My Budding Interest In Celiac Disease & The Prison System

Here at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), I am frequently the recipient of letters and information requests from individuals in prison. Many of these individuals have been diagnosed with the disease while serving time, and have almost zero access to resources on celiac disease and the gluten-free diet.

This week, I received a desperate plea from a man incarcerated in California. Diagnosed just weeks ago, he expressed a need for materials that would help both him, along with the prison medical and foodservice staff, become better educated on the condition and diet.  As our organization’s mission is to empower and educate ALL individuals about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet by providing free, comprehensive resources for patients – I was more than happy to send a him an information packet.

One of the many letters from prisoners with celiac.

I frequently take great care when putting together these packets for inmates. While I don’t excuse whatever circumstances led them prison (and believe me, I’ve Googled them), I am sympathetic to what I consider to be an incredibly vulnerable population. It’s challenging enough to receive a diagnosis and manage a gluten-free diet in our society, I cannot imagine being able to accomplish this in an environment where you truly have ZERO control over your health and diet.  I am touched and saddened by each personal story I read, and even more touched by the DOZENS of thank you notes I’ve received from prisoners after NFCA’s resources arrive at their cells.

In light of my interest and budding passion for this specific celiac population, I am inspired to further investigate what life is like for prison patients. I look forward to sharing my findings with you in an upcoming newsletter article. I hope you’ll also look forward to reading what I think will be an incredibly enlightening and interesting piece, so stay tuned!

– Whitney