What would you do if your child was throwing up and having diarrhea for days?
In today’s digital age, you’d probably ask Dr. Google, your Facebook friends, or call your health plan’s nurse hotline. If that was a dead-end and the symptoms persisted, an outpatient clinic, pediatrician, or the emergency room might be your next stop.
Healthcare in the U.S., might not be a perfect system, but what researchers know about Celiac disease and how to treat it is a lot better than it was back in early to mid 1900s.
In fact, in 1924 when countless children were sick and dying of chronic vomiting, diarrhea, and malnourishment, Dr. Sidney Haas thought he found the cure...bananas. Lots of bananas. Some children were told to eat as many as 200 bananas a week.
Haas came to this conclusion when he noticed townspeople in Puerto Rico who ate a lot of bread were frequently sick, while farmers who largely ate bananas were symptom free.
Prescribing more bananas did help patients eat fewer foods made with barley, wheat, and rye, which helped eliminate or minimize symptoms.
But it wasn’t until 1952 that Netherlands pediatrician Willem Karel Dicke, formally discovered Celiac disease and gluten as the source of the problem. When that happened, bananas eventually had to take a back seat to avoiding foods that contain gluten as the most effective way to manage Celiac disease.
The history of Celiac disease is pretty interesting. If you have Celiac disease, you can eat bananas, as they are gluten-free. But it’s following a gluten-free diet that’s going to protect your health and prevent gastrointestinal issues and potentially serious health problems.
So what can you eat? We’ve been serving Gluten-Free friendly meals to our customers for years. Check out the selection, including customer favorites like Beef Bourguignon, Brown Rice & Broccoli ,Tilapia with Miso Ginger, Black Beans, Rice with Peas & Carrots, Cheese Omelet, Broccoli & Cinnamon Apples, and many others.
And one more thing...bananas are optional.
