Medicine Hat resident Kim Dirk shopping at 'Be. Gluten Free'

By Lisa Parent

‘My life changed completely’: Medicine Hat residents advocate for greater understanding of celiac disease

Jan 18, 2024 | 5:25 PM

Celiac disease is something many Hatters suffer from and one that is often misunderstood.

According to Health Canada, Celiac disease is now recognized as one of the most common chronic diseases in the world.

Medicine Hat local Kennedy Griffin was diagnosed with it when she was 18 and her life was flipped upside-down.

“The transition is really, really hard because you have to go through the process of ‘what do I have to get rid of, how careful do I have to be,’” Griffin told CHAT News.

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Medicine Hat local Kim Dirk had a similar experience, quickly realizing the time-consuming and expensive nature of living gluten free.

“Once I found out, my life changed completely,” Dirk explained.

“Things you wouldn’t even think of, cosmetics, does your lipstick have gluten in it? I had to buy a brand new toaster.”

For both Dirk and Griffin, their diagnosis meant that navigating grocery stores turned into a tedious task and many Medicine Hat restaurants were off-limits. Yet, if they don’t follow the strict diet, it can cause severe short and long term health issues.

“You get bloated, you get nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, I break out with a blistery rash on my hands, some people get it all over their body. Brain fog, there’s so many symptoms,” Dirk said.

Determined to address the lack of gluten free options in Medicine hat was Sam Griffin, Kennedy’s mother and someone who has a gluten intolerance. Sam opened her store ‘Be. Gluten Free’ almost two years ago.

“We have had a lot of people that have come in and there’s been some tear moments where they’ve just been very thankful that we’re here,” said Griffin.

Dirk and Griffin say that recently, more and tastier gluten free options are available in Medicine Hat. Yet, they think there’s still more to do in spreading awareness about celiac disease.

“Kind of like peanut allergies, they’re taken really seriously, right? I feel like that needs to be applied to celiac disease,” said Kennedy Griffin.

“We have an autoimmune disease, it’s not just kind of like, ‘oh, you’re sick for a day,’ you’re actually damaging your small intestine, which can have other lifelong complications.”

“I also think that people don’t take it as seriously as they should because it was a fad at one point,” Dirk added.

“It’s not a fad for us with celiac disease and gluten intolerance, it’s our life. We have to live that way or we are extremely sick.”

Be. Gluten Free plans to grow its stock as the business evolves. Most importantly, they want to create a supportive space for anyone navigating the challenges of a gluten free lifestyle.