with celiac disease challenged me in ways that I never knew possible, but the personal growth from those transformative experiences made the struggles worthwhile. I gained new friendships and knowledge that I would not trade for the world, but I could have lived without some of my celiac issues. More stories from gluten-free college students can be found here.

Hopefully through sharing some of my general reflections, I can arm incoming college freshman with the knowledge that they need to confidently take on their first year of college with celiac disease.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a first-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

Celiac in College: Talking to Peers about Celiac Disease

Celiac in College: Talking to Peers about Celiac Disease

For most people, the start of college ushers in a period of fresh starts: you begin a new life in a different setting surrounded by unfamiliar faces. In the midst of this overwhelming sense of newness, however, your celiac disease carries over from your past life. Your new surroundings lie far away from the comfort of home, where your dietary needs were common knowledge.

Navigating college life with celiac disease brings an entirely new set of concrete challenges (as seen in Celiac in College: The Silent Struggles), but there are also mental and emotional roadblocks during this period of transition. Here are some of my thoughts and reflections on the role of celiac in my transition to college.

I don’t want to make celiac disease the first characteristic people knew about me.

Since I was not diagnosed with celiac until eighth grade, I was fortunate to experience the majority of my childhood without having to read nutrition labels and worry about cross-contamination. I had the freedom to eat all the cake that I wanted at birthday parties, and I could innocently say “yes” to any snack that my little heart desired. By the time of my diagnosis, people in my small town had a well-rounded understanding of me as a person, so I did not have to wear the label of the “the gluten-free girl.” I never allowed celiac disease to become central to my identity and I never intend for that to happen.

In contrast to the familiarity of my hometown, college threw me into a new environment where no one knew anything about me. The first several days were dedicated to social events aimed at helping first-year students settle into their new home for the next four years. Unfortunately for students with  dietary restrictions, most of these events revolved around food.

While there is nothing wrong with having celiac disease, I did not want my rigid diet to be the first thing that people knew about me. I was never “the gluten-free girl” in my hometown, but I felt that could become my new label if I was not careful. I often scheduled my meals around these social events rather than inquiring about the ingredients, preparation and handling of the platters of food. While this strategy allowed me to get to know people before they learned of my highly restrictive diet, the topic inevitably came up at certain food-centric events, which leads me to my next point.

When people find out, it’s best to own it rather than downplay the severity.

Once people know about your celiac disease, the last thing you want them to think is that you dine gluten-free for the “trend.” If your relationship is built upon the belief that you avoid gluten as a preference rather than out of necessity, your needs may not be taken seriously in the future when picking out a restaurant or requesting food for an event.

When people inquire about my gluten-free food, I usually ask if they have heard of celiac disease. If they have, then I tell them that I have celiac and the conversation ends there. In the event that they have not heard of celiac, I briefly explain that it is an autoimmune disease triggered by the ingestion of gluten. In response to this, people generally react with a sympathetic “Wow that sucks!” or an inquiring “What can you eat then? Isn’t gluten in everything?” The best way to handle these questions is to reinforce the severity of the disease while assuring the listener that maintaining the diet is not that difficult after you have adjusted to the gluten-free lifestyle.

Sometimes self-deprecating humor helps, if confidently executed.

Every night, I email my dining manager my meal orders for the following day. Then, a chef safely prepares my meal in the back of the kitchen for mealtime pickup. Even though I have carried the label of “celiac” with me for the past five years, something about carrying a shrink-wrapped plate from the back of the kitchen, through the food lines and into the packed dining hall is still embarrassing for me.

When people inquire about my unusual accommodation, I find it best to respond with some self-deprecating humor. I own the fact that I have to eat gluten free and usually make a light-hearted joke referencing my personalized plate. While using humor as a defense mechanism may not be the best method of coping for everyone, it works for me.

While most of these strategies help alleviate the shyness that I have surrounding the topic of celiac disease, I am by no means implying that it is something that you should be ashamed of. Until we have a cure, celiac disease is something that you have to live with, and when well-controlled, it is rarely burdensome. However, the nature of college life can complicate celiac disease, and the ignorance of college students often leaves students with celiac disease susceptible to unwarranted judgements.  We all have our own ways of coping with the transition to college life, and hopefully some of my methods can help others dealing with similar issues.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a first-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

Celiac in College: Navigating the Dining Hall

Celiac in College: Navigating the Dining Hall

For those who recall the introduction of my piece Celiac in College: The Silent Struggles, you know that the college dining hall can quickly turn into a nightmare for celiac students. Cross contamination abounds, and unclear ingredient labeling adds to the hassle of mealtime.

