Claire Berman

My blogs

Gender	Female
Location	Boston, MA
Introduction	I'm a 27 year-old grad student in Health Communication in Boston. After years of wondering why I consistently felt terrible after eating (and looking around the room wondering if everyone truly felt good after eating the exact same meal that was causing my insides to churn), I did enough research on the internet to find out what gluten intolerance is. Specialists over the years had told me my stomach-related problems were due to stress, or didn’t exist; that it was all in my head. A genetic test confirmed that I have one of the two prime HLA DQ genes for celiac disease. And since May 2008, I have been completely gluten- and dairy-free, and feeling like a new person. The new dietary restrictions have spurred me to experiment with some old recipes and a lot of new ones; this blog is a chronicle of these attempts. I never appreciated just how social a purpose food serves until now...and how easy it is to feel like an outcast if you can't eat what everyone else can. But I promise you that having dietary restrictions can be a delicious experience and open you up to foods you never thought you'd try before. And you'll finally be eating food that loves you back.