Gluten-Free Influencers Dish On Going Gluten Tree

How recognizing their gluten sensitivity affected the body, spirit, and relationships of four top gluten-free bloggers.

We’re all familiar with the drool-worthy recipes and Instagram photos of these four influential bloggers, but let’s find out what it was really like to learn they could no longer eat foods containing gluten. Nicole Cogan of @nobread, Jackie McEwan of @glutenfree.followme, Erica Dermer of @celiacandthebeast, and Lexi Davidson of @lexiscleankitchen talk about their experiences— the good, the bad, and the ugly.

1. What made you suspect you had a gluten sensitivity?

LEXI: It was pretty clear to me that all of the ailments I was experiencing were gut-related, so I decided to look at foods that cause inflammation and foods that can prevent proper digestion.

ERICA: While I was sick a lot with general malaise as a kid, it was nothing that we thought was related to celiac disease. I thought celiac disease was all about endless bathroom trips, and that wasn't me.

NICOLE: I had the flu twice a year, strep throat once a season, and unexplained illnesses that appeared out of nowhere and lasted for different lengths of time.

JACKIE: My sports doctor had all of his patients take a food intolerance test, and gluten came up in my test results. I was like, what’s gluten? Looking back, my diagnosis made a lot of sense because I would get sick at least once a week in college.

2. What was the process of finding out you were sensitive to gluten?

ERICA: The right process is to get a blood screen, get an upper endoscopy while still eating a gluten-full diet, and then go gluten-free once you're diagnosed with celiac disease. I was told to "just go gluten free" and then had blood tests and endoscopies that showed nothing. Because of that, they gave me drug after drug, trying to fix me, when it was celiac disease all along.