It’s May 1st and that means it’s the start of Celiac Disease Awareness Month (and the crowd cheers)! Of course it’s important to educate others about celiac disease all year round, but designating a month where we can all work together to spread awareness is cause for celebration.
Why should we celebrate? Because it takes a village and our collective voices are so much louder than our individual voices. This year, I wanted to bring our voices out more by creating graphics that show people what we wish they knew about celiac disease. So, I took to social media and asked for feedback on my pages and in some celiac groups. The responses were so real and honest, and I’m so thankful for everyone’s participation. I created graphics for the topics that came up the most and hope you’ll help me share them all around.
Celiac Disease Awareness Month Graphics
Please feel free to pin these images, share them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media, email them, link to them, or print them. Anything to help spread awareness would be much appreciated. Thank you so much!!
#1: It’s Forever.
You can’t outgrow celiac disease or have a “cheat” day. It’s a lifelong autoimmune disease that requires a gluten-free diet.
#2: Celiac disease affects more than your digestive health.
It can cause fatigue, vitamin deficiencies, infertility, anxiety, foggy headedness, mouth sores, depression, migraines, anemia, low bone density, psoriasis, skin rashes, joint pain and more. Learn more about the more than 300 symptoms of celiac disease.
#3: Celiac disease is NOT a fad diet and my child isn’t doing this for attention.
Adherence to a strictly gluten-free diet is the ONLY current treatment for celiac disease, a genetic life-long autoimmune disease.
#4: Myth – A little gluten won’t really hurt you.
The fact is cross contamination matters and as little as one crumb can damage the small intestine of a person with celiac disease.
#5: Celiac disease runs in families.
People with a parent, child, or sibling with celiac disease have a 1 in 10 risk of developing it at any age. Left untreated, celiac disease can lead to additional serious health problems so it’s very important to talk to your doctor and get tested.
#6: Removing the bread is not enough.
To the restaurants that strive to provide gluten free options, removing the bread is not enough to make a meal celiac safe. Cross contact in the kitchen from shared fryers, cooking utensils, counters, and cookware will cause damage to the intestines of a person with celiac disease making safe food preparation vital to preparing a celiac safe meal.
Thank you for your help sharing these graphics during Celiac Disease Awareness Month and throughout the year! Together we will make a difference in educating others and hopefully help reduce the number of undiagnosed celiacs.
Brie Zentil
This is a well written post and I love your graphics. Would you mind if I repost (giving you credit, and a link to this post if you want, of course) one of the graphics on my IG stories this month for celiac awareness?