Thanks to a new arrangement with my dining manager, my meals have transformed from risky endeavors to stress-free social time. Starting this spring semester, I email my meal orders in advance to have a chef safely prepare my plate in the back of the kitchen, free from the horrors of cross contamination. I highly recommend that students attending schools without dedicated gluten-free serving areas try to coordinate an accommodation similar to mine.

If this is not feasible, however, hope is not lost. My first semester I used the food lines as a normal student, and I picked up a few tips along the way. Here are some of my best tips and strategies on how to effectively tackle the college dining hall with celiac disease.

The salad bar is your friend

The fresh vegetables and hearty add-ons of the salad bar foster the ideal environment to dodge both gluten exposure and the “freshman fifteen.” The salad bar served as a dependable option that always promised variety. Broccoli, beans, grilled chicken, baby carrots and hummus became staples in my diet. Also, the salad bar lies far away from the hot food line, which hosts the majority of cross-contamination culprits. While the salad bar served as a safe haven for me, this tip only holds true if the croutons are isolated from the rest of the ingredients (which was the case at my school).

We love fruit!

Most dining halls serve plenty of desserts, including cakes, cookies and soft serve ice cream. While the baked goods are not gluten free, the soft serve ice cream machine might not be the best option either. I have witnessed far too many students obliviously brushing their cones against the spout of the machine, ruining the possibility of soft serve for celiac students.

Luckily, whole fruit serves as an excellent option for those who are looking for dessert substitutes or something sweet to add to their meal. My favorite dining hall fruits are pears, plums and grapefruits, but most schools also offer the timeless favorites of apples, oranges and bananas. I make it a habit to grab one or two pieces of fruit as a snack for later on in the day. If I have to pay for a meal plan, I might as well maximize its utility.

Keep it simple and accessorize with condiments

My dining hall always has a station with plain brown rice, which proved to be an excellent filler food for days that lacked other gluten-free options. Brown rice, grilled chicken and the aforementioned salad bar staples form a balanced, satisfying meal. However, this can begin to taste bland after awhile.

While it may be tempting to try some of the more exciting entrees and sides, the over-processed nature of dining hall foods means that there’s likely plenty of gluten hiding in the prepared dishes. I found that it was safest for me to load up on simpler foods and then turn to the spice rack to experiment with different seasonings and sauces. I really love spicy food, so hot sauce became my best friend last semester. I learned that if you add enough hot sauce to subpar food, you can only taste hot sauce!  

Inspect your plates & silverware

My school’s notoriously subpar dishwashing system often leaves remnants of food from the previous meal on silverware and dishes. I quickly developed the habit of checking my plates and forks to ensure the absence of food residue, and I encourage you to do the same. Everybody could benefit from this habit, gluten free or not.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a first-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

Questions Gluten-Free Students Should Ask on College Tours

Questions Gluten-Free Students Should Ask on College Tours

My college search process centered around two factors: academics and dining. When the tour guides asked for questions at the conclusion of their tours, I always chimed in with a question regarding accommodations for food allergies and gluten-free options. The well-meaning tour guides never failed to provide a response noting that “*insert school here* is great at accommodating dietary restrictions! As long as you contact the dining manager you won’t have a problem.”

At the time, this answer satisfied me and my parents, and we left every campus thinking that dining would not pose any major issues. After one semester of college, I can tell you that gluten-free dining is not that simple and even the best schools in the country have their downfalls.

Read Celiac in College: The Silent Struggles

Many people do not consider the fact that these college tour guides are full-time students as well. They have classes, extracurriculars and social lives distinct from their role as tour guides. They do not spend their spare time researching the intricacies of student life that do not impact them. If they give a one sentence answer enthusiastically proclaiming that their college does a great job at accommodating any needs, they likely lack concrete knowledge of the matter at hand. In order to gain a clearer perspective of how the college will accommodate your gluten-free diet, tailor your questions to target the guide’s personal experiences.

Read How to Talk to Your College Roommate About the Gluten-Free Diet

After reflecting upon my college search process, here are the questions that I wish I had asked on my college visits.

Do you or any of your close friends have experience with dining with food allergies? If so, what do the accommodations look like and how effective are they?

If the tour guide has any anecdotal advice regarding navigating the dining halls, this question should shed some light on actual details of the services provided. If not, there are still meaningful questions to ask that might provide insight to the accommodations offered by the university.

Is there clear allergen labeling or a separate serving area for students with allergies?

If the tour guide does not have personal experience, he or she may still be able to provide some information regarding details of gluten-free dining. While they may not use the services themselves, they have probably observed whether there is an allergy-friendly area of the dining hall or labels indicating the common allergens present in foods.

