What does it take to get diagnosed for celiac disease in the United States? Thousands and thousands of dollars, years of being told that you’re a hypochondriac, and persistence. Sweet, sweet persistence.

Don’t get me wrong, I think some of the acute healthcare available in the United States is pretty impressive. But every time I think of being diagnosed with CD, I thank my lucky stars that I was in Canada, where I didn’t pay anything for my blood tests, my biopsy, my dietitian, or my meetings with the osteoporosis specialists. 

It’s still very important to remember that having CD is an expensive pastime - I pay hundreds of dollars in food and nutrition supplements every month that I otherwise would not have to buy. But thank goodness I didn’t have to pay $4,000 for blood work. What a nightmare.

This girl, Orcasisle, has made a great video on CNN’s iReport (apple plug, anyone?) about “the shortcomings of the U.S. health care system during [her] 6 year journey getting diagnosed with Celiac Disease highlighting the need for health care reform.”

I thought it was a great (even better near the end) bit of independent journalism. Congratulations on your diagnosis, Orcasisle, and on getting through the healthcare system despite all the drawbacks you encountered.

This New York Times article directly relates to people with celiac disease. Why? Because it shows that when people are food secure - nay, healthy food secure (not just what they want to eat, but healthy food that they want to eat), then health care costs go down.

“We need to put food back in the heart of health care,” says Zoe Finch Totten, Full Yield’s chief executive. “It’s the cheapest way to deal with health and the simplest, and definitely the most pleasurable.”

When I think about asking for more gluten free foods in cafeterias, restaurants, and places of transportation, like airports, trains, and ferries (BC Ferries in particular), I often stop myself beforehand and question whether providing gluten free food would make a difference to their sales or their customer satisfaction. If I conclude that they wouldn’t care about it, I usually just go along my hungry way.

But those are places that don’t impact our day-to-day living as much as say, our work places. The NY Times article tells a story of not just food security, but food security at work:

“A lot of employers are doing these modest and piecemeal efforts at wellness and they have not worked,” said Gary Hirshberg, the chief executive of Stonyfield Farm, a yogurt maker, and a member of Full Yield’s board. “This is a comprehensive health management program with food as the base. And it’s going to save companies a lot of money.”

I am all for promoting healthy diets at places of employment and education. The more employers are turned on the these kind of stories, the more chance we have of convincing them that providing healthy gluten free food is important to the health of their employers and to their business.