More than 3,000 people are part of the Basque Celiac Association (EZE), an event that was born 41 years ago by a group of families with sons and daughters newly diagnosed with celiac disease and whose goal was to organize, ask for help and prepare. list of gluten-free products
Four decades later, the institute, under the supervision of pediatrician Dr. Juan Carlos Vitoria and the goodwill of the affected relatives emerged, established itself as a platform to search for specific information about things in the market., restaurants. to go without fear of suffering any type of movement, the latest research in celiac disease, and a place of meeting and support for people suffering from this disease.
Because the month of May is considered celiac disease, EZE has organized two meetings on May 19 in Portugalete (Bizkaia) and on Sunday 21 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, it is preparing an event of the same name for tomorrow, May 26, in the local. Ezegi in Donostia. An opportunity to gather members in a festive setting, lively with music, a DJ, a cake contest and a popular quest.
This type of celebration invites members to meet again, share experiences and feel with other people who have lived with the same problem for years. So explains Janire Gorostiaga, who was diagnosed with celiac disease and had a few months to live. “The powdered milk made me sick from txikitina, I was dying, they didn’t know what was wrong with me… I stopped growing, I wasn’t used to food… According to the doctors, I had bulimia, anorexia, and I was 7 months old!”, he explains. The response to the dramatic situation was made at the hands of Dr. Vitoria, who researched the disease and gluten-free food, and with her own diagnosis, the family could begin to breathe.
The situation, almost 40 years later, has improved significantly and today there are many options when it comes to eating. Janire remembers that at the age of 12, she first made macaroni and spaghetti thanks to a friend who traveled to Italy and was able to buy gluten-free pasta there. “Until that age, I only ate rice or potatoes.”
“Now there are more products that are softer and others that are like fly shoes, but you have to try it.”
In fact, he says that his family has a refrigerator so that he can have gluten-free bread on hand every day. “Back then, there was no bread and you had to wait two hours for it to be dyed so that everything would be cooked, and if you took it outside, it would remain dry; but eventually they got used to it. Now there are more products, that is, they are softer, and other things that are flying shoes, but you have to try it, “Janire gushes.
Times have changed, there is a greater amount of “gluten free” products and information, but years ago those affected with a list of brands eat themselves with equal enthusiasm. “We started with 4 or 5 brands and thanks to EZE, more supplies and businesses have been added. Now, they continue to give advice in school canteens, and to train teachers and students in celiac disease. For me, the work of the Association was extremely important to make this disease visible”, he affirms.
“For me, the work of the Association was a big step to make this disease visible.”
restaurant list
Many people have gone to the restaurant and tasting the culinary offer is a unique plan, but it can be a crossroads for celiacs. “It is difficult to go out there to eat, because there are always those who say that little happens,” Janire tells. “But what hurts me a little bit, you can’t see, it’s not an allergy at the moment, that’s what hurts me little by little and maybe five days later I’m really sick at home and I don’t know why. .
Irune was diagnosed with celiac disease when he was 16 years old; which in the form of dermatitis herpetiformis
However, EZE provides a list of restaurants that have been trained and trained and that are associated with the logo, something that instills confidence in the members. For Irune, 23, this information is key. “I usually ask the company for restaurant recommendations, because most of them don’t have a “gluten-free” setting on Google Maps, which is where you continue to see the reviews,” he explains while affirming that “there is a small variety. of restaurants.”
Irune was diagnosed with celiac disease when he was 16 years old; presented symptoms in the form of dermatitis herpetiformis. Gluten intolerance can make this skin itch, rash, and blister. “I accepted at first, then I refused, because I saw that the food did not make me feel bad, and he said that I was not celiac. But finally I had to accept it and there are more and more things that I can eat”, he tells with joy.
“Perhaps the Government will do something, to lower some taxes or to bring aid”;
Elsa Martin, who was diagnosed with celiac disease when she was 11 months old, agrees with Irun and states that she is “very happy that there are more and more, although there is still a lot to be done to compare gluten and gluten.
The celiac shopping basket is a thousand dollars more per year
It also expresses what many feel: the high price of the cart. “A package of gluten-free muffins would cost you almost one euro per muffin, it’s outrageous. I understand that it is difficult for the company to lower the prices, because it is not so much to ask, but the government still needs to do something, to provide something with lower taxes or subsidies. In the state of celiacs of Vizcaya, they ask for help from the Provincial Council of 80 coins a year, which, in an affected opinion, “does not come” .
Irune again defends the opinion. “There are many demonstrations to ask for help, because Spain is the only country that does not receive group aid, and it is an urgent complaint, because everything that is paid for these products is unworthy,” he asks.
to feel one
The work that EZE has done is essential to many members, and not only from the informational field; It has also been said that where one feels more, he is part of a group with the same needs. “We young people started to go in a group and it was very good not to feel different,” says Janire Gorostiaga, who remembers when he went out to the class with his friends to have a sandwich. “I first examined beer five years ago,” he admits. “Now I’m going to buy five sticky beers from the grocery store.”
Along with other people with celiac disease, Estela and Erlantz, mother and son, have participated in various cooking courses organized by EZE over the years, and they always attend events organized by the Association. Erlantz was diagnosed when he was 2 years old. “It was not easy to reach that diagnosis, we had to go around a lot,” admits Estela. “When we received it, we contacted the Association and it made things easier for us.” This 13-year-old boy, these types of things are “every day I eat everything, without fear of harming myself”, but he admits that he goes out with friends, he does it well: “they eat and I eat. It’s mine. Of course, the cooking classes had an effect because Erlantz loves to cook” macaroni and omelette.”
Contrary to Erlantz, Oier Martín, the winner of the cake that took the first prize in the Portugalete competition, admits that cooking is not much for him. “But I love to eat, especially my mother’s cakes,” who became a professional chef. “It’s about experimenting and mixing gluten ingredients and making different ones and doing more or less the same thing but safely.” For the Martino family, the Society works to make the disease visible while “helping them in the market with discounts, looking for restaurants to eat and if you have any problem, they can solve everything”.