Clear labeling is important because it allows for on-the-go students to quickly identify safe options when they do not have time to speak with a dining manager or look online. My school labels food as vegetarian and vegan but they do not consistently label allergens, which has caused problems for me in the past.

How receptive is the administration to student feedback regarding living and dining?

The answer to this question will allow for prospective students to gauge the administration’s flexibility regarding students’ needs. While my school does not yet label dishes that contain gluten or other allergens, they do listen to student feedback.

As a member of the Student Faculty Committee on Dining, I have the privilege of working with the head dining faculty to reform the dining experience and make it safer for students with food allergies. The administration is great about listening to student feedback and they are actively working on improving the dining experience for those with dietary restrictions. So, even if the school does not currently have accommodations in place, this question should indicate the likelihood that the school is willing to accommodate your needs.

I focused my college search on small to medium-size private schools, so my experience with college tours may differ from someone looking at large state schools or small liberal arts colleges. Regardless, these questions should give prospective students a better perspective on how their life may look on a particular college campus.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a first-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.

Celiac in College: The Silent Struggles

Celiac in College: The Silent Struggles

As soon as your lecture wraps up, you power walk straight to the dining hall. Lunch today lacked appetizing gluten-free options, so you are starving. Your club meeting tonight will have pizza for dinner, but you have to eat now because the group always forgets to order gluten-free crust and you don’t want to bother them about your special order again. As you wait at the salad bar, you see someone drop a crouton into the lettuce bin. No salad for you. You settle for a bowl of plain rice with some grilled chicken, praying that no one contaminated the dish prior to your arrival. Looking around, you realize that you lost your friends in the madness of finding a safe meal, so now you must eat your bland food alone. Better luck tomorrow.

Want to learn more about attending college while following a gluten-free diet? Read “Gluten-Free College Students Living Off Campus” and “How to Talk to Your College Roommate About the Gluten-Free Diet.”

While typical college dining halls are often difficult to safely navigate for students with celiac, less obvious but equally important issues exist beneath the surface. Research indicates that students with celiac face greater struggles in academic and social settings, regardless of their adherence to the gluten-free diet. The condition’s far-reaching impact on the lives of college students creates unique academic and mental-health challenges for the affected students, but recognizing these risks can help them prepare for when they strike.

The hidden challenges

Brain fog

Following gluten exposure, students with celiac often experience “brain fog,” a state of cognitive impairment that hampers both the ability to perform everyday tasks as well as academic work. Because the reaction lasts for weeks, this symptom may interfere with students’ ability to produce high-quality work by the required deadline.

Lower GPAs

A study found that independent of gluten-free compliance, female college students with celiac had an average GPA of 3.30 while female students without celiac had an average of 3.45. So while gluten exposure may worsen the academic difficulties experienced by students with celiac, it appears that something about the nature of the disease itself must be causing this significant difference between the GPAs, since it exists regardless of dietary adherence.

Anxiety and depression

Students with celiac exhibit greater susceptibility to anxiety and depression compared to their peers without the condition, independent of dietary adherence. However, researchers did find a direct correlation between performance anxiety and the duration of a gluten-free diet — patients who had followed the gluten-free diet for a longer period of time exhibited greater levels of performance anxiety. College students already have to deal with the rigorous academic demands of their coursework, and performance anxiety only adds to the difficulty.

A step in the right direction

While colleges can easily address dining-related issues through tweaking their protocols, solutions for the academic and mental-health difficulties are much less straightforward. However, acknowledging the existence of these challenges prepares both students and universities to take action when these issues present themselves. For example, the campus accessibility office should clearly articulate academic accommodations to account for cognitive difficulties following gluten exposure. Also, universities and students can identify problematic behaviors and direct students to the appropriate mental-health and academic resources in the case of anxiety, depression or unusual academic struggle.

I attend college for the academics, so it is frustrating when my disease interferes with my learning. Personally, I do not feel that celiac has hurt my overall academic performance, but brain fog following gluten exposure undoubtedly interferes with my ability to sit through a lecture and complete schoolwork. As much as I would like to say that I have a clear-cut solution for the academic and mental-health problems arising from celiac, I am no researcher and I can only write from my personal experiences. However, I do know that raising awareness of these issues is a step in the right direction to improve the lives of students with celiac.

Originally from Salado, Texas, Kayla Manning is a first-year student at Harvard. Following her diagnosis with celiac disease in 2013, she maintained a strict gluten-free diet with relative ease through her junior high and high school years. However, college life posed unfamiliar challenges and she struggled to adjust to her new dining situation. She hopes that sharing her experiences can help others with their transition to gluten-free dining in college